Calicut (kingdom)

The kingdom of Kozhikode (Malayalam: ), also known as Calicut, was the kingdom of the Zamorin of Calicut, in the present-day Indian state of Kerala. Present-day Kozhikode is the second largest city in Kerala, as well as the headquarters of Kozhikode district.

Kozhikode was dubbed the "city of spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices during the Middle Ages and probably as early as Classical antiquity. The port at Kozhikode held the superior economic and political position in medieval Kerala coast, while Kannur, Kollam, and Kochi, were commercially important secondary ports, where the traders from various parts of the world would gather.''The Portuguese, Indian Ocean and European Bridgeheads 1500–1800''. Festschrift in Honour of Prof. K. S. Mathew (2001). Edited by: Pius Malekandathil and T. Jamal Mohammed. Fundacoa Oriente. Institute for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities of MESHAR (Kerala). It was once the capital of an independent kingdom by the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District. The port at Kozhikode acted as the gateway to medieval South Indian coast for the Persians, the Arabs, the Chinese, and finally the Europeans.

Foundation

The ancient port of Tyndis which was located on the northern side of Muziris, as mentioned in the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', was somewhere around Kozhikode. Its exact location is a matter of dispute. The suggested locations are Ponnani, Tanur, Beypore-Chaliyam-Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu, and Koyilandy. Tyndis was a major center of trade, next only to Muziris, between the Cheras and the Roman Empire. Pliny the Elder (1st century CE) states that the port of ''Tyndis'' was located at the northwestern border of ''Keprobotos'' (Chera dynasty).Gurukkal, R., & Whittaker, D. (2001). In search of Muziris. ''Journal of Roman Archaeology'', ''14'', 334–350. The North Malabar region, which lies north of the port at ''Tyndis'', was ruled by the kingdom of Ezhimala during Sangam period. According to the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', a region known as ''Limyrike'' began at '' Naura'' and ''Tyndis''. However the Ptolemy mentions only ''Tyndis'' as the ''Limyrikes starting point. The region probably ended at Kanyakumari; it thus roughly corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast. The value of Rome's annual trade with the region was estimated at around 50,000,000 sesterces. Pliny the Elder mentioned that ''Limyrike'' was prone by pirates. The Cosmas Indicopleustes mentioned that the ''Limyrike'' was a source of peppers.

During the Sangam period (3rd4thcenturyBC), the land where Kozhikode now stands was an uninhabited region of the Chera Empire. This land, part of the larger Tamilakam partly fell within the ''Kudanad'' (Western land; west of Kongunad) to the south and partly within ''Puzhinad'' (marshy tract) to the north. The dominion of the Cheras extended as far as present-day Vatakara, beyond which lay the kingdom of Eli ( Ezhi). The ports of the Chera empire played an important role in fostering trade relations between Kerala and the outside world. According to scholars, Tyndis or Tondi (present-day Kadalundi or Ponnani) to the south of Kozhikode was a flourishing seaport. During the 9th century, this region became a part of the Second Chera Empire. The Cheras (also known as Perumals) ruled the territory until 1102.

The rise of Calicut as a major trading centre and a port city does not seem to have happened before the 13th century. The Zamorin of Calicut was originally the ruler of Eranad, which was a minor principality located in the northern parts of present-day Malappuram district. His headquarters was Nediyiruppu in Kondotty. Later it was the ''Eradi'' (The ruler of Eranad), who came to be known as Zamorin, and developed the port at Kozhikode. Eranad was ruled by a Samanthan Nair clan known as Eradis, similar to the Vellodis of neighbouring Valluvanad and Nedungadis of Nedunganad. The rulers of Eranad were known by the title ''Eralppad''/''Eradi''. While the first reference to the kingdom of Calicut and Saamoothiri is made by Ibn Battuta in his accounts (1342–1347), there is no reference to Calicut by Marco Polo, who visited Kerala towards the end of the 13th Century. He does, however, mention the kingdom of Eli. This provides a clue to a plausible date for the rise of Calicut as a major kingdom on the Kerala coast. Nevertheless, Prof. Krishna Ayyar has assigned 1034CE as the year of the foundation of the city.Ayyar, K.V. Krishna, The Zamorins of Calicut- From the Earliest Times to A.D.1806(1938), Calicut.

