Udayagiri Fort 3.79

There are two forts named Udayagiri Fort in South India.Fort in Tamil Nadu (Kanyakumari District)LocationThe fort in Tamil Nadu is located from Nagercoil in Thuckalay Town, Kanyakumari District on the Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil National highway at Puliyoorkurichi. This was the most important military barracks of the Travancore rulers, when Padmanabhapuram was their capital.HistoryOriginally built in the 17th century, the fort was rebuilt by Maharaja Marthanda Varma of Travancore in the 18th century.Enclosing an area of about, including an isolated, the fort contains an old foundry which was used for casting guns.The fort was rebuilt during the reign of Marthanda Varma, between 1741-44 under the supervision of Eustachius De Lannoy, a Flemish naval commander of the Dutch East India Company, who later served as the Chief of the Travancore Army.In the early days, the fort was of strategic importance. Prisoners captured in the campaign against Tippu Sultan were confined in the fort for some time. In 1810, the East India Company's Army under Colonel Leger marched into Travancore through the Aramboly Pass (Aralvaimozhi) to quell a rebellion under the leadership of Velu Thambi Dalava.In later years, English East India Company troops were stationed at the fort until the middle of the 19th century. A foundry for the manufacture of guns, mortars and cannonballs was established within the fort under the supervision of the resident General.