When you walk through Fort Kochi, you experience a feeling of great happiness. The quaint narrow streets and old colonial style houses are a refreshing and soothing sight.
We know about the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English once ruled here, but of the lot, who left behind an indelible mark on its rich heritage?
Bauke van der Pol, a Dutch historian, has no doubt that it was the Dutch, who ruled over the several coastal areas in the country for 150 years — a conclusion that he came to after years of research on the Dutch influence in the country.
His findings have been compiled into a book titled De VOC in India, a historian’s delight for its pictorial and detailed descriptions if the Dutch that had a presence in Fort Kochi from circa 1615 to 1800.
“The Dutch came here just for trade unlike the Portuguese, who had other vested interests. They enticed those locals who converted into Christianity with tax benefits,” Pol throws in an interesting perspective on the matter.
The book, with 25 chapters, is an eye opener into many aspects that have been buried in history. “I want to give a complete picture of the relationship that the Dutch had with the rulers and the people here,” says Pol, who has dedicated an entire chapter of his book to Dutch history in Fort Kochi.
Pol was surprised at the way even the streets with Dutch names like Lilly street, Burgher Street and Rose Street and the 300-year-old rain trees planted by the Dutch are still preserved as they are.
A map of Fort Kochi during the 17th century that Pol retrieved from the Dutch archives in Hague gave him a great insight into his research.
This encouraged him to initiate a heritage walk off Fort Kochi with CGH Earth’s Brunton Boatyard. The response was encouraging, says Pol who was joined by many guests at the hotel and even locals with a Dutch legacy.
The walk turned out to be enlightening as they got to see typical Dutch houses. “One of the typical Dutch houses that is still preserved in the Dutch colonial style is the Dcosta house on Burgher Street,” says Pol.
According to him, these kinds of houses are not found even in Holland. Pol even took a trip to Vypeen Islands and was amused that some families still had typical Dutch names like Hendricks.
According to Pol, many out here lack a knowledge of Dutch history though they are familiar with the Portuguese influence.
This he attributes to the way the Portuguese tried to impose themselves and their religion on Kerala culture. They even encouraged marriages with the locals.
“Something that the Dutch never did,” says Pol. Amidst these unknown facts is the special mention of Van Reed, the Dutch who wrote Hortis Malabaricus, the Bible on plants in the Malabar region.
The other chapters of his book deal with the Dutch influence in Bengal, the Coromandel coast, Malabar and Gujarat which he describes as the four corners of Dutch heritage.
“There was a time when even the ladies of Holland used to wear clothes from Machilipatnam,” says Pol, who will be launching his book soon once he finds a good publisher.