According to the '' Keralolpathi'' (''Genesis of Kerala''), the last of the Chera kings, Cheraman Perumal, partitioned the kingdom among his feudatories and secretly left for Mecca with some Arab traders where he embraced Islam and lived the rest of his life in obscurity in Arabia. The date of this partition is a significant turning point in the history of Kerala. It is now clear that the Cheraman Perumals ruled in the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries and that the last Cheraman Perumal was Rama Varma Kulasekhara (1089–1102). Although there is no basis for the last Perumal's conversion to Islam and pilgrimage to Mecca, it is now accepted that following his mysterious disappearance the land was partitioned and that the governors of different ''Nadus'' (fiefdoms) gained independence, proclaiming it as their 'gift' from the last sovereign. M.G.S. Narayanan,Calicut: The City of Truth(2006) Calicut University Publications

There is some ambiguity regarding the exact course of events that led to the establishment of the zamorin's rule over Calicut. According to Prof. A. Sreedhara Menon (who entirely rejects the story of Cheraman Perumal's disappearance, his conversion to Islam and the subsequent gifts to his feudatories), immediately following the 'fall' of the Rama Kulasekhara, Calicut and its suburbs formed part of the Polanad kingdom ruled by the ''Porlatiri'', which was a vassal state to the Kolathunadu based at North Malabar. The Eradis of Nediyirippu in Ernad (somewhere around present Kondotty) were land-locked and sought an outlet to the sea to initiate trade and commerce with distant lands. To accomplish this, the Eradis marched with their ''nairs'' towards Panniyankara and besieged the ''Porlatiri'' in his headquarters, resulting in a 50-year war. The Eradis emerged victorious in their conquest of Polanad. After this, Menokkis were made as the ruler of ''Polanad'' and came to terms with the troops and people. After this, the town of Calicut was founded close to the palace at Tali. Then, the Eradis shifted their headquarters from Nediyirippu to Calicut. The Governor of Ernad built a fort at a place called Velapuram to safeguard his new interests. The fort most likely lent its name to ''Koyil Kotta'' the precursor to Calicut.

However, M.G.S. Narayanan in his book, Calicut: The City of Truth states that the Governor of Eranad, Mana Vikrama (who became the Zamorin of Calicut later) was, in fact, a favourite of the last Ceraman Perumal, Rama Kulasekara as the former was at the forefront of the wars with the Chola-Pandya forces to the South and led the army to victory. The King, therefore, granted him, as a mark of favour, a small tract of land on the sea-coast in addition to his hereditary possessions. This patch of wasteland is called ''Cullikkad'' in the ''Keralolpathi''. To corroborate his assertion that Mana Vikrama was, in fact, a favourite of the last Perumal, Narayanan cites a stone inscription of the last ruler (1102) discovered at Kollam in South Kerala. It refers to ''Nalu taliyum ayiram arunurruvarum eranadu vazhkai Manavikiraman mutalayulla camantarum''-'The four Councillors, The Thousand, The Six Hundred, along with Mana Vikrama, the Governor of Eranad and other Feudatories'.

However, the Eradis being land-locked lacked direct access to the coastline as the territory of Polanad (''Porakilanad'') lay between Eranad and Calicut. Having been given the royal sword and the injunction ''Cattum konnum adakki kolka'' (conquer by courting and conferring death) by the last Ceraman (according to Keralolpathi), the Ernad ''Utayavar'' (Governor) waged war against the Porlatiri (''Porakilar Adhikari'') and attacked Panniyankara. M.G.S seems to indicate that the land sought by the Ernadis, lay in fact beyond and not within the kingdom of Polanad.

