Arrival of Europeans in Kerala

Arrival of Portuguese in Kerala (1498 - 1663)

The first Europeans to come to Kerala were the Portuguese. In 1498, the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama landed at Kappad in Kozhikode. This was the beginning of an eventful period. It marked the beginning of a Vasco da Gama era in the history of Asia. The European colonialism that lasted for five centuries was initiated with the arrival of the Portuguese. The Portuguese broke the dominance of the Arabs in the Malabar trade. They established a monopoly on trade in the Indian Ocean by establishing the Cartaz system. They entered into trade agreements with the rulers of Kozhikode, Kannur, Kochi and Kollam. The Portuguese were able to maintain their monopoly on eastern trade until the end of the nineteenth century. Their trade monopoly was challenged with the arrival of the Dutch. The Portuguese presence in Kerala lasted until 1663 when the Dutch captured Cochin. vikari, factory, pathakkam, mesthiri, lelam (auction), kushini (kitchen), jannal (window), alamara (cupboard), kumbasaram (confessional), mesha (table), chavi (key), kasera (chair), bench, chaya (tea), ranthal (lantern), muram, vijagiri, kontha, verandah and godown are some of the word contributions made by the Portuguese to the Malayalam language. 

Kunjali Marakkar

The biggest threat to the Portuguese dream of maritime dominance was the naval force of the brave Kunjali Marakkars. It was because of their opposition that the Portuguese were unable to gain a foothold in Kozhikode. The origin of the Kunjali Marakkar is not clearly known. Some say that they were sea traders in Kochi. When the Portuguese became the favorites of the King of Kochi, the Kunjali left Kochi and went to Kozhikode. The Zamorin used their services. Gradually, the Kunjali became the captains of the Zamorin's navy. Kunjali and his men attacked in a fast-moving boat. By the time the Portuguese ships began to resist, Kunjali would have returned after the attack!

The Kunjalimarakar army was lurking on the western coast of India from Kanyakumari to the coast of Kutch. Every year, the Portuguese lost a large number of ships and goods to their attacks. Despite their efforts, the Portuguese could not drive away Kunjali's army. The fourth Zamorin of Kunjalimarakar gave permission to build a fort and start a shipbuilding center in Puthupattanam. In addition to this, this naval commander gave all the powers that the Nair Madambis had. This made the Nair Madambis jealous. The Portuguese, who understood their inner state, realized that this was the perfect opportunity to deceive the Zamorin and the Kunjalimarakar. The Portuguese paid off some of the Zamorin's courtiers and Madambis. They also paid off some of the prominent people in Kunjali's navy. The espionage was carried out smoothly on both sides.

The Portuguese managed to convince the Zamorin that the Marakkars had become greedy and arrogant. The Zamorin, without respecting his opinion, allowed the Portuguese to build a fort in Ponnani, which caused great distress to Kunjali. Envious people on both sides tried hard to inflame the differences of opinion between the Zamorin and Kunjali. Finally, the Portuguese cunning tactics succeeded. The Zamorin and Kunjali decided to clash. The Zamorin sought the help of the Portuguese to destroy the Marakkar army. The Portuguese army attacked Kunjali from the sea and the Zamorin's army from the land. Still, Kunjali could not be defeated in the initial stage.

The Zamorin and his men came a second time with more equipment. They surrounded the Puthupattanam fort and launched a fierce attack from land and sea. After a few days, the stock of food began to decrease in Kunjali's fort. Finally, the fierce and powerful warlord laid down his sword before the Zamorin, pleading for his life! But the Zamorin had to obey the Portuguese's order to release Kunjali. The patriot was taken to Goa and brutally murdered.

Four Kunjalees

Kunjali is a title given by the Zamorin to the naval commander! There were four prominent Kunjalis. Kunjali I led the Zamorin's navy in the first half of the 16th century. Kunjali II held the position from 1531 to 1571, and Kunjali III from 1575 to 1595. Kunjali IV became the naval commander from 1595.

Arrival of Dutch in Kerala (1602 - 1795)

In 1604, a Dutch fleet arrived in Calicut. Soon after, the Dutch made a treaty with the Zamorin of Calicut. According to this, the Dutch were given the right to establish a fort in the Calicut port. They also entered into treaties with the chiefs of Purakkad and Kayamkulam. This helped them to collect agricultural resources such as pepper, ginger, etc. They were also able to defeat the Portuguese and gain a trading monopoly in Kollam. The Dutch established a trading post at Colachel in Kanyakumari. Marthanda Varma, the ruler of Travancore, later occupied Colachel and fortified it. The Dutch attempt to capture Colachel from Travancore ended in a battle in 1741. This is known as the Colachel War. The defeat of the Dutch in this war led to the collapse of Dutch power on the southwest coast of India.

Hortus Malabaricus

Hortus Malabaricus is the first book in the world to provide information about most of the plants of a region, including their scientific names and medicinal properties. Even three centuries after its publication, this book is very famous all over the world. Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein (1636-1691) was the Dutch governor of Cochin in the second half of the 17th century. He was the one arranged for the collection of the information for this historical book, spent the money, and supervised its printing. Therefore, the author of Hortus Malabaricus is named after van Rheed.

