Saamoothiri
Encyclopedia
Zamorin is the title used by the Hindu
Eradi
Samanthan kshatriya
rulers of the erstwhile late medieval
feudal kingdom of Kozhikode (Nediyirippu Swarūpam) located in the present day state of Kerala
, India
.
The Samoothiris ruled between the 12th and 18th century AD based in Kozhikode
, the most important trading port on the Malabar Coast
and were the most powerful kings of Kerala during the Middle Age
s. They were a close ally of the Muslim
-Arab
s, the primary traders
on the Coast in the Middle Age
s. After the disintegration of the Chera kingdom
in early 12th century, the Saamoothiris were the only rulers who were capable of and came close to establishing a pan-Kerala state. The relative absence of family quarrels and splits as in other Nair
Royal families like Kingdom of Kochi and Kolathunad was one of the factors in the dramatic success of the Samoothiris. The Samoothiris had their second capital at Ponnani
and held most of the other important trading ports on the across Coast. The Kunhali Marakkars, the Muslim admirals, were the naval chiefs of the Samoothiris. The control over these ports provided the Samoothiri a vast income of foreign money and they fought numerous battles with their local neighbors, prominently with Valluvanad and Kingdom of Kochi, for supremacy over the ports and the fertile banks of the Bharathappuzha
. The wars with an alliance of Valluvanad and Perumpadapu is related to the famous Mamankam festival
s.
The Portuguese
trader and navigator Vasco da Gama
visited the Saamoothiri of Kozhikode on May 18, 1498, opening the sailing route directly from Europe
to India
. But, later in the history the Samoothiris turned out to be the worst rivals of the Portuguese
on the Malabar coast.
The local legend goes
that during the legendary partition of Kerala, the Chera dynasty
king didn't give any land to his most trusted Nair
lieutenant, the Eradi (Eradis were hereditary governors of Eralnad province in the Chera kingdom). Due to his feeling of guilt, the king gave his personal sword (Odaval) and his favourite prayer conch
(which was broken) to his lieutenant and told him to occupy as much as land he can, with all his might. So, the general conquered
his neighboring Nair
states and created a powerful kingdom for himself. As a token of his respect to the Chera king, the Samoothiris adopted the logo of two crossed swords, with a broken conch
in the middle and a lighted lamp above it. Soon this became the official emblem of Malabar, until 1766 AD, when Mysore state under the leadership of Hyder Ali
defeated the Samoothiris and annexed the state.
The Saamoothiri initiated the annual Revathi Pattathanam
at the Tali Siva temple in Calicut. The present Saamoothiri is His Highness P. K. S. Raja of Puthiya Kovilakam (Thiruvannur).
.
Ibn Battuta
visited the country in the 14th century and only refers to the rulers as Kunnalakkonathiri or Punthureshan. However, then the Eradi
s assumed the title of Samudrāthiri ("one who has the sea for his border"). The title Samudrāthiri was shortened to Sāmoothiri over time in common usage. Some argue that it originated from the name of an Eradi
minister of the Cheras
(called Chozhisamudri).
was founded on a marshy tract along the Malabar coast
in 1034 AD. The Eradi
s with their capital at Nediyiruppu
(somewhere around present Kondotty
) were land-locked and sought an outlet to the sea. The Eradis subsequently moved their capital to the coastal marshy lands of Kozhikode
, then also called Thrivikramapuram.
During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Calicut was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices
. The name Kozhikode is thought to be derived from Koyil (Palace) + Kota (Fort) meaning 'Fortified Palace'. The place was also referred to as Chullikkad meaning 'shrubby jungle' probably referring to the marshy nature of the land. Others have called the city by different names. The Arab
s called it Kalikooth, Tamil
s called the city Kallikkottai, for the Chinese
it was Kalifo. The word Kozhikode
(Calicut) is also thought to have derived from a fine variety of hand-woven cotton cloth called Calico that was exported from the port of Kozhikode.
Ponnani
was the second capital of the Samoothiris, further south on the Malabar coast.
s are connected to several other Eradi clans who are resident in Nilambur
, Ponnani
and nearby localities in Malappuram district. The second in line successor to the throne is known as Eralppad (Eranad Ilamkur Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad) and he resides in Eranad (northern parts of present day Malappuram district) itself. The third was Eranad Moonnamkur Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad, the fourth known as Itattoornad Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad and the fifth Nediyiruppu Mootta Eradi Thirumulpad.
The most important of the Zamorin's samanthans (vassals) included Elaya Vakayil Vellodi, Thalachanna Nayar of Calicut and the Menon of Eranad.
The Zamorins used these titles and no records indicate the actual personnel name of the king. There is one more title namely Virarayan. This title seems to be acquired when Zamorins annexed Valluvanad to Zamorins territory. The title Virarayan is a form derived from Rayeran, a name of Valluvanad seen even in 9th century AD, in Panniyur inscriptions of Cheras.
of a province (or a fiefdom) of the Later Chera Kingdom (800–1102 AD) called Eralnad and were known as the Eradi
s. According to legends, two Eradi brothers known as Manikkan and Vikraman established a local ruling family at Nediyiruppu
, near present-day Kondotty
. Eralnad was only a small fiefdom, one of the states that made up the Chera kingdom. The others included Kolathunadu
, Perumpadappu
, and Venad
.
attacked the Chera kingdom through the Palakkad Gap
. But, the Kongu army was defeated by the combined armies of Nedumpurayoor
, Valluvanad, Eralnad and Perumpadappu
led by the Later Chera king. In honor the Valluvanad Raja
received Kurissi Vilayan Chathanur and Kaithala villages from Nedumpurayoor
. This event is even now celebrated as a historical event in Chittur taluk
where the fight took place.
around the 12th century AD, several of its chieftains and governorates became independent.
But, according to a Nambuthiri-Brahmin
legend called Keralolpathi
("Genesis of Kerala"), the last of the Chera kings partitioned his kingdom among his feudatories and army officers (Eradi
s were one of them) and secretly left for Mecca
with some Arab traders, embraced Islam
and lived the rest of his life in obscurity in Arabia. Although there is no solid basis for the last king's conversion to Islam
and the Hajj
, it is a possibility 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. But, during this partition of the Kingdom, the last Chera didn't give any land to his most trusted Nair
lieutenant, the Eradi
s Manikkan and Vikraman. Due to the feel of guilt, the king gave his personal sword (Odaval) and his favorite prayer conch which was broken, to his lieutenant and asked him to occupy as much as land he can with his might.
's rule over Kozhikode
, their later capital.
According to A. Sreedhara Menon
, a historian, after the Later Cheras, Calicut and its suburbs formed part of the Polanad ruled by the Porlatiri. The Eradi
s of Nediyiruppu
in Eralnad were land-locked and sought an outlet to the sea to initiate trade and commerce with the distant lands. To accomplish this, the Eradis marched with their Nair
s towards Panniyankara
and besieged the Porlatiri in his headquarters, resulting in a 48-year long war.
The Eradi
s emerged victorious in their conquest of Polanad and shifted there headquarters from Nediyiruppu
to Calicut. Eradis 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 Kozhikode
). If A. Sreedhara Menon
was correct, the Eradi
s marched towards the coastal fiefdom of Polanad and the Porlathiri, the ruler of Polanad (Porakilanad) was killed during 48 year long war. Even the Nambuthiri-Brahmin
legend says that having been gifted with the royal sword and the injunction "Chattum konnum adakki kolka" ("conquer by courting and conferring death") by the last Chera (according to Keralolpathi
), so the Ernadi waged war against the Porlatiri (Porakilar Adhikari) and captured Panniyankara.
However, M.G.S. Narayanan
, another historian, in his book, Calicut: The City of Truth states that the Eradi
was in fact a favourite of the last Later Chera king as the Eradi was at the forefront of the wars with the Chola-Pandya forces to the south of his kingdom and led the army to victory. The king therefore granted him, as a mark of favor, a small tract of land on the sea-coast in addition to his hereditary possessions (Eralnad). This patch of wasteland is called Chullikkad(as in the Keralolpathi
). To corroborate his assertion that Eradi was in fact a favourite of the last Later Chera, M.G.S. Narayanan
cites a stone inscription of the last Chera discovered at Kollam
in south Kerala
. It refers to Nalu Taliyum, Ayiram, Arunurruvarum, Eranadu Vazhkai Manavikiraman, mutalayulla Samathararum- "The four Councillors, The Thousand, The Six Hundred, along with Mana Vikrama-the Governor of Eranad and other Feudatories." So, M.G.S. Narayanan
seems to indicate that Kozhikkode lay in fact beyond and not within the kingdom of Polanad and there was no need of any kind of military movements for Calicut. The Eradis subsequently moved their capital to the coastal marshy lands and established the city of Kozhikode
, then also called 'Thrivikramapuram'.
Kingdom of Kodungallur
(Airur dynasty) one of the Samoothiri's oldest vassals circa from 13th century.
Even the stories about the origin of the Kadathanadu Dynasty
is associated with wars of the Samoothiri with Polanad. When the Samoothiri attacked Polanad, he exiled a Polarthiri royal princess from his territory and she was welcomed in Kolathunad, the Samoothiri's rivals, and after the marriage with Kolathiri
prince with this princess the Kadathanadu Dynasty
originated. The name Kadathanad refers to as the passing way between Kolathunad and Calicut.
in about 1341 AD that led to silting of the harbour of Muziris
flourishing trade with the Arab
, Roman
and Chinese
empires. The near destruction of Muziris led to the rise in prosperity of Kochi
(Cochin) and Kozhikode
. The Eradi assumed the title of Samudrāthiri ("one who has the sea for his border") and continued to rule from Kozhikode
. The title Samudrāthiri was shortened to Sāmoothiri over time in common usage. Access to the sea helped the Eradi chief, who was by now called the Saamoothiri develop the city into one of the major trading centers of the Eastern world
abounding in a wide variety of goods like pepper
, textile
s, lac
, ginger
, cinnamon
, myrobalans
, and zedoary
. Vessels of various sizes from around the world, like Chinese junk
s, arrived on the shores of Calicut.
The Samoothiris changed to the most powerful kings in Kerala
during the Middle Age
s and harboured greater ambitions to extend their rule over the whole of Kerala
. This motivated them to enter into battles with neighbouring kingdoms with great success.
Before the Thirunavaya wars the Saamoothiri annexed the states of Parappanad and Vettathunad.
(Rajas of Kochi as they came to be known later) and Walluvanad
) in what is called the Thirunavaya War
s. The technical reason for the wars were the Panniyur-Chovvaram Row. In this wars Samoothiri captured two strategic places from their enemies. The places were Vanneri and Thirunavaya
respectively from Perumpadappu
and Valluvanad. Vanneri was, in fact, the capital of Perumpadappu Rajas. The Perumpadappu Rajas subsequently shifted their capital to Thiruvanchikulam
(Mahodayapuram). The Saamoothiri
was also successful in capturing Thirunavaya
and he styled himself as Rakshapurusha ("Protector of the People"). The grudges held by the defeated princes of Valluvanad was the foundation of the bloody Mamankam festivals.
of the Vellatiri. The regions of Malappuram
, Nilambur
, Vallappanattukara and Manjeri
came under the dominion of the Saamoothiri. The Eralpad (Samoothiri prince) ruled these areas as the supreme commander, and was based at Karimpuzha
.
