A Brief History of Bakel fort

                According to the South Canara Manual and some other research works it was built by Shivappa Nayak of Bednore (1645-1660) but this view is not accepted by all scholars. The area was in ancient days under the Kadamba dynasty and later under the Kolathiri Rajas. Subsequently it became part of theVijayanagar Empire. As stated earlier, the Kolathiris themselves might have built the fort to protect the local palace.

                After the decline of Vijayanagar in the Battle of Talikotta in 1565 it was captured by the Raja of Bednore and he gave its name to a subdivision of that kingdom.

                Bakel fort fell into the hands of Haider Ali in 1763. It housed the Huzur of Canara during Tipu's time and the remains of a gallow reminiscent of the days of Mysorean occupation were seen here till a few years back.

                After the overthrow of Tipu Sultan in 1799 Bekal was incorporated into the dominions of the English East India Company. The erstwhile Kasaragod taluk of South Canara District was known as Bekal for more than half a century.