Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu

A finely executed 18th Century watercolour view of Negapatnam, the capital of the Dutch Coromandel.

This attractive original watercolour view depicts the major Dutch East India Company (VOC) factory town of Negapatnam on the Cormandel Coast, as it appeared during the mid-18th Century. To the right side of the view is the walled Dutch town, dominated by Fort Vijf Sinnen (built in 1687), from which flies a tall pole bearing the VOC flag.

To the right (north) of the town are Tamil fishing villages, while the silhouette of an ancient Hindu Temple rises in the centre of the view. In the foreground, dhows and rowing boats ply the waters of the Bay of Bengal. The Portuguese first established a factory at Negapatnam in 1554. In 1658, the VOC took Negapatnam and by 1663 had evicted the Portuguese from the region. The town was a major entrepôt for the pepper trade and played a key role in the VOC’s “Pepper War” against the English East India Company in 1682.

In 1690, Negapatnam became the capital of the Dutch Coromandel, and retained this role until it was captured by the British in 1781.