Saamoothiri's attack on Perumpadappu
was repelled by the combined forces of Perumpadappu Raja
s and Vellatiri. Nedunganad, a small princely state between Valluvanad and Palakkad
was won over with ease and the Nedungattiri, the Raja of Nedunganad was afforded certain rights of supervision over the temple of Cherplassery with a subsistence allowance.
In 1405 AD, Saamoothiri's army again defeated the Perumpadappu Rajas
(Rajas of Kochi
as they came to be known later) who then shifted their capital from Thiruvanchikulam
(Mahodayapuram) to Kochi
. Zamorin conquered Thrikkanamathilakam and it became a threat for Mahodayapuram (Thiruvanchikulam), and this may be the reason that Perumpadapu Swaroopam
changed their capital to Cochin.
under Karuvayoor Moosad
, the chief marshal and preacher
of Moopil Nairs came under Saamoothiri's rule soon thereafter. Kottakkal
, known as White Fort in Sanskrit
, Venkalikotta and Venkitta Kotta in Malayalam, was a small military base of the Kingdom of Valluvanad. The annexation followed a bloody war which lasted 12 years. Karuvayoor Moosad
assassinated Thinayancherry Elayath
, one of the ministers of the Samoothiri. Saamoothiri's army finally trapped the Moosad at Padapparamba
, captured him and put him to death. Then Moonnarpadu Thampuran, the cousin of the Samoothiri killed Karuvayoor Moosad
in combat and restored control of the fort. The descendants of the thampuran dwelt in Kottakkal thereafter. The loss of this brave and fiercely loyal chief minister was the greatest blow to the Vellaattiri post Thirunavaya Wars. The newly acquired regions was subsequently ruled by Varakkal Paranambi, a minister of Saamoothiri.
This was followed by the Raja of Kochi
accepting the over lordship of the Saamoothiri and became a feudatory of the latter. The wars on Valluvanad by the Saamoothiri continued for longer duration.
Kolathiri
was Samoothiri's another local rival. Calicut and Kolathunad fought numerous wars before the arrival of the Portuguese
. Later, this rivalry paved the way for an anti-Samoothiri alliance between the Portuguese
and the Kolathiri.
Edappally (Elangallur)
was a Samoothiri's vassal in the south. In battles between Cochin
and the Samoothiri they were with the Samoothiri. Edappally kings always wanted to regain Kochi
and Vypinkara from the Cochin
, which were lost from them decades ago, and the Samoothiri tried hard to do the task but was never successful in his attempts.
(reigned 1424-1446 CE) of Vijayanagara Empire
conquered the entire present day Kerala state. He defeated (1443) the ruler of Kollam
as well as other chieftains such as Samoothiri. Fernão Nunes says that the Samoothiri and even the kings of Burma ruling at Pegu and Tenasserim paid tribute to the king of Vijayanagara Empire. Apparently by late 1430, Saamoothiri invited the Timurid dynasty ruler of Persia Shah Rukh for an emissary to visit Malabar in order to improve commerce. So, Abdur Razzaq
, the ambassador who visited southern India in 1443 wrote that overall Deva Raya II has extended the Vijayanagara Empire from Orissa
to Malabar.
Later, the kings of Kerala rebelled against their Vijayanagara overlords, Deva Raya II quelled rebelling feudal lords, the Samoothiri and the Venattadi. But, as the Vijayanagara power diminished in the next fifty years, Samoothiri again rose to prominence in Malabar coast.
In 1498, Saamoothiri built a fort at Ponnani
during his conquest of the nadus.
and other spices) through a reliable sea route.
. Vasco da Gama
was sent by King Manuel I of Portugal
with a fleet of four ships to find the sea route to India. Gama's fleet was equipped by Captain Bartolomeu Dias
, who had previously sailed to the tip of South Africa in 1488, but had to turn back from going onwards to India due to a mutiny on his ship. Dias, who was used to dealing with African tribes that inhabited the West coast of Africa at that time, equipped the fleet with goods like glass beads, copper bowls, tin bells, tin rings, striped cotton cloth, olive oil, and sugar that had proved useful to him in trade with the tribes. Gama could not offer the Saamoothiri any substantial gift (which was customary for new traders). The distance traveled in the journey around Africa to India and back was greater than around the equator. The navigators included Portugal's most experienced, Pero de Alenquer, Pedro Escobar
, João de Coimbra, and Afonso Gonçalves. It is not known for certain how many people were in each ship's crew but approximately 55 returned, and two ships were lost.
In February 1498, Vasco da Gama continued north, landing at the friendlier port of Malindi
- whose leaders were then in conflict with those of Mombasa - and there the expedition first noted evidence of Indian traders. Gama and his crew contracted the services of a pilot whose knowledge of the monsoon
winds allowed him to bring the expedition the rest of the way to Calicut (Kozhikode), located on the southwest coast of India. Sources differ over the identity of the pilot, calling him variously a Christian, a Muslim, and a Gujarati. One traditional story describes the pilot as the famous Arab navigator Ibn Majid, but other contemporaneous accounts place Majid elsewhere, and he could not have been near the vicinity at the time. Also, none of the Portuguese historians of the time mention Ibn Majid.
near Calicut, India
on 20 May 1498. The King of Calicut, the Saamoothiri
(Samoothiri), who was at that time staying in his second capital at Ponnani, returned to Calicut on hearing the news of the European fleets's arrival. The navigator was received with traditional hospitality, including a grand procession of at least 3,000 armed Nairs, but an interview with the Samoothiri failed to produce any concrete results. The presents that da Gama sent to the Samoothiri as gifts from Dom Manuel—four cloaks of scarlet cloth, six hats, four branches of corals, twelve almasares, a box with seven brass vessels, a chest of sugar, two barrels of oil and a cask of honey—were trivial, and failed to cut any ice. While Samoothiri's officials wondered at why there was no gold or silver, the Muslim merchants who considered da Gama their rival suggested that the latter was only an ordinary pirate and not a royal ambassador! Vasco da Gama's request for permission to leave a factor behind him in charge of the merchandise he could not sell was turned down by the King, who insisted that da Gama pay customs duty—preferably in gold—like any other trader, which strained the relation between the two. Annoyed by this, da Gama carried a few Nairs and sixteen Mukkuva fishermen off with him by force. Nevertheless, da Gama's expedition was successful beyond all reasonable expectation, bringing in cargo that was worth sixty times the cost of the expedition.
Vasco da Gama set sail for home on 29 August 1498. Eager to leave he ignored the local knowledge of monsoon wind patterns, which was still blowing onshore. Crossing the Indian Ocean to India, sailing with the monsoon wind, had taken Gama's ships only 23 days. The return trip across the ocean, sailing against the wind, took 132 days, and Gama arrived in Malindi
on 7 January 1499.
Although the Saamoothiri received the Portuguese warmly, relations between the two soured soon. This was because the Portuguese at the outset demanded a trade monopoly and also the expulsion of Muslim traders from Kozhikode.
The first India Armada, commanded by Vasco da Gama
, arrived in Portugal in the summer of 1499, in a rather sorry shape. Although he came back with a hefty cargo of spices that would be sold at an enormous profit, Vasco da Gama had failed in the principal objective of his mission - negotiating a treaty with Calicut, the spice entrepot on the Malabar Coast
of India.
, arrangements immediately began to assemble a Second Armada in Cascais
and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral
. Determined not to repeat Gama's mistakes, this one was to be a large and well-armed fleet - 13 ships, 1500 men - and laden with valuable gifts and diplomatic letters to win over the potentates of the east. The fleet included Sancho de Tovar
, Nicolau Coelho
, Pêro de Ataíde
, Bartolomeu Dias
and others. Cabral's instructions were several-fold. Cabral's instructions were precisely to succeed where Gama had failed, and to this end was entrusted with magnificent gifts to present to the Samoothiri. Cabral was under orders to establish a feitoria (factory
) in Calicut, to be placed under Aires Correia, the designated factor
for Calicut.
August 22, 1500 - After an uneventful ocean crossing, Cabral's six ships land in Anjediva Island (Angediva, Anjadip), where they rest and recuperate, repair and repaint the ships.
.
A commercial treaty is successfully negotiated, and the Samoothiri gives Cabral a security-of-trade certificate etched on a silver plate. The Portuguese are allowed to establish a feitoria
in Calicut and Aires Correia, the designated factor for Calicut, goes ashore with some 70 men. Once the factory is set up, Cabral releases the ship hostages as a sign of trust. Correia immediately sets about buying spices in Calicut's markets for the ships to take home.
(nicknamed 'Inferno'), to capture it. Hoping for a spectacle, the Samoothiri himself comes down to the beachfront to witness the engagement, but leaves in disgust when the Arab ship deftly slips past Ataide. But Ataíde gives chase and eventually catches up with it near Cannanore and successfully seizes the vessel. Cabral presents the captured ship, with its nearly-intact elephant cargo (one pachyderm was killed in the engagement), to the Samoothiri as a gift.
of Arab merchants in Calicut have been colluding
to shut out Portuguese purchasing agents from the city's spice markets. This is not unlikely. Arab traders had reportedly used similar collusive tactics to drive out Chinese merchants earlier in the 15th C. It would make sense if they tried doing so again - particularly as the Portuguese had arrived trumpeting their hatred of 'the Moors' and demanding trading privileges and preferences, a clear danger to their own trade.
[Historians cite murkier elements to this, in particular, that the Portuguese traders might have been unwitting counters in on-going quarrels between competing older and newer Arab merchant guilds in the city and/or used as pawns in the personal power struggles among the Samoothiri's leading advisors, etc. There were certainly more dimensions to this affair, the full details of which will likely never be clearly known.]
Cabral presents the complaint to the Samoothiri, and requests that he crack down on the Arab merchant guild or enforce Portuguese priority in the spice markets. But the Samoothiri refuses to intervene in the matter - or rather makes only some vague promises, but disdains to get actively involved in the matter, as Cabral demands.
December 17, 1500 - Frustrated by the Samoothiri's inaction, Cabral decides to take matters into his own hands. On the advice of Aires Correia, Cabral orders the seizure of an Arab merchant ship from Jeddah
, then loading up with spices in Calicut harbor, claiming that as the Samoothiri had promised the Portuguese priority in the spice markets, the cargo is rightfully theirs. Incensed, the Arab merchants around the quay immediately raise a riot in the city and direct mobs to attack the Portuguese factory. The Portuguese ships, anchored out in the harbor and unable to approach the docks, helplessly watch the unfolding massacre. After three hours of fighting, some 53 (some say 70) Portuguese are slaughtered by the mobs - including the factor Aires Correia, the secretary Pêro Vaz de Caminha
, and three (some say five) of the Franciscan friars. Around twenty Portuguese then in the city manage to escape the riot by jumping into the harbor waters and swimming to the ships. The survivors report to Cabral that the Samoothiri's own guards were seen either standing aside or actively helping the rioters.