With the conquest of Polanad, the status of the ''Utayavar'' (Governor) increased and he came to be known as Swami Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad and the kingdom of Calicut also came to known as ''Nediyiruppu Swarupam'' after the original house of the Eradis at Nediyiruppu. The king's title gradually evolved into ''Samoothirippadu'' or Saamoothiri or ''Saamoori'' over the years. The Europeans called him Zamorin. The foundation of the city of Calicut was therefore laid during the initial years of the 12th century. The Sweetmeat Street (''Mittayi Theruvu'') was an important trading street under Zamorin's rule.

In the 14th century, Kozhikode conquered larger parts of central Kerala after the seize of Tirunavaya region from Valluvanad, which were under the control of the king of ''Perumbadappu Swaroopam'' (Cochin). The ruler of Perumpadappu was forced to shift his capital (c. CE 1405) further south from Kodungallur to Kochi. In the 15th century, the status of Cochin was reduced to a vassal state of Kozhikode, thus leading to the emergence of Kozhikode as the most powerful kingdom in medieval Malabar Coast.

The history of Kozhikode can roughly be divided into several periods marked by a few epoch-making events. These include the city's establishment, the arrival of the Portuguese, the arrival of the Dutch, the Mysorean Invasion, the rise of British Power, the beginning of the Indian Independence Movement and finally freedom from British rule in 1947.

Society and organization

According to the Chinese traveler Ma Huan, who describes visiting Calicut in the Yingya Shenglan, Calicut was a place with relative harmony between its Hindu and Muslim populations. Huan also described worship of Moses existing in addition to Islam and Hinduism, which Huan mistakenly identified as Buddhism. Additionally detailed was the existence of a complex system of measurements for trade, as well as a system of succession in which the king's sister's son inherited the throne, due to a belief that legal family only constituted those born from a woman within said family; if no such heir existed, the throne would be passed to "some man of merit."

Arrival of the Portuguese

This single event marked an epoch in the history of Kerala and India, not because Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India (the Chinese, the Arab and Turkish sultanates, and the African kingdoms already traded directly with India) but, unlike the others, the Portuguese yearned for political power, and religious and imperial domination. Vasco da Gama's fame is more often argued as due to historical reasons for which he was hardly responsiblePanickar.K.M, A History of Kerala(1959) Annamalai University in that he was accompanied by a Portuguese-speaking Arab merchant provided by the Sultan of Melinda in East Africa. Vasco da Gama was sent by King Manuel I and landed in Calicut at Kappad on 17 May 1498. Following the discovery of a sea route from Europe to Malabar in 1498, the Portuguese began to expand their territories and ruled the seas between Ormus and the Malabar Coast and south to Ceylon. The navigator was received with traditional hospitality, but an audience with the Zamorin failed to produce any concrete results. Vasco da Gama's request for permission to leave a factor behind him in charge of the merchandise he could not sell was declined by the King, who insisted that da Gama pay customs duty like any other trader, straining the relationship between the two. The next expedition was sent by the King of Portugal under the leadership of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500. His agent secured a settlement to erect a factory at Calicut. This, however, precipitated matters between the Arabs and the Portuguese, mainly due to the intransigence of the Portuguese distrust of the Arabs/Muslims. This was a carryover from the crusades. The Portuguese capture of Arab vessels and ensuing massacre was retaliated by the locals who burned down the factory and butchered half of the Portuguese on land. Cabral sailed for Cochin, where he was cordially received and allowed to load his ships. Vasco da Gama reached Calicut the second time with 15 ships and 800 men in February 1502. In January 1502, the First Battle of Cannanore between the Third Portuguese Armada and kingdom of Cochin under João da Nova and Zamorin of Kozhikode's navy marked the beginning of Portuguese conflicts in the Indian Ocean. When da Gama's call to expel all Muslims from Calicut was vehemently turned down, he bombarded the city and captured several rice vessels, cutting off the Muslim crew's hands, ears, and noses.