Van Rheed was not a botanist. The Hortus was prepared for him by many others. The prominent folk doctors of Kerala at that time, Itti Achuthan, Appu Bhatt, Ranga Bhatt, Vinayaka Pandit and Fr. Mathews are the most important of them. Van Rheed has included the names and notes of all these in the first part of the book. The Hortus Malabaricus contains information about the medicinal plants of the Asian continent that is not available anywhere else. It is also a valuable medical book containing the diseases and treatments.

This Book has Twelve volumes. More than 740 plants. 791 images! Hortus Malabaricus is one of the greatest books ever written in Malayalam. Hortus Malabaricus also holds the record of being the first book printed in Malayalam letters. It is said that Hortus Malabaricus was published in Latin. In it, the names of the plants are given in Malayalam, Konkani, Portuguese and Dutch. The description of each plant begins with the names recorded in different languages.

The pages of Hortus Malabaricus are twice the size of regular book pages (folio size). Van Rheed and his colleagues tried to depict the images as close to their actual size as possible. Therefore, the images are presented as if they were on two pages. In the case of trees, a branch with leaves, flowers, and fruits are presented. Small plants are depicted with their roots. All the images of flowers are drawn in such a way that the petals are removed so that the inside can be seen clearly. All the fruits and seeds are depicted in cross-sections so that the details of their insides are clear.

All plants are introduced in almost the same way. Starting from the root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed, everything is explained in detail. After describing the scientific facts of each plant, their color, smell, taste, and other characteristics and medicinal properties are explained. How people use them is also added. Volumes one to four of Hortus Malabaricus talk about trees and single-stemmed trees. Volumes five and six talk about shrubs. Volumes seven and eight talk about medicinal plants. Hortus Malabaricus has a total of 1,616 pages

Arrival of Denmark in Kerala

Denmark had two trading posts in Kerala - Colachel and Edava. The Denmark supplied guns, lead, copper, ammunition, etc. to Travancore and collected pepper in return. They completely abstained from interfering in the internal affairs of Travancore.

Arrival of British in Kerala (1615 - 1947)

The British, a European power, came to Kerala in the early 17th century. With the help of the Zamorin, the British tried to expel the Portuguese from central Kerala. For this, Captain Keeling made a treaty with the Zamorin. They exported pepper from Cochin to England. They obtained permission from the ruler of Venad to build a factory in Vizhinjam. They also built similar factories in Attingal, Angelo and Thalassery.

Malabar Manual

A 'manual' is a collection of historical records and describes them. During the British rule, the Madras government decided to prepare a manual on the historical records of each district. William Logan was the Malabar Collector at that time. Logan, who had been here for some time, was assigned the task of preparing the manual. With the care and caution of a researcher, he studied and understood the matters well and prepared the manual. The first chapter of the Malabar Manual talks about the geographical features. The second part explains the castes, religions, customs, language, literature and education here. The third chapter is about the history. The fourth chapter contains matters related to agriculture. The history of the regions has been written by examining as many ancient texts as possible, asking scholars and bringing in documents from outside.

Logan says that before the foreigners established their dominance in Malabar, the Nairs were the dominant people. Logan argues that a proper administrative system emerged here only after the arrival of the foreigners. In addition to all this, the manual includes Mappila songs and Thacholipattu, which are part of the northern songs, according to the context. The Malabar Manual contains much more than what is needed for official purposes. William Logan took care to view things without taking sides. All but one of the three parts are official documents. This book, which is very useful for those studying history, can be said to be a compilation of government documents of that time. It mentions all the important matters related to the Malabar district.

Although the author of the famous book Malabar Manual is a foreigner named William Logan, it also ranks among the rare books that India has gifted to the world. Logan was helped by ancient documents and books from our country in writing the Malabar Manual. Not only that, he was also a person who lived in India for many years. Therefore, we can be proud of the Malabar Manual as well.

Arrival of French in Kerala (1721 - 1954)

The last European colonial power to arrive in Kerala was the French, who were keen. The French also came to Kerala for trade purposes. They registered a trading company in 1719. In 1722, the French company obtained the right to establish a trading post at Mayyazhi from the King of Kadatha Nadu. In 1724, they built a fort at Mayyazhi to secure their trade. In 1725, a naval commander named Diper Bhella and his team arrived near Thalassery and captured Mayyazhi. There were several conflicts between the English and the French in Kerala. Between 1744 and 1863, the British tried to break the power of the French in India through three wars fought mainly in the Carnatic, on the coast of Madras.

Europeans wanted to export slaves from the east and west coasts of South India. They obtained permission from the ruler of Vadakara to trade in Mahe. Thus, Kerala became a battleground for competition and struggle for commercial supremacy among the European powers. The British were the ones who ultimately won this struggle by the end of the 18th century.