December 18–22, 1500 - Incensed at the attack on the factory, Cabral waits one day for redress by the Samoothiri. When this isn't forthcoming, he takes his revenge. The Portuguese seize around ten Arab merchant ships then in harbor, confiscating their cargoes, killing their crews, and burning their ships. Then, accusing the Samoothiri of sanctioning the riot, Cabral orders a full day shore bombardment of Calicut, doing immense damage to the unfortified city (estimates of Calicut casualties reach up to 600). Cabral proceeds to bomb the nearby Calicut-owned port of Pandarane as well.
(the Goese Jew who had been accompanying the expedition), Cabral sets sail south along the coast towards Cochin (Cochim, Kochi), a small city-state at the outlet of the brackish Vembanad
lagoon in the Kerala backwaters. Half-in-vassalage and half-at-war with Calicut, Cochin had long chafed at the dominance of its larger neighbor and was looking for an opportunity to break away.
Arriving in Cochin, a Portuguese emissary, accompanied by a Christian picked up in Calicut, are set ashore to make contact with the Trimumpara Raja (Unni Goda Varda), the Hindu prince of Cochin
. The Portuguese are greeted warmly - the bombardment of hated Calicut outweighing the earlier matter of the war elephants. All the cordialities and hostage-swapping quickly fulfilled, Cabral himself goes ashore and negotiates a treaty of alliance between Portugal and Cochin, directed against Calicut. Cabral promises to make the Trimumpara Raja of Cochin the ruler of Calicut, upon that city's capture.
guard to escort the Portuguese factors in the city's markets and protect the factory against any further incidents.
(Canonor, Kannur, further north, another of Calicut's reluctant vassals) and Quilon
(Coulão, Kollam, further south, once a great Syrian Christian merchant city, entrepot for cinnamon, ginger and dyewood). They commend Cabral's actions against Calicut, and invite the Portuguese to trade in their cities instead. Not wishing to offend his gracious Cochinese host, Cabral politely declines the invitations, promising only to visit those cities at some future date.
While still at Cochin, Cabral receives yet another invitation, this one from nearby Cranganore (Cranganor, Kodungallur). Once a great city on the northern end of the Vembanad lagoon, capital of the Chera dynasty
of Kerala
, Cranganore had since fallen on hard times. Mother nature delivered Cranganore two severe blows - silting up the channels that connected Cranganore to the waterways, and breaking open a competing sea outlet by Cochin in the 14th C. Cochin's rise had been principally due to the re-routing of commercial traffic away from Cranganore. Nonetheless, the remaining merchants of the dwindling city still maintained their old connections to the Kerala pepper plantations in the interior. Finding the supply in Cochin running low, Cabral takes up the offer to top up their cargo at Cranganore.
The visit to Cranganore turns out to be an eye-opener for the Portuguese, for among the city's remaining inhabitants are substantial established communities of Malabari Jews
and Syrian Christians
. The encounter with a clearly recognizable Christian community in Kerala confirms to Cabral what the Franciscan friars had already suspected back in Calicut - namely, that Vasco da Gama's earlier hypothesis about a 'Hindu Church' was mistaken. If real Christians have existed alongside Hindus in India for centuries, then clearly Hinduism
must be a distinct and separate religion, 'heathen idolaters', as the Portuguese friars characterized them, rather than a 'primitive' form of Christianity. Two Syrian Christian priests from Cranganore apply to Cabral for passage to Europe (one of them, known as José de Cranganore or Joseph the Indian (Josephus Indus), will provide instrumental intelligence about India to the Portuguese.
January 16, 1501 - News arrives that the Samoothiri of Calicut had assembled and dispatched a fleet of around 80 boats against the Portuguese in Cochin. Despite the Trimumpara Raja of Cochin's offer of military assistance against the Calicut fleet, Cabral decides to precipitously lift anchor and slip away rather than risk a confrontation. Cabral's armada leave behind the factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa and six assistants in Cochin. In their hasty departure, the Portuguese inadvertently take along two of the Trimumpara's officers (Idikkela Menon and Parangoda Mennon), who had been serving as noble hostages aboard the vessels.
. Cabral is warmly received by the Kolathiri
Raja of Cannanore who, eager for a Portuguese alliance, offers to sell the Portuguese spices on credit. Cabral accepts the cargo but pays him nonetheless (not a splendid cargo - only low-quality ginger, as it turns out, but Cabral is appreciative of the gesture.)
His ships now filled with spices, Cabral decides not to visit Quilon
, as he had earlier promised, but to make way back home to Portugal. Late January, 1501 - Cabral takes aboard an ambassador from Cannanore, and starts his ocean crossing back to East Africa. On the way, the Portuguese capture a Gujarati ship, replete with a magnificent cargo. They steal the cargo, but spare the crew, once they realize they are not Arabs
So, in December 1500 the Saamoothiri expelled the Portuguese
from Kozhikode due to their demand for a monopoly, and they moved to a trading post at the city of Kochi
were they were warmly welcomed.
was assembled in 1501 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal
and placed under the command of João da Nova
. Nova's armada was relatively small and primarily commercial in objective. The objective of the Third Armada was wholly commercial. Their mission was to go to India, load up with spices, and return home. It was expected to be uneventful. Early August 1501 - Nova's armada arrives in Kilwa
(Quiloa). where they are greeted on the beach by the degradado António Fernandes (Ataide's note said Fernandes was to be found in Mombassa; either Fernandes had travelled from there to Kilwa, or Ataíde was simply confused.) From the letters Cabral had left with Fernandes, João da Nova learns more of the details of the falling out with the Samoothiri of Calicut, the Portuguese factory at Cochin and the friendly relations with Cannanore
and Quilon
. November, 1501 João da Nova's Third Armada alights in India, on an island off the Malabar coast, either Angediva or Santa Maria, and begin making their way down the Indian coast towards Kerala, capturing two Arab merchant ships near Mount d'Eli
, on the way.
The two month delay between the Third Armada's departure from the African coast (prob. August–September, 1501) and the first date known of its activities in India (November, 1501) is unusual and has been subjected to much speculation. It is unlikely that the Armada lingered in Africa, as the monsoon would not have allowed a crossing at that late date. It is possible they simply took a long recuperative rest at Angediva/Santa Maria, or called in at nearby ports such as Batecala (Bhatkal
) (as suggested by the chronicler Gaspar Correia
) to do some trading and maybe some piracy too, before heading south to Cannanore.
On the other hand, it has been hypothesized that during this interlude, Nova might have launched some exploratory ventures in the area during, in particular taken a wide swing far south, below Cape Comorin, to see if he could locate the fabled island of 'Taprobana
' (Ceylon), the world's main source of cinnamon
(see below.)
The Third Armada arrives in Cannanore
(Cananor, Kannur) sometime in November. They are well-received by the Kolathiri
Raja of Cannanore, who immediately urges João da Nova to load up his ships with spices from that city's markets. Nova side-steps the offer courteously, noting that he must first collect the supplies already acquired by the Portuguese factory in Cochin (Cochim, Kochi). Nonetheless, before setting off, Nova drops off a few agents, with instructions to initiate arrangements to purchase spices (principally ginger
and cinnamon
) in the Cannanore markets, to be picked up later.
[It is sometimes said that Nova established the Portuguese factory
in Cannanore at this point. Although the factor he left behind was Paio Rodrigues, a private agent of D. Álvaro of Braganza
and the Marchionni
consortium, not an employee of the Casa da India
(the crown trading house). The Casa (and thus the Portuguese Crown) would only install a factor in Cannanore on the next expedition (4th Armada
).
On the way to Cochin, Nova pounces on three merchant ships, including one owned by the Samoothiri himself, at the mouth of Calicut harbor, seizing their cargoes and burning the vessels in plain view of the city. Some valuable silver Indian nautical instruments and navigational charts were among the loot seized from these ships.
principally), but Cabral had left him only with a stock of Portuguese goods (cloth mainly), expecting him to use the revenues from their sale to buy up the spices. But European goods have little vent in Indian markets, and Barbosa was still saddled with his unsold stock, unable to raise the cash to buy the spices. Barbosa seems to suspect that the Arab merchants guild has engineered a boycott
of Portuguese goods on Indian markets. He also reports that the Raja Trimumpara of Cochin, despite his alliance and protection of the factory, is in fact infuriated at the Portuguese because Cabral
's Second Armada
had departed so suddenly (without cordialities and taking two noble Cochinese hostages with them).
The lack of silver cash seems to be the pressing problem that Nova did not anticipate. He certainly did not bring much cash with him, having also expected to sell Portuguese goods in India to raise it.
Nova immediately sets sail back to Cannanore, to see if the agents he left there had any more success, but they are facing much the same problem - Portuguese merchandise is going unsold, and the spice merchants are demanding payment in silver. The Third Armada's mission is on the verge of failure, when the Kolathiri
Raja of Cannanore intervenes, and places himself as security for the sale of spices to the Portuguese on credit. This breaks the deadlock and allows the Portuguese to finally load up on the spice markets.
December 31, 1501 - As he about to set out of Cannanore, João da Nova's Third Armada is cornered in the bay by a fleet dispatched by the Samoothiri of Calicut, composed of nearly forty large ships, plus some 180 small paraus and zambuks, an estimated armed Malabari force of 7,000 men.
The Raja of Cannanore urges João da Nova to stay under his protection and avoid a fight. But Nova, noticing the landside breeze in his favor, decides to attempt a break-out. After a few rounds of cannon open a little hole in the Calicut line, Nova orders his four ships into a column formation and charges through it, cannon blasting on either side. The powerful Portuguese cannonades and carracks' height foil Malibari attempts to throw grappling hooks and board the Portuguese quartet. As the Portuguese column continues out to sea, Nova continues firing his cannon relentlessly at his pursuers. The Calicut fleet, less seaworthy, begins to splinter and lag behind. As the Third Armada pulls away, the prospect of a grapple dims, and the battle is limited to a ranged artillery duel. The Malabari ships quickly realize their Indian cannon cannot match the range and speed of reloading of the Portuguese cannon, and begin to turn away. At this point, Nova gives a brief chase, before finally breaking up the engagement on January 2, 1502.
On the whole, after two days of fighting, the Third Armada had sunk five large ships and about a dozen oar-driven boats. But they inflicted a great deal of damage on the remaining Malabari vessels, while sustaining very little damage themselves.
Although João da Nova had not come prepared for a fight, the two-day naval battle off Cannanore was the perhaps the first significant Portuguese naval engagement in the Indian Ocean
. It was not the first clash between Portuguese and Indian ships - Gama's First Armada and Cabral's Second Armada
had their share. But earlier encounters had been largely with poorly-armed merchant ships, scrawny pirates and isolated squads, targets a single, well-armed fighting caravel
could see off without much difficulty. This time, the Samoothiri of Calicut had attacked directly, stretching his sinews to deploy the best his navy could offer against a small group of relatively lightly armed Portuguese merchant carracks. The results were disheartening to the Malabari sea-king.
The Battle of Cananore made abundantly clear the great disparity between European and Indian technology in ship design and artillery - a gap that, in subsequent years, the Portuguese would repeatedly exploit and the Samoothiri of Calicut was desperate to close. To nullify the Portuguese naval superiority, the Samoothiri would have to stick to land or look abroad - to the Arabs, the Turks and Venetians.