With rising bonhomie between the Maharaja of Cochin and the Portuguese, there followed several wars in which the Portuguese propped up Cochin and Cannanore against the Zamorin. Scores of men perished in these wars on all sides starting in 1503 and continuing till the early 1570s. In February 1509, the defeat of the joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, and the Zamorin of Calicut with support of the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire in Battle of Diu marked the beginning of Portuguese dominance of the Spice trade and the Indian Ocean. In the same year, Afonso de Albuquerque was appointed the second Viceroy of the Portuguese possessions in the East. A new fleet under Marshall Coutinho arrived with specific instructions to destroy the power of Calicut. The Portuguese fleet was not successful in subduing the Zamorin. The Zamorin's forces were successful in killing Marshall Coutinho and wounding Albuquerque, forcing Albuquerque to sue for peace and enter into a treaty in 1513 to protect Portuguese interests in Kerala. Hostilities were renewed when the Portuguese attempted to assassinate the Zamorin sometime between 1515 and 1518. From the 1520s the Zamorin's naval fleet was administered by the Kunjali Marakkars who inflicted heavy damages to Portuguese property till 1589. The Zamorin was assisted mainly by four ministers namely Mangatachan the Chief Minister, Dharmoth Panicker, Army Chief and Teacher of Martial Arts, Kuthiravatathu Nair, Finance Minister and Kunjali Marakars, Chief of Naval Force.

In 1503, the Portuguese had built a fort in Chaliyam with the consent of the Raja of the kingdom of Tanur (Vettattnad) from where they re-established supremacy over Indian waters. It provided the Portuguese ample opportunities to harass the Zamorin and enter the heart of his kingdom in the event of war. The Chaliyam fort was 'like a pistol held at the Zamorin's throat'. The Zamorin attacked Chaliyam and recaptured the fort in 1571 coinciding with the defeat of the ruler of Vijayanagara, an ally of the Portuguese. The Portuguese were forced to abandon the fort, which was then completely demolished. The fall of Chaliyam fort marked the beginning of the end for the Portuguese in the great game of the East. The Portuguese approached the Zamorin again in 1578 for reconciliation. By 1588 they were settled in Calicut and in 1591 built a church on land donated by the Zamorin (who even laid the foundation stone). The arrival of the Dutch East India Company on the scene in 1604 started the decline of the Portuguese influence on the Malabar coast.

Arrival of the Dutch

In 1602, the Zamorin sent messages to Aceh promising the Dutch a fort at Kozhikode if they would come and trade there. Two factors, Hans de Wolff and Lafer, were sent on an Asian ship from Aceh, but the two were captured by the chief of Tanur, and handed over to the Portuguese.Sanjay Subrahmanyam. "The Political Economy of Commerce: Southern India 1500–1650". Cambridge University Press, 2002 A Dutch fleet under Admiral Steven van der Hagen arrived at Kozhikode in November 1604. It marked the beginning of the Dutch presence in Kerala and they concluded a treaty with Kozhikode on 11 November 1604, which was also the first treaty that the Dutch East India Company made with an Indian ruler. By this time the kingdom and the port of Kozhikode was much reduced in importance. The treaty provided for a mutual alliance between the two to expel the Portuguese from Malabar. In return the Dutch East India Company was given facilities for trade at Kozhikode and Ponnani, including spacious storehouses. It provided for a mutual alliance between the Zamorin and the Dutch to expel the Portuguese from Indian soil. In return, they were given facilities for trade at Calicut, including spacious storehouses. In the 18th century the Dutch position weakened and they were forced to surrender to a British force that marched from Calicut to Cochin on 20 October 1795 (as part of the larger Napoleonic Wars between Holland and England in Europe). Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the powerful Zamorin of Kozhikode in the battle of Purakkad

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