Geospatial Analysis of Historical Cartographic Data of Kollam Fort

The port of Kollam (Quilon) in Kerala had been an important trading centre for many centuries. Its significance as a landing point for traders is evident from its colonial history when there were repeated attempts to take over possession of this location. Being an important site, Kollam was frequently mapped by Europeans from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. The historical maps and views of Kollam contain vital information about the history, archaeology and geography of the area. Remote sensing and GIS can provide a real-world spatial context to these archived geographical documents of varied scales and types, drawn at different times spanning more than four centuries. The present study harnesses the potential of RS and GIS in integrating information present in the maps of such heterogeneous nature to advance the historical and archaeological knowledge of the Kollam fort. The integration of the maps of the different time, scale and style with the help of RS and GIS yielded information that was previously unknown. The present study has discovered the extant remains of the Portuguese and the Dutch fort that were not identified before and contributed to the scholarship on the construction, restoration, the extent and usage of the fort during its occupation by various European powers.