The battle is also historically notable for being one of the earliest recorded deliberate uses of a naval column
, and for resolving the battle by cannon alone. These tactics would become increasingly prevalent as navies evolved and began to see ships less as carriers of armed men, and more as floating artillery. In that respect, this has been called the first 'modern' naval battle (at least for one side). May 21, 1502 On the return journey, João da Nova discovers the uninhabited island of Saint Helena
in the South Atlantic Ocean, naming it after saintly empress who's day it was. The expedition of the Third Armada had not been a resounding success. Although there was no significant loss of ships or men, they came back with less spices than anticipated (letters insinuate that cargo holds came back partially empty).
was assembled in 1502 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal
and placed under the command of D. Vasco da Gama
. It was Gama's second trip to India. It was designed as a punitive expedition, targeting Calicut, to avenge the travails of the 2nd Armada
and the massacre of the Portuguese factory in 1500. The Second India Armada
, commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral
, had arrived in Portugal in the summer of 1501 in a terrible shape. Ship and human losses were tremendous, its mission objectives failed. As a result, King Manuel I of Portugal
ordered a new fleet to be assembled, the 4th India Armada, armed to the teeth, with the explicit objective of bringing Calicut to heel. he 4th Armada was composed of 20 ships and between 800 and 1800 men. Mid-August, 1502 - After its Indian Ocean crossing, the Fourth Armada alights near the opulent port of Dabul
(north of Goa
). These are the territorial waters of the powerful Muslim sultan Adil Shah
(Hidalcão) of Bijapur. Expecting trouble, the fighting ships hoist up their lateen sails and load up their cannon. But no one comes out to challenge them, so they begin coasting south along the Indian coast towards Kerala
.
Late August/Early September 1502 - Business in Batecala done, Vasco da Gama sets sail towards Cannanore. They anchor in around Mount d'Eli
, the common touch-point for ships on the Jedda-Calicut route, evidently intending to catch some prizes before proceeding.
(or going to it, chronicles contradict). The ship, the Miri, is identified as belonging to a certain al-Fanqi, one of wealthier men of Calicut and said by some to be the Mecca
n factor
in Calicut. Matoso chases the pilgrim ship down, which surrenders rather quickly, probably imagining that its master had enough money to ransom it off. But Vasco da Gama shrugs off all the offers. As the Portuguese crew plunder the ship and transfer its cargo, it quickly becomes evident that Gama intends to burn the ship with all its passengers - men, women and children - on board. When Gama proves deaf to their pleas for mercy, the passengers frantically attack the Portuguese men-at-arms with their bare hands. To no avail.
October 3, 1502 - a day, eyewitness Thomé Lopes
states, "I will never forget for the rest of my days". The pilgrim ship thoroughly plundered, on Gama's orders, the passengers are locked in the hold and the ship burnt and sunk by artillery. It takes several days to finally go down completely. Portuguese soldiers row around the waters on longboats mercilessly spearing survivors.
The sinking of the Miri is an act that will instantly cement Gama's cruel and fearsome reputation, and generate a great deal of hatred for the Portuguese in India. Gama defended his act as "vengeance" for the Calicut massacre
of 1500, arguing that the ship's owner, as a prominent person in Calicut, was 'doubtlessly' responsible for the sinister counsel to the Samoothiri that led up to it.
Of the eyewitnesses, all mention it, but only Thomé Lopes
openly condemns the act, claiming Gama acted "with great cruelty and without any mercy whatsoever". The chroniclers don't shy away from describing the event and their unease is evident. Although Barros
and Castanheda
reiterate Gama's justification of the act as revenge for Cabral, they don't seem to embrace it themselves. Indeed, Barros, Góis
and Osório claim the ship belonged to the Sultan of Egypt
, who was in no way responsible for the events in Calicut, thus subtly suggesting Gama may have made a mistake. Gaspar Correia
is a little more open in his disapproval. He notes that several of the Portuguese captains were appalled by Gama's decision and tried to persuade him against it (if only because they would forego a hefty ransom). Correia gives a heart-rending account of the desperate and valiant resistance of the doomed passengers. Poet Luís de Camões
passes over the incident in silence, evidently feeling it detrimental to the heroic portrait of Vasco da Gama.
Estimates of those killed on the Miri hover around 300. Portuguese chroniclers are eager to report that 20 children were spared this fate, and brought back by the 4th Armada to Lisbon, where they will be baptized and raised as friar
s at the Nossa Senhora de Belém
. Among the eyewitnesses Thomé Lopes
and the anonymous Flemish sailor make no mention of this small mercy, although Matteo de Bergamo does point it out.
(Canonor, Kannur), and delivers the Cannanore ambassador that had gone to Lisbon with Cabral's 2nd Armada
. The Kolathiri
Raja of Cannanore invites Gama to come ashore for an elaborate reception, but Gama replies that he swore a personal oath not to set his foot on Indian soil again until his vengeance on Calicut was sated. As a result, the rajah orders a wooden scaffold to be built over the seashore, where they can meet in person without violating the vow.
Gama presents the raja with royal letters and munificent gifts (a jeweled sword, a brocaded armchair) and discussions immediately begin. A commercial treaty is negotiated, establishing a Portuguese crown factory
in Cannanore, and arranging a fixed-price schedule, which the Raja personally guarantees, for the sale of spices to the Portuguese.
[The negotiation for the commercial treaty did not go smoothly, particularly the fixed price clause. The Kolathiri Raja protested that he had no power over market prices nor the right to dictate how private merchants disposed of their property. Gama had to resorted to feints, threats and then sailed out of Cannanore in anger. Barros credits the role of Paio Rodrigues, the Portuguese factor (private, not crown, an employee of the private employee of D. Álvaro of Braganza
and the Marchionni
consortium), that had been left behind in Cannanore by João da Nova
's Third Armada
at the beginning of the year. After Gama stormed off and ordered sail out of the city, Paio Rodrigues mediated between the Kolathiri Raja and the Captain-Major and finalized the treaty
Correia points out this is the treaty where the Portuguese cartaz
system was first introduced. Henceforth, every merchant ship along the Malabar coast had to present a certificate signed by a Portuguese factor (in Cannanore, Cochin, etc.), or else be subject to attack and seizure by a Portuguese patrol. This licensing system would be subsequently adopted later on other Portuguese-controlled coasts (e.g. East Africa, Malacca, Brazil), with differing degrees of success. It will be largely maintained until the 18th C.
and to get compensation for the overruning of the Calicut factory in 1500
. In response, the Samoothiri of Calicut sent back a string of messengers to Cannanore (and along the way to Calicut), each delivering promises that the Samoothiri was willing to settle matters with Gama, and compensate the Portuguese for the loss of their factory goods. On the other hand, Gama also receives a message from Gonçalo Gil Barbosa, the Portuguese crown factor in Cochin, warning him that it was all a tactical ruse, that the Samoothiri of Calicut had also dispatched a circular letter to all the lords of the Malabar Coast
instructing them to close their ports and markets to the Portuguese.
October 29, 1502 - Gama's large armada finally arrives before the harbor of Calicut (Calecute, Kozhikode). The Samoothiri dispatches an emissary, a Brahmin
(dressed as a Christian friar) on a boat to Gama. The Brahmin reports that the Samoothiri had arrested twelve of those responsible for the 1500 riot, and offers a peace and friendship treaty and the opening of a discussion of the restoration of the trade goods seized from the Portuguese factory, albeit noting that the Samoothiri has also suffered property damages from Portuguese actions and that he intends to deduct it from the final account. Gama is angered, feeling that the Samoothiri has changed his tone from his earlier messages, and demands the property taken from the factory be restored in full and brought to his ship, and that all Muslim merchants must be expelled from the Calicut, before any discussion about a treaty begins.
While awaiting the Samoothiri's reply, Gama seizes a nearby idling zambuq and some fishing boats that had unwisely ventured into Calicut harbor, taking some fifty fisherman captive. This action evidently angers the Samoothiri, who sends a stern reply to Gama, noting that Gama had already taken severalfold times more property from Calicut ships, and slaughtered ten times more of his citizens (on the Miri, etc.) than the Portuguese lost in the 1500 riot. Despite being the net sufferer and the clamor of his citizens for revenge, the Samoothiri is prepared to forgive and forget and start anew. The Samoothiri also replies that Calicut is a free port and he has no intention of expelling 'the Moors'. Moreover, the Samoothiri orders Gama to release his 'hostages', that he will not subject himself to negotiation conditions and that if Gama is unhappy with his offer, then he should leave Calicut harbor at once, for the Samoothiri has not given him permission to anchor there, or at any other port in India.
October 31, 1502 - Infuriated by the reply, Gama sends out a strongly worded ultimatum
, declaring that the Samoothiri's permission means nothing to him, that he has until noon the next day to deliver the Portuguese factory goods to his ship. Gama uses this overnight interlude to send his boats out to sound the harbor of Calicut to find optimal firing positions. That same night, Calicut forces set about frantically digging entrenchments, erecting a protective timber palisade and laying cannon along the harbor shore.
November 1, 1502 - At noon, having received no reply, Gama orders that his Malabari prisoners strung up
by their necks from the shipmasts, allocating a few to each ship. Calicut crowds approach the beach to watch the grisly spectacle. Then the armada advances into the harbor and opens fire. The bombardment is principally aimed at clearing the beach and trenches. The Malabari shore cannon are too few, their range and power too weak, to provide an effective reply. The bombardment continues until nightfall. That night, the corpses of the hung Malabaris are taken from masts, their feet and hands severed off and sent by a small boat to the beach, with an insulting message to the Samoothiri, including a demand that the Samoothiri reimburse the Portuguese for the powder and shot expended on destroying his city.
November 2, 1502 - The city bombardment resumes the next morning. The mostly poor dwellings on the shore having been razed the previous day, the Portuguese cannons now have a clear view of central city and the statelier homes of the richer citizens of Calicut and bring their larger ordnance to bear. The city is relentlessly bombarded all morning - some 400 large rounds and an indeterminate number from the smaller caliber guns At noon, when the Portuguese pause for lunch, a small group of Malabari vessels tries to attack the idling squad, but are quickly seen off.
November 3, 1502 - Barros reports that the two-day bombardment had sufficiently crippled the city that several of the captains urge Gama to authorize a landing of troops to sack
Calicut. But Gama, still hopeful the Samoothiri might come to terms, turns down their request, believing a sack would only esclate matters to the point of no return. So, the next morning, vengeance satisfied, Gama sets sail out of Calicut harbor.
[In his somewhat different account, Gaspar Correia doesn't report the hanging of the prisoners; instead, after the bombardment, while still anchored before the harbor of the smoldering city, the Fourth Armada captures a Coromandel
merchant convoy of 2 large ships and 27 small boats unlucky enough to turn up at Calicut at that very moment. Seizing the convoy, Gama orders the cargoes transferred, the crews tied, their teeth beaten out, their noses and hands cut off and the ships set alight. The Brahmin emissary (still being held by the Portuguese) is sent back to shore with a bag full of severed hands and a note for the Samoothiri telling him to "make a curry out of them".]
