Fort Cochin is believed to be the oldest European
Settlement in India and St. Francis Church was the first European Church
to be built in India. The history of this Church reflects the colonial
struggle of European powers in India, from the 15th to 20th Centuries.
The Portuguese Vasco da Gama was the first European to discover the sea
route to India. In 1503 Alphonso Alburquerque was given permission by
the Rajah of Cochin to build a fort at the mouth of the river. Within
the Fort they erected a church of wood, which was dedicated to St.
Bartholomew. A new Church was completed in 1516 and dedicated to St.
Antony. The Church remained in the Order of St. Francis until the
arrival of the Dutch in 1663. They demolished all the convents and
churches of the place, except the Church of the Franciscans, which they
reconditioned and converted into their Government Church.
The change of name of the patron saint was presumably during the time
of to the Anglicans. On the northern side can be seen Portuguese
gravestones. The Dutch gravestones are on the southern wall. The Vasco
da Gama stone is on the ground at the southern side. The Church became a
protected monument in April 1923 under the Protected Monuments Act of
1904. The Cenotaph in memory of the residents of Cochin who fell in the
First Great War was erected in 1920.
