Cite
MLA
“Siege of Kottakkal (Kunjali’s fort).” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/siege-of-kottakkal-1600/. Accessed .
APA
Hindu History. (2026). Siege of Kottakkal (Kunjali’s fort). Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/siege-of-kottakkal-1600/
Kunjali surrendered to the Zamorin, was handed to the Portuguese and executed at Goa; his fort was razed.
01The admiral and the king
The Marakkars, Muslim sea captains of Malabar, led the Zamorin’s fleets of light boats against the Portuguese from the early 1500s, and the Zamorin gave them the title Kunjali. The fourth of the line, Muhammad Kunjali, built a strong fort at Kottakkal near the mouth of the Kuttiyadi river. He began to act as a ruler in his own right; Malabar accounts say he took titles and insulted the Zamorin. The Zamorin turned to the Portuguese, his old enemies, to bring him down.
02Fall of the fort
A first joint attack in 1599 failed with heavy Portuguese losses. The next season André Furtado de Mendonça came with a larger fleet while the Zamorin’s Nairs closed the land side. In March 1600 Kunjali surrendered to the Zamorin on a promise that his life would be spared. He was handed over to the Portuguese, taken to Goa and beheaded. The fort was pulled down. The Zamorin had lost the sea captains who had kept his trade alive for a hundred years.
The fall of Kunjali IV ended the Zamorin’s naval power; within a few years he was courting the Dutch against the Portuguese.