The violent treatment meted out by Vasco da Gama sends shockwaves throughout the Malabar coast. Merchant ships in Indian ports hurriedly leave the area or go into concealment. All shipping along the coast essentially freezes.
and his brother Brás Sodré, with some 200 soldiers (mainly crossbowmen), to maintain the blockade on Calicut harbor, and patrol the coast preying on Calicut shipping. The exact composition of the patrol squadron differs in the sources, and it seems there is some reshuffling of captains in the process. The following is only one possible list, compiled from different sources, and should not be taken as authoritative:
[The patrol squadron captains are taken from the lists in Castanheda
, Góis
and Osório Other sources are not so explicit. The ship names are tentatively deduced from Gaspar Correia
, who, as usual, deviates in naming the captains.
hostage taken accidentally by the 2nd Armada
the previous year is delivered, along with the letter of the other Nair who stayed back in Lisbon.
Gama concludes negotiates a new commercial treaty with the ruler of Cochin, this time with a fixed-price schedule, like at Cannanore. Diogo Fernandes Correia, the new designated factor for Cochin, relieves Cabral's factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa (now slated to be transferred to Cannanore) and sets about his business buying spices for the return journey.
While conducting business at Cochin, Vasco da Gama receives a letter from the queen-regent of Quilon
(Coulão, Kollam), on behalf of her young son, the raja Govardhana Martanda. The queen invites the Portuguese fleet to load up with spices at Quilon. Gama declines politely, noting that he cannot do anything without the permission of his Cochinese hosts. As a result, the queen-regent dispatches a messenger to the prince of Cochin. Trimumpara Raja prevaricates at first, fearing that competition from Quilon's more amply-supplied markets will hurt his own. But Cochin's slender supply is worrying the Portuguese factors. At length, an agreement is reached between all parties: Gama is to dispatch only two ships to load up with spices at Quilon, and promises not to set up a permanent factory in that city. The two ships, carrying temporary factor João de Sá Pereira, the first Portuguese to enter Quilon, will load up quickly, and return to Cochin within ten days.
It is reported that while at Cochin, Gama also receives a message from Syrian Christian
community of nearby Cranganore offering to place themselves under the protection of the King of Portugal.
The Calicut fleet is estimated at 20 large ships, 40 gun-mounted sambuk
s (large dhow
s) and an innumerable number of smaller oar-powered boats, carrying several thousand armed men. Although a large Calicut fleet had failed against the much smaller 3rd Armada
of João da Nova
the previous year, the Samoothiri might have calculated that the addition of the Arab Red Sea ships and more experienced captains might tip the balance - particularly against the heavily loaded and less-maneuverable large naus of the 4th Armada.
The Raja of Cochin urges Gama to avoid the fleet and just set sail for Portugal at once. But Vasco da Gama refuses to revise his plans, claiming he needs to retun to Cannanore to deposit a factor there and pick up a cargo of ginger he had ordered. Nonetheless, he dispatches a message to Vicente Sodré's squadron of fighting caravels, then patrolling near Cannanore, to join him in Cochin.
While this discussion is going on, a Brahmin arrives in Cochin, with an offer of peace from the Samoothiri, proposing to let bygones be bygones and 'restart' the Calicut-Portuguese relationship afresh. But Gama refuses and accuses the Brahmin of being a spy. Gama has him tortured, mutilated (ears cut off and dog ear's sewn on) and sent back to Calicut.
Early February, 1502, After a final audience with Raja Trimumpara, taking aboard his ambassador to the Lisbon court, leaving Diogo Fernandes Correia as factor in Cochin, and taking Cabral's old factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa, to serve as factor in Cannanore, Gama's fleet (around ten fully laden ships) finally leaves Cochin. They are soon joined by Sodré's caravel squadron, and set sail warily towards Cannanore, guns ready for the Calicut ambush.
Gama and Sodré spot the Calicut fleet of Coja Casem and Arab privateer Cojambar, near the coast, out of Calicut harbor. In one of the first recorded instances of a naval line of battle
, Gama's spice naus and escort caravels sail in a line end-to-end, concentrating all their immense firepower as they pass against the twenty large Arab ships of Cojambar, before they can get organized, sinking a number of them and doing immense damage to the remainder. Although the Arab squadron is out of commission too soon, Coja Casem nonetheless proceeds forward with his fleet of Malabari sambuks, hoping to use their speed to outmaneouver the guns of the heavy-laden naus and reach for the grapple. But Gama sends the escort caravels under Vicente Sodré to intercept them in their tracks, while the cargo naus hurry on toward Cannanore. Although the caraveils are outnumbered, it isn't much of a battle. The fight is essentially over when Pero Rafael and Gil Matoso quickly board and capture Coja Casem's flagship (oddly, found with a lot of women and children on board). The Calicut fleet breaks up and rushes back to port. The pursuing caravels capture a number of sambuks, which they proceed to tow and set on fire before Calicut. The long-prepared ambush has been foiled. Danger dispelled, the caravels proceed to Cannanore to make junction with the main fleet.
The Battle of Calicut, like the previous year's naval battle of Cannanore
, once again demonstrated the critical importance of the technical superiority of Portuguese ships and naval artillery. But it also demonstrated to the Portuguese that the Samoothiri of Calicut was not as easy to intimidate as they had expected. Despite the terror actions, the bombardment and the naval blockade, the Samoothiri steadfastly refused to capitulate to Vasco da Gama's terms. On the contrary, the hiring of an Arab privateer fleet demonstrated a certain resourcefulness and willingness to continue fighting and take the fight to the Portuguese.
The hiring of Cojambar was also a foreboding. The Samoothiri clearly understood he had to appeal to foreigners to help close the technical gap between Indian and Portuguese forces. Surely it would only be a matter of time before the Samoothiri got his hands on Arab, Turkish and Venetian technology, and more substantial support from these great powers than just a Red Sea pirate or two?
If the battle of Calicut impressed something on Vasco da Gama, it was precisely that the Portuguese in India were living on borrowed time, that it was going to take more resources than he had to bring the Samoothiri to heel and secure continued Portuguese access to the spice markets. And that was the message he would bring back to Lisbon.
In the meantime, his priority was to do everything he could to maintain the Portuguese toe in India - that is, to protect the Portuguese factories and Indian allies of Cochin and Cannanore, from the Samoothiri's inevitable revenge the moment the 4th Armada left.
More troubling, however, is the India patrol squadron. Back in Lisbon, Vincent Sodré had been given a commission (regimento) by king Manuel I of Portugal
instructing him to lead a patrol of five or six caravels in the Gulf of Aden
, and prey on the rich Arab prizes going in and out of the Red Sea
. But Vasco da Gama
, realizing the vulnerability of Cochin and Cannanore, invokes rank as captain-major of the armada and orders Sodré to set that mission aside, and maintain his patrol on the Indian coast, to defend the Portuguese factories and their Indian allies against any reaction by the Samoothiri. Late February, 1503 Vasco da Gama sets sail with his ten (or twelve) laden ships back to Lisbon.
[Note: some chronicles put Gama's departure from Cannanore on December 28, 1502, meaning all the events described earlier must be compacted within that shorter time period.]
The return journey is quick and relatively smooth, with only one stop in Mozambique Island.
to keep the caravel patrol squadron close to Cochin. But Vicente Sodré, eager for the easy plunder of the Arab Red Sea shipping, dismisses the rumors, Correia reminds him of Gama's orders, to no avail - Sodré pulls out his old royal regimento and orders the coastal patrol to follow him out to the Red Sea. It is said that at least two of the captains of the coastal patrol refuse Sodré's orders, and willingly surrender the command of their ships rather than disobey Gama's original orders.
was under strict orders to accept no peace with the Samoothiri of Calicut, and do what he could to harass Calicut.
Ataide's letter gave Lopo Soares the news of India up until February, 1504. What Lopo Soares did not know (but probably could guess) was that at this very moment there was a desperate battle going on in Cochin
. In March, the Samoothiri of Calicut had launched a massive attack on Cochin, intending to capture the city and seize the Portuguese timber fortress. He brought some 57,000 troops, equipped with many Turkish firearms and Venetian guns. The tiny Portuguese garrison at Cochin, some 150 men under the command of Duarte Pacheco Pereira
, by clever positioning, individual heroics and quite some luck, managed to fend off attack after attack by the Samoothiri's army and fleet in the ensuing months. The last assault was launched in early July, after which the humiliated Samoothiri called off the invasion.
August, 1504 - Crossing the Indian Ocean, the 6th Armada of Lopo Soares de Albergaria arrives at Anjediva island. There they find two Portuguese ships repairing - those of António de Saldanha
and Rui Lourenço Ravasco. They had been part of the third squadron of last year's 5th Armada
. They relate their sorry tale - how they got lost and separated in Africa, how they spent the winter season harassing East African ports and Red Sea shipping, and howw they were only able to undertake their Indian Ocean crossing this summer. They have no idea of the whereabouts of the third ship of their squadron, that of Diogo Fernandes Pereira
, having lost track of it nearly a year ago.
[As it happens, Diogo Fernandes Pereira had wintered in Socotra
by himself and undertook a solo crossing to India earlier in May; he arrived in Cochin just in time to help Duarte Pacheco fend off the last few assaults of the Samoothiri.]
Late August/Early September, 1504 - Saldanha and Lourenço accompany Lopo Soares' 6th Armada down the coast to Cannanore
. Arriving there, they finally hear fuller reports from factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa of the battle of Cochin
. Lopo Soares sets sail at once.
September 7, 1504 - The 6th Armada appears before Calicut. Lopo Soares dispatches a message demanding they hand over any and all Portuguese prisoners to him; moreover, he demands that they also deliver the two Venetian engineers who had been helping the Samoothiri build European cannon. The Samoothiri is absent from the city at the moment, but his ministers are willing to release the Portuguese prisoners. The Italians, however, they cannot. Restless, Lopo Soares has the 6th Armada subject Calicut to forty-eight hours of continuous shore bombardment, causing great damage.
Satisfied, the 6th Armada proceeds south to Cochin. They are met before Fort Manuel by the Trimumpara Raja and the tired Portuguese garrison. But Duarte Pacheco
himself is not there at the moment - he had recently left on a jaunt to Quilon
, to check on the Portuguese factory there. Greetings and gifts are exhanged - including a sizeable chunk of money sent by Manuel I of Portugal
to bolster the Trimumphara Raja's treasury.
With the Cochin spice markets starved by the recent siege, Lopo Soares sets about collecting spices from elsewhere. Four or five ships (Lopes da Costa, Aguiar, Coutinho, Abreu and perhaps another) are sent down to Quilon
to load up. Two ships (Pêro de Mendonça and Vasco Carvalho) are sent out to patrol the coast south of Calicut, and seize whatever merchant ships they can (and take their spice cargoes), while Tristão da Silva, joined by five bateis (pinnace
s) are dispatched on patrol duty inside the lagoon.
Hearing of the armada's arrival, Duarte Pacheco (then in Quilon) sets sail back to Cochin, and meets Lopo Soares on September 14 (October 22 according to Castanheda).
