French (1777), Spanish (1778), and Basel Mission Maps of Mangalore

Two French maps and one Spanish map of give details of Haidar Ali’s Mangalore. The French maps are presently preserved in the archives in Vincennes and Aix-en-Provence, France. The first was drawn by Lafitte de Brassier who visited the town in 1777 with the French fleet. His instructions were to compile an accurate map that would allow the French, who were then Haidar’s allies, use the harbor for military purposes. The second map was made in 1786 using Lafitte’s work for reference. It adds a few more details and is clearer. The following details are taken from the three maps. 

Map drawn by Lafont (France) 1777

Gomez’s Spanish map of Mangalore was drawn by him on the return journey to Manila in 1777. It is rich in details. To collect them, Gomez made regular visits to the town. He writes his meanderings about the town with measuring instruments raised suspicion among local officials. The map gives precise locations of the fort and port facilities, buildings and places of importance, indications of scale and detailed references to and built environment (including mosques, government buildings, and storage) in the text boxes on the bottom. He knows the Netravati as the Mangalore River, and the Gurpur as the Corial (Kodial) River. He provides details of sandbars and depths of the rivers. Ships of various sizes lie anchored on both rivers.

Spanish Map 1778

All three maps give details of a considerably larger area than the Portuguese maps which are confined only to Sao Sebastio and neighbouring area. In the French map of 1786, the abandoned Sao Sebastio site occupies a very small space on the extreme right and bottom of the map. It gives a realistic idea of the extent of “Portuguese Mangalore”. To its south, we see the inlet from the Netravati shown in the Portuguese maps being used as a construction site for boats and probably ships. To its south is a defence line of batteries and redoubts that stretch from the shore to a small hill a little distance to the west.  English Spanish     

To the north of the old site of Sao Sebastiao, the little stream in the Portuguese maps becomes a much longer one, one end emptying into the Netravati while the other end curves northward and encompasses the fields beyond the town. Some distance upstream is the gunpowder factory.[1]

Moving towards Haidars’s fort from Sao Sebastiao, Rosario Church is clearly shown in the spot where it still stands today. It has a large central nave facing the north with a high tiled roof and a tiled adjunct of lower height running along its length. To its north, lies the old Portuguese factory or wharehouse. It was built c1714 (Ikerri Treaties). Redoubts were constructed for four cannon which guarded the river access (French and Spanish maps,  Venn). 

The fort is located a little to the north of the factory, directly facing the bar. Built in the form of a square, it is surrounded by a moat on the north, east, and south. On the west is the river front. Facing it, on the strip of land called Bengre across the Gurpur, the circular military fortification known as the Octogon Tower is clearly visible. 

On the fort’s northern side, is a prominent building surrounded by open space, identified as the palace. Gomez clarifies it is the old palace of the Kings of Kanara which was now used as the Durbar and audience hall of the Governor. It is in the town also called Corial or Kodial. A gate connects it to the fort’s northern side. Between it and the river front, lie the lodgings of the admiral. The Kutcherry or government offices were located between this site and the fort.

The town stretched northward along the Gurpur until modern day Car Street. On Gomez’s map, a small stream/trench is shown flowing parallel to Car Street from the direction of the Kadri hills and emptying itself into the river. On the southern side of this stream, the line of fortifications was built by the English force that had taken Mangalore in 1768. It extended from the river front to Kadri hills (Light House Hill), and turned southward along the top of the ridge before descending and terminating before Milagres Church. It had bastions for gun emplacements and guarded two main roads to Mangalore from the north. This route gave attacking forces the main land access to Mangalore, for it was guarded by Sultan Battery (built by Tipu) and Urwa Fort (Bangar Rajas). A short distance south of Milagres, beyond some fields, is the gunpowder factory.  

The French and Spanish maps were drawn up to provide military and navigation information to their ships likely to sail to Mangalore. Both nations were endeavoring to form military and commercial alliances with Haidar. They give us a valuable insight into the port town that became Haidar’s main gateway to the sea and a means to challenge the East India Company’s growing naval and military power in India and a crucial time in its pre-colonial history. They reveal that the town extended along the Netravati and Gurpur rivers from Car Street/ Kulur Ferry Crossing in the north to Bolar in the south, and a short distance inland to the west, to Kadri hills and Milagres. Its main vulnerability to enemy attack, however came from the sea. That was where Haidar built his fort along European designs with the assistance of the French engineer Catini at a cost of Rs 20 lakhs.[2]

Basel Mission Map 1859

The Basel Mission map dates to 1859. It was meant to provide supplementary information on the missionary activity of the organization in South Kanara. A plan of Mangalore is provided in an inset. It shows the site of the ruined fort. The moat still exists, as does the wall and one bastion on its southern side. The kutchery, treasury, and post office are now all located within the old area. A marine station is located at the river inlet at the old Sao Sebastiao site. The bridge to Bangher, Rosario, and Milagres are all shown. The old Portuguese factory site is occupied by bungalows occupied by Catholics and British officers. The rest of the map mainly shows the military camps and Basel Mission institutions.

References

• Jean-Marie Lafont. Naval Gazing  in The Indian Quarterly – A Literary & Cultural Magazine. https://indianquarterly.com/?p=2152

• Birgit Tremml-Werner. The Elephant in the Archive: Knowledge Construction and Late Eighteenth-Century Global Diplomacy. Itinerario (2023), 47, 185–202. doi:10.1017/S0165115323000165

[1] The gunpowder was manufactured by women whose pounding was so synchronised that only one sound could be heard

[2] Tipu demolished it and built the Jamalabad Fort