. Reading this as a preparation for a renewed attack on Cochin after the 6th Armada leaves, Lopo Soares decides on a preemptive strike
. He orders a squadron of around ten fighting ships and numerous Cochinese bateis and paraus, to head up there. The heavier ships, unable to make their way into the shallow channels, anchor at Palliport
(Pallipuram, on the outer edge of Vypin
island), while those ships, bateis and paraus that can continue on.
Converging on Cranganore, the Portuguese-Cochinese fleet quickly disperses the Samoothiri's forces on the beach with cannonfire, and then lands an amphibian assault force - some 1,000 Portuguese and 1,000 Cochinese Nairs, who take on the rest of the Samoothiri's forces in close combat. The Samoothiri's forces are defeated and driven away from the city.
The assault troops capture Cranganore, and subject the ancient city, the once-great Chera
capital of Kerala, to a thorough and violent sacking and razing. Deliberate fires were already started by squads led by Duarte Pacheco Pereira and factor Diogo Fernandes Correa, while the main fighting was still going on. They quickly consume most of the city, save for the Syrian Christian
quarters, which are carefully spared (Jewish
and Muslim
homes are not given the same consideration).
In the meantime, the Calicut fleet, some 5 ships and 80 paraus, that had been dispatched to save the city are intercepted by the idling Portuguese ships near Palliport
and defeated in a naval encounter.
Two days later, the Portuguese receive an urgent message from the ruler of Tanur (Tanore), whose kingdom lay to the north, on the road between Calicut and Cranganore. The raja of Tanur had come to loggerheads with his overlord, the Samoothiri, and offered to place himself under Portuguese suzerainity instead, in return for military assistance. He reports that a Calicut column, led by the Samoothiri himself, had been assembled in a hurry to try to save Cranganore, but that he managed to block its passage at Tanur. Lopo Soares immediately dispatches Pêro Rafael with a caravel and a sizeable Portuguese armed force to assist the Tanurese. The Samoothiri's column is defeated and dispersed soon after its arrival.
The raid on Cranganore and the defection of Tanur are serious setbacks to the Samoothiri, pushing the frontline north and effectively placing the Vembanad lagoon out of the Samoothiri's reach. Any hopes the Samoothiri had of quickly resuming his attempts to capture Cochin via the backwaters are effectively dashed.
No less importantly, the battles at Cranganore and Tanur, which involved significant numbers of Malabari captains and troops, clearly demonstrated that the Samoothiri was no longer feared in the region. The Battle of Cochin had broken his authority. Cranganore and Tanur showed that Malabaris were no longer afraid of defying his authority and taking up arms against him. The Portuguese were no longer just a passing nuisance, a handful of terrifying pirates who came and went once a year. They were a permanent disturbance, turning the old order upside down. A new chapter was being opened on the Malabar coast.
Late December, 1504 His naus loaded with spices from Cochin, Quilon and stolen merchant ships, Lopo Soares prepares his departure from Cochin. Duarte Pacheco Pereira
, the hero of the battle of Cochin
, is slated to be relieved. (It is said the Trimumpara Raja
of Cochin was beside himself with grief and did everything he could to persuade Lopo Soares to let Duarte Pacheco stay on; but bowing to inevitability, the Trimumpara offered Duarte Pacheco a free cargo of pepper as personal reward for his services. Duarte Pacheco, knowing how the Trimumpara Raja had been personally impoverished by the war, refused to take it.)
Duarte Pacheco's replacement as capitão-more of Fort Manuel of Cochin is nobleman Manuel Telles de Vasconcelos (or Manuel Telles Barreto, according to Barros). Lopo Soares leaves Manuel Telles with three (possibly four) ships: one nau, and two caravels, under the commands of Diogo Pires
and Pêro Rafael (and possibly Cristovão Jusarte (Lisuarte Pereira?)), all veterans of the battle of Cochin. Lopo Soares annexes what remains of the earlier fleets (e.g., Diogo Fernandes Pereira
, Antonio de Saldanha
, etc.) into the 6th Armada. Overall, Lopo Soares is bringing back to Lisbon two more ships than he left with.
, in order to pay his respects to his new ally, the raja of Tanur. While negotiating entry at the port (Ponnani doesn't actually belong to Tanur, which is further inland), Lopo Soares receives a message that a large Arab-Egyptian
fleet ('Moors from Cairo and Mecca') - some 17 Arab ships, 4000 men - had arrived at Pandarane (Pantalyini Kollam), a spacious port just north of Calicut.
They had not come on a military mission, but only to evacuate expatriate
Arab
merchants and their families from Calicut and bring them home to Egypt and Arabia.
Calculating that the ships are probably loaded with the evacuating rich families' valuable belongings and treasures, Lopo Soares cannot resist. The naus being too loaded with spices to manoeuvere properly, Lopo Soares decides to send them on to Cannanore
, and attack the Pandarane fleet with just two caravels and 15 Malabari bateis (pinnace
s), loaded with around 360 Portuguese soldiers. It is a bold venture, but Lopo Soares traps the Egyptian fleet in Pandarane harbor and in the subsequent ferocious battle, succeeds in capturing and plundering the Arab fleet, killing some 2,000 defenders in the process. Portuguese casualties are not light - at 23 dead, 170 wounded, that is about half the force, more than Duarte Pacheco lost in all his encounters at Cochin
a few months earlier.
Early January, 1505 After a brief stop in Cannanore, Lopo Soares and the 6th Armada set sail back across the Indian Ocean.
In 1505, the first Portuguese viceroy D. Francisco de Almeida
arrived in India with a golden crown sent by King Manuel I of Portugal
to reward the steadfastness of the Trimumpara Raja of Cochin in his Portuguese alliance. But the old Trimumpara Raja had abdicated by this time and taken up a life of religious devotion; it was his heir, Candagora, who was crowned in a solemn ceremony by Almeida as 'King of Cochin
'.
By 1506, the Saamoothiri had built a fleet of 200 ships to fight the Portuguese, as well as an efficient artillery with the help of Italian cannon manufacturers. This fleet was defeated in 1506 by the Portuguese Lourenço de Almeida
in the Battle of Cannanore.
By 1507, the Samorin had rebuilt his forces and intended to cooperate with the Egyptian Mamluk
fleet. The Battle of Chaul led to the defeat of the Portuguese. The Saamoothiri joined a coalition led by the Muslim
Sultan of Gujarat, Mahmud Begara in the Battle of Diu
in 1509 but were defeated by the Portuguese. A struggle by the Raja's navy led by his famous admiral, Kunjali Marakkar
ensued and lasted several years. The Portuguese had built the Chaliyam fort just south of Calicut with the permission of the Raja of Vettattnad
(Tirur) in 1530 AD from where the Portuguese attacked Saamoothiri's interests with impunity. The subsequent Rajas collaborated with the Dutch
to defeat the Portuguese- Kochi coalition during 1661.
In 1570, the Sultan of Bijapur, Ali Adil Shah I
entered into an alliance with the Sultan of Ahmadnagar, Murtaza Nizam Shah and the Samoothiri of Kozhikode for a simultaneous attack on the Portuguese territories of Goa, Chaul and Mangalore. He attacked Goa in 1571 and ended Portuguese influence in the region. The Bijapur sultans were especially known for their loathing of Christianity.
The Dutch could not however stay for long. Their force weakened after constant wars with Marthanda Varma of Travancore (until 1753) and were forced to surrender to a British force that marched from Calicut to Cochin on Oct 20, 1795 (as part of the larger Napoleonic Wars between Holland and England in Europe).
The British reached Calicut in 1615 under Captain William Keeling and concluded a treaty of trade under which, among others, the English were to assist Calicut in expelling the Portuguese from Cochin and Cranganore, a term that the British never fulfilled. In 1664, Samoothiri gave the English permission to build a factory in Calicut but did not extend any other favours as he was by now growing suspicious of all foreign(European) traders.
Samoothiti attacked Kodungallur in 1666 and 1668. In these attacks, the Paravur Dynasty was with the Dutch. Paravur dynasty were the allies of Cochin for a long time. But, sometimes, as other city states did, they were with the Samoothiri. Between 1701 and 1710, there were wars with the Cochin and the Samoothiti. This time the Dutch were with the Cochin and Paravur was with the Samoothiti. At the end, a treaty was signed between the Cochin and the Samoothiti.
Soon, the peace was broken and the war continued. Dutch, supporting the Cochin, blocked the Samoothiri at Chetwai. Simultaneously, the Paravur king attacked Cranganore fort, owned by the Dutch. Samoothiri was ordered him to attack the Kodungallur fort to immediately end the war as the time for the Mamankam was soon. So, A peace deal was signed and the Dutch got Pappinivattom and Chetwai. So, all the vassals from Kodungallur to Chetwai now came under the Dutch. To defend the attacks of the Samoothiri, The Dutch started to build a fort in Chetwai in 1714 which will later fame as the Chetwai Fort. The Cochin supported the construction and Samoothiri so worried that he captured the fort within a year with help of the British at Thalassery. All the attempts of the Dutch to recapture the fort failed and at the end the fort was given to them as the a result of the peace treaty in 1718. The alliance of Samoothiri and Paravur king continued.
Again war continued in 1756 when the Samoothiri defeated the Dutch and Chetwai, Pappinivattom, Enamakkal, Paravur kingdom, Alangat kingdom (Mangatt), Thrissur, and Mullurkarra ceded to the Samoothiri. Most of the vassals on the side of Cochin joined with the Samoothiri and he kept some forces at Alangat.
But, the coalition forces of Dutch and Cochin retaliated by the forces from Batavia, and the support of Travancore lead by King Marthandavarama. Travancore, joined the forces as a result a treaty, defeated the Samoothiri at Paravur and Alangot and when at the end the Travancore forces stormed to Malabar, the Samoothiri agreed a peace deal. As a result of the previous treaty between Cochin and Travancore, Paravur and Alangot became a part of Travancore.
in 1763, Hyder Ali
over ran smaller principalities in North Malabar
and set up a confrontation with the Zamorin, the major ruler of the region. With active support of Kombi Achan (Raja of Palakkad
), the Muslim forces of Mysore marched towards Calicut from the south.
Raja of Palakkad was an old enemy of the Samoothiri. Samoothiri had destroyed the Tharoor fort during his attacks on Tharoor. Only then, the Tharoor Royal family moved to Palakkad. When the wars with Palakkad continued the Raja invited Hyder Ali at the end, very regretfully indeed. Hyder Ali send Makhdoom Ali, his commander, to Palakkad. But, soon Raja understood the big mistake of inviting foreign powers to Kerala. During the 1766 invasion of Hyder Ali, even the king of Palakkad was killed and later when Hyder Ali's son Tipu Sultan divided Palakkad, the Mankara portion was on the side of the Samoothiri.
The Zamorin decided to face the mighty enemy with his numerically and militarily inferior forces rather than escaping to Travancore
like the neighbouring Kolathiri
. In 1767, as the Mysoreans edged closer to the outer reaches of the city, the Zamorin sent most of his relatives to safe haven in Ponnani and to avoid the humiliation of surrender committed self- immolation by setting fire to his palace, the Mananchira Kovilakam. Following the tragedy, the second line successor to the throne, the Eranalppad Kishen Raja, continued his military action against the Mysorean forces from South Malabar and eventually forced Hyder Ali to cede many parts of Malabar to local rulers, who were supported by the British East India Company
.
During the 1780s, Ravi Varma Raja
, the Eralppad of Calicut led a successful rebellion against the Mysore forces. Though Tipu conferred on him a jaghire (vast area of tax-free land) mainly to appease him, the Zamorin prince, after promptly taking charge of the jaghire, continued his revolt against the Mysore power, more vigorously and with wider support. He soon moved to Calicut, his traditional area of influence and authority, for better co-ordination. Tipu sent a large Mysore army under the command of M. Lally and Mir Asrali Khan to defeat the Zamorin prince at Calicut. It is believed that Ravi Varma Raja assisted several members of the priestly community (almost 30,000 Namboothiris) to flee the country and take refuge in Travancore
, to escape the atrocities of Tipu.
Ravi Varma Raja
helped the British defeat the Mysore Army and in return was promised full powers over Calicut. But after the defeat of Tippu Sultan, the British reneged on the promise. An irate Eralppad and his nephew, Ravi Varma Unni Raja II (Ravi Varma Unni Nambi) stabbed the Dewan Swaminatha Iyer (who later recovered with the help of English doctors) and fled to Wynad, where they joined the guerilla army of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja. Ravi Varma Raja I died in the guerilla warfare, while his nephew committed suicide upon capture by the British
.
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Eradi
Eradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
Samanthan kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
rulers of the erstwhile late medieval
Medieval India
Medieval India refers to the Middle Ages i.e. 5th to 15th century AD in the Indian subcontinent, it includes:*Early Middle Ages: Middle kingdoms of India*Hoysala Empire*Kakatiya Kingdom*Delhi Sultanate*Ahom Kingdom*Reddy Kingdom...
feudal kingdom of Kozhikode (Nediyirippu Swarūpam) located in the present day state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
The Samoothiris ruled between the 12th and 18th century AD based in Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
, the most important trading port on the Malabar Coast
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
and were the most powerful kings of Kerala during the Middle Age
Middle age
Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
s. They were a close ally of the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
-Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s, the primary traders
Spice trade
Civilizations of Asia were involved in spice trade from the ancient times, and the Greco-Roman world soon followed by trading along the Incense route and the Roman-India routes...
on the Coast in the Middle Age
Middle age
Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
s. After the disintegration of the Chera kingdom
Kulasekhara dynasty (Second Cheras)
Kulasekhara or Later Chera dynasty was a classical Hindu dynasty founded by the saint King Kulashekhara Varman. The dynasty ruled the whole of modern Kerala state , Guddalore and some parts of Nilgiri district and Salem - Coimbatore region in southern India between 9th and 12th centuries AD...
in early 12th century, the Saamoothiris were the only rulers who were capable of and came close to establishing a pan-Kerala state. The relative absence of family quarrels and splits as in other Nair
Nair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
Royal families like Kingdom of Kochi and Kolathunad was one of the factors in the dramatic success of the Samoothiris. The Samoothiris had their second capital at Ponnani
Ponnani
Ponnani/Ponani is an ancient port, a coastal town and a municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 9.32 km2. Ponnani taluk is the smallest Taluk in Malappuram district. This tiny, picturesque town is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west...
and held most of the other important trading ports on the across Coast. The Kunhali Marakkars, the Muslim admirals, were the naval chiefs of the Samoothiris. The control over these ports provided the Samoothiri a vast income of foreign money and they fought numerous battles with their local neighbors, prominently with Valluvanad and Kingdom of Kochi, for supremacy over the ports and the fertile banks of the Bharathappuzha
Bharathappuzha
Bharathappuzha , also known as River Nila, is a river in India in the state of Kerala. With a length of 209 km, it is the second-longest river in Kerala, after the Periyar River. The word "Nila" indicates the culture more than just a river. Nila has groomed the culture and life of south...
. The wars with an alliance of Valluvanad and Perumpadapu is related to the famous Mamankam festival
Mamankam festival
Mamankam festival or Mamangam festival was an ancient festival celebrated in Thirunavaya, Malabar coast, south India, in the present day state of Kerala from the time of Kulasekharas in every 12 years until 18th century, mostly remembered for the bloody battles occurred during the festivals...
s.
The Portuguese
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
trader and navigator Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
visited the Saamoothiri of Kozhikode on May 18, 1498, opening the sailing route directly from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. But, later in the history the Samoothiris turned out to be the worst rivals of the Portuguese
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
on the Malabar coast.
The local legend goes
Keralolpathi
The Keralolpathi is a Malayalam work that deals with the origin of the land of Kerala. Shungunny Menon ascribes the authorship of this work to Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, a 17th century scholar of the Malabar region of India. The Keralolpathi is mostly an expansion from an earlier Sanskrit...
that during the legendary partition of Kerala, the Chera dynasty
Kulasekhara dynasty (Second Cheras)
Kulasekhara or Later Chera dynasty was a classical Hindu dynasty founded by the saint King Kulashekhara Varman. The dynasty ruled the whole of modern Kerala state , Guddalore and some parts of Nilgiri district and Salem - Coimbatore region in southern India between 9th and 12th centuries AD...
king didn't give any land to his most trusted Nair
Nair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
lieutenant, the Eradi (Eradis were hereditary governors of Eralnad province in the Chera kingdom). Due to his feeling of guilt, the king gave his personal sword (Odaval) and his favourite prayer conch
Shankha
Shankha bhasam , also spelled and pronounced as Shankh and Sankha, is a conch shell of ritual and religious importance in Hinduism and Buddhism. It is the shell of a large predatory sea snail,Turbinella pyrum found in the Indian Ocean....
(which was broken) to his lieutenant and told him to occupy as much as land he can, with all his might. So, the general conquered
Samoothiri–Polarthiri war
Following the end of the Chera kingdom, the city of Calicut and its suburbs formed part of the Polanad Kingdom ruled by the Porlatiri. The Eradis of Nediyirippu in Ernad where land-locked and sought an outlet to the sea to initiate trade and commerce with the distant lands...
his neighboring Nair
Nair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
states and created a powerful kingdom for himself. As a token of his respect to the Chera king, the Samoothiris adopted the logo of two crossed swords, with a broken conch
Shankha
Shankha bhasam , also spelled and pronounced as Shankh and Sankha, is a conch shell of ritual and religious importance in Hinduism and Buddhism. It is the shell of a large predatory sea snail,Turbinella pyrum found in the Indian Ocean....
in the middle and a lighted lamp above it. Soon this became the official emblem of Malabar, until 1766 AD, when Mysore state under the leadership of Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
defeated the Samoothiris and annexed the state.
The Saamoothiri initiated the annual Revathi Pattathanam
Revathi Pattathanam
Revathi Pattathanam is an annual assembly of scholars held since ancient times at Kozhikode in Kerala, India. Traditionally a seven-day event, the festival used to be held under the patronage of the Zamorin of Kozhikode. The prime event of the assembly, is the conferring of the title Bhatta along...
at the Tali Siva temple in Calicut. The present Saamoothiri is His Highness P. K. S. Raja of Puthiya Kovilakam (Thiruvannur).
Etymology
The term Samoothiri (complete ശ്രീമദ്, സകലഗുണസമ്പന്നരാന, സകല ധർമ്മ പരിപാലകരാന, അഖണ്ഡിതലക്ഷ്മി പ്രസന്നരാന, മാഹാമെരുസമാനധീരരാന, മിത്രജനമനോരഞ്ജിതരാന രാജമാന്യ രാജശ്രീ കോഴിക്കോട് മാനവിക്രമസാമൂതിരി മഹാരാജാവ്) came into use only after the 15th century, in the writings of Abdul RazzakAbdur Razzaq (traveller)
Kamal-ud-Din Abd-ur-Razzaq ibn Ishaq Samarqandi, , was a Persian chronicler and Islamic scholar. He was the ambassador of Shah Rukh, the Timurid dynasty ruler of Persia to Calicut, India, from January 1442 to January 1445...
.
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...
visited the country in the 14th century and only refers to the rulers as Kunnalakkonathiri or Punthureshan. However, then the Eradi
Eradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
s assumed the title of Samudrāthiri ("one who has the sea for his border"). The title Samudrāthiri was shortened to Sāmoothiri over time in common usage. Some argue that it originated from the name of an Eradi
Eradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
minister of the Cheras
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
(called Chozhisamudri).
Capitals
According to K. V. Krishna Ayyar, a historian, the city of KozhikodeKozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
was founded on a marshy tract along the Malabar coast
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
in 1034 AD. The Eradi
Eradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
s with their capital at Nediyiruppu
Nediyiruppu
Nediyiruppu is a village in Malappuram district in the state of Kerala, India. The village centre is called Musliyarangadi. This village is very near the Kozhikode International Airport. The Kozhikode to Chennai trunk road passes through this village. The name of the village 'Nediyiruppu' refers...
(somewhere around present Kondotty
Kondotty
Kondotty is a growing town in Malappuram district, Kerala, South India. Kondotty is located near the Calicut Airport.Kondotty is famous for the Nercha in the Pazhayangadi Mosque. Kondotty is the birthplace of the great Mappila poet, Moyinkutty Vaidyar. He popularised Mappilapattu by his poems...
) were land-locked and sought an outlet to the sea. The Eradis subsequently moved their capital to the coastal marshy lands of Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
, then also called Thrivikramapuram.
During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Calicut was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices
Spice trade
Civilizations of Asia were involved in spice trade from the ancient times, and the Greco-Roman world soon followed by trading along the Incense route and the Roman-India routes...
. The name Kozhikode is thought to be derived from Koyil (Palace) + Kota (Fort) meaning 'Fortified Palace'. The place was also referred to as Chullikkad meaning 'shrubby jungle' probably referring to the marshy nature of the land. Others have called the city by different names. The Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s called it Kalikooth, Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
s called the city Kallikkottai, for the Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
it was Kalifo. The word Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
(Calicut) is also thought to have derived from a fine variety of hand-woven cotton cloth called Calico that was exported from the port of Kozhikode.
Ponnani
Ponnani
Ponnani/Ponani is an ancient port, a coastal town and a municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 9.32 km2. Ponnani taluk is the smallest Taluk in Malappuram district. This tiny, picturesque town is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west...
was the second capital of the Samoothiris, further south on the Malabar coast.
Succession Line
The Zamorin's family, being EradiEradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
s are connected to several other Eradi clans who are resident in Nilambur
Nilambur
Nilambur is a municipality and a taluk in the Malappuram district of Kerala, South India. It is famous for its forests, especially its wildlife habitats, rivers, waterfalls and teak plantations. It is situated close to the Nilgiris range of the Western Ghats on the banks of the Chaliyar River...
, Ponnani
Ponnani
Ponnani/Ponani is an ancient port, a coastal town and a municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 9.32 km2. Ponnani taluk is the smallest Taluk in Malappuram district. This tiny, picturesque town is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west...
and nearby localities in Malappuram district. The second in line successor to the throne is known as Eralppad (Eranad Ilamkur Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad) and he resides in Eranad (northern parts of present day Malappuram district) itself. The third was Eranad Moonnamkur Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad, the fourth known as Itattoornad Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad and the fifth Nediyiruppu Mootta Eradi Thirumulpad.
The most important of the Zamorin's samanthans (vassals) included Elaya Vakayil Vellodi, Thalachanna Nayar of Calicut and the Menon of Eranad.
The Zamorins used these titles and no records indicate the actual personnel name of the king. There is one more title namely Virarayan. This title seems to be acquired when Zamorins annexed Valluvanad to Zamorins territory. The title Virarayan is a form derived from Rayeran, a name of Valluvanad seen even in 9th century AD, in Panniyur inscriptions of Cheras.
Origins
The Samoothiris were originally the Nair rulersNair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
of a province (or a fiefdom) of the Later Chera Kingdom (800–1102 AD) called Eralnad and were known as the Eradi
Eradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
s. According to legends, two Eradi brothers known as Manikkan and Vikraman established a local ruling family at Nediyiruppu
Nediyiruppu
Nediyiruppu is a village in Malappuram district in the state of Kerala, India. The village centre is called Musliyarangadi. This village is very near the Kozhikode International Airport. The Kozhikode to Chennai trunk road passes through this village. The name of the village 'Nediyiruppu' refers...
, near present-day Kondotty
Kondotty
Kondotty is a growing town in Malappuram district, Kerala, South India. Kondotty is located near the Calicut Airport.Kondotty is famous for the Nercha in the Pazhayangadi Mosque. Kondotty is the birthplace of the great Mappila poet, Moyinkutty Vaidyar. He popularised Mappilapattu by his poems...
. Eralnad was only a small fiefdom, one of the states that made up the Chera kingdom. The others included Kolathunadu
Kolathunadu
Kolathunādu was one of the three most powerful feudal kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival Portuguese Armadas to India along with Zamorin's Calicut and Venad. Kolathunād had its capital at Ezhimala and was ruled by Kolathiri royal family and roughly comprised the whole northern...
, Perumpadappu
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
, and Venad
Venad
Venad Swarupam was one of the three prominent late medieval Hindu feudal kingdoms on Malabar Coast, south India, along with Kingdom of Calicut and Kingdom of Cannanore. In the early 14th century, Venad ruler Ravi Varma Kulasekhara had established a short-lived supremacy over southern India...
.
Konganpada attacks
Around the early years of the 10th century, king of KongunadKongu Nadu
Kongu Nadu is a region comprising the western part of the Tamil Nadu India. The region is bounded on the west and north-west by the Karnataka state, on the west by the Kerala state, on the east by Tondai Nadu, on the south-east by Chola Nadu and on the south by Madurai regions of...
attacked the Chera kingdom through the Palakkad Gap
Palakkad Gap
Palakkad Gap is a 30-40 kilometers wide low mountain pass in the Western Ghats, near Palakkad town in the South Indian State of Kerala. It has an elevation of . The hills rise to 1100m to the North of the gap, and 2000m to the South. The average height of the gap is 144m.The gap is the lowest...
. But, the Kongu army was defeated by the combined armies of Nedumpurayoor
Palakkad
Palakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
, Valluvanad, Eralnad and Perumpadappu
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
led by the Later Chera king. In honor the Valluvanad Raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
received Kurissi Vilayan Chathanur and Kaithala villages from Nedumpurayoor
Palakkad
Palakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
. This event is even now celebrated as a historical event in Chittur taluk
Chittur
Chittur is a small town in Palakkad district of Kerala, South India.-Politics:Chittur assembly constituency is part of Alathur .It contains 16 panchayats.-Demographics:...
where the fight took place.
After the Later Chera rule
In the break up the Later Chera KingdomChera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
around the 12th century AD, several of its chieftains and governorates became independent.
But, according to a Nambuthiri-Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
legend called Keralolpathi
Keralolpathi
The Keralolpathi is a Malayalam work that deals with the origin of the land of Kerala. Shungunny Menon ascribes the authorship of this work to Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, a 17th century scholar of the Malabar region of India. The Keralolpathi is mostly an expansion from an earlier Sanskrit...
("Genesis of Kerala"), the last of the Chera kings partitioned his kingdom among his feudatories and army officers (Eradi
Eradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
s were one of them) and secretly left for Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
with some Arab traders, embraced Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and lived the rest of his life in obscurity in Arabia. Although there is no solid basis for the last king's conversion to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and the Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
, it is a possibility 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. But, during this partition of the Kingdom, the last Chera didn't give any land to his most trusted Nair
Nair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
lieutenant, the Eradi
Eradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
s Manikkan and Vikraman. Due to the feel of guilt, the king gave his personal sword (Odaval) and his favorite prayer conch which was broken, to his lieutenant and asked him to occupy as much as land he can with his might.
Capture of Calicut: the Samoothiri-Polarthiri wars
There is some ambiguity regarding the exact course of events that led to the establishment of EradiEradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
's rule over Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
, their later capital.
According to A. Sreedhara Menon
A. Sreedhara Menon
Professor Alappat Sreedhara Menon was a distinguished historian from Kerala. He received the Padma Bhushan for Literature & Education in 2009, India's third highest civilian honour....
, a historian, after the Later Cheras, Calicut and its suburbs formed part of the Polanad ruled by the Porlatiri. The Eradi
Eradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
s of Nediyiruppu
Nediyiruppu
Nediyiruppu is a village in Malappuram district in the state of Kerala, India. The village centre is called Musliyarangadi. This village is very near the Kozhikode International Airport. The Kozhikode to Chennai trunk road passes through this village. The name of the village 'Nediyiruppu' refers...
in Eralnad were land-locked and sought an outlet to the sea to initiate trade and commerce with the distant lands. To accomplish this, the Eradis marched with their Nair
Nair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
s towards Panniyankara
Panniyankara
Panniyankara has its origin in the 18th century. The main features are police station, Sathram Bus Stop and southern Railway. It is situated in Calicut district in Kerala, India. Earlier there was a palace named as Kavalapparakottaram , now demolished and the Panniankara Telephone exchange was...
and besieged the Porlatiri in his headquarters, resulting in a 48-year long war.
The Eradi
Eradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
s emerged victorious in their conquest of Polanad and shifted there headquarters from Nediyiruppu
Nediyiruppu
Nediyiruppu is a village in Malappuram district in the state of Kerala, India. The village centre is called Musliyarangadi. This village is very near the Kozhikode International Airport. The Kozhikode to Chennai trunk road passes through this village. The name of the village 'Nediyiruppu' refers...
to Calicut. Eradis 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 Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
). If A. Sreedhara Menon
A. Sreedhara Menon
Professor Alappat Sreedhara Menon was a distinguished historian from Kerala. He received the Padma Bhushan for Literature & Education in 2009, India's third highest civilian honour....
was correct, the Eradi
Eradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
s marched towards the coastal fiefdom of Polanad and the Porlathiri, the ruler of Polanad (Porakilanad) was killed during 48 year long war. Even the Nambuthiri-Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
legend says that having been gifted with the royal sword and the injunction "Chattum konnum adakki kolka" ("conquer by courting and conferring death") by the last Chera (according to Keralolpathi
Keralolpathi
The Keralolpathi is a Malayalam work that deals with the origin of the land of Kerala. Shungunny Menon ascribes the authorship of this work to Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, a 17th century scholar of the Malabar region of India. The Keralolpathi is mostly an expansion from an earlier Sanskrit...
), so the Ernadi waged war against the Porlatiri (Porakilar Adhikari) and captured Panniyankara.
However, M.G.S. Narayanan
M.G.S. Narayanan
Muttayil Govindamenon Sankara Narayanan , born on 20th August 1932, is a historian, academic and a former Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research.-Education:...
, another historian, in his book, Calicut: The City of Truth states that the Eradi
Eradi
Eradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
was in fact a favourite of the last Later Chera king as the Eradi was at the forefront of the wars with the Chola-Pandya forces to the south of his kingdom and led the army to victory. The king therefore granted him, as a mark of favor, a small tract of land on the sea-coast in addition to his hereditary possessions (Eralnad). This patch of wasteland is called Chullikkad(as in the Keralolpathi
Keralolpathi
The Keralolpathi is a Malayalam work that deals with the origin of the land of Kerala. Shungunny Menon ascribes the authorship of this work to Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, a 17th century scholar of the Malabar region of India. The Keralolpathi is mostly an expansion from an earlier Sanskrit...
). To corroborate his assertion that Eradi was in fact a favourite of the last Later Chera, M.G.S. Narayanan
M.G.S. Narayanan
Muttayil Govindamenon Sankara Narayanan , born on 20th August 1932, is a historian, academic and a former Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research.-Education:...
cites a stone inscription of the last Chera discovered at Kollam
Kollam
Kollam , often anglicized as ', is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city lies on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake on the Arabian sea coast and is situated about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram...
in south Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. It refers to Nalu Taliyum, Ayiram, Arunurruvarum, Eranadu Vazhkai Manavikiraman, mutalayulla Samathararum- "The four Councillors, The Thousand, The Six Hundred, along with Mana Vikrama-the Governor of Eranad and other Feudatories." So, M.G.S. Narayanan
M.G.S. Narayanan
Muttayil Govindamenon Sankara Narayanan , born on 20th August 1932, is a historian, academic and a former Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research.-Education:...
seems to indicate that Kozhikkode lay in fact beyond and not within the kingdom of Polanad and there was no need of any kind of military movements for Calicut. The Eradis subsequently moved their capital to the coastal marshy lands and established the city of Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
, then also called 'Thrivikramapuram'.
Kingdom of Kodungallur
Kodungallur Kovilakam
Kodungallur Kovilakam refers to palace of Royal Family of Kodungallur. Kodungallur was an autonomous principality subordinate to the Raja of Cochin until Indian Independence in 1947....
(Airur dynasty) one of the Samoothiri's oldest vassals circa from 13th century.
Even the stories about the origin of the Kadathanadu Dynasty
Kadathanadu
Kadathanadu was a former Nair Hindu feudatory city-state in present day Kerala state, South India, on the Malabar Coast famed for its anthology of heroic songs, folklores and ballads and for Kalarippayattu.-Geographical location:Geographically, Kadathanadu is part of North Malabar...
is associated with wars of the Samoothiri with Polanad. When the Samoothiri attacked Polanad, he exiled a Polarthiri royal princess from his territory and she was welcomed in Kolathunad, the Samoothiri's rivals, and after the marriage with Kolathiri
Kolathiri
Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā was the title by which the senior most male along the matilinial line of the Mushika or Kolathunādu Royal Family was styled...
prince with this princess the Kadathanadu Dynasty
Kadathanadu
Kadathanadu was a former Nair Hindu feudatory city-state in present day Kerala state, South India, on the Malabar Coast famed for its anthology of heroic songs, folklores and ballads and for Kalarippayattu.-Geographical location:Geographically, Kadathanadu is part of North Malabar...
originated. The name Kadathanad refers to as the passing way between Kolathunad and Calicut.
Flood of Periyar
However, the events coincided with a flood of the Periyar RiverPeriyar River
Periyar is the longest river in the state of Kerala, India, with a length of 244 km. The Periyar is known as the lifeline of Kerala; it is one of the few perennial rivers in the region and provides drinking water for several major towns...
in about 1341 AD that led to silting of the harbour of Muziris
Muziris
Muziris is an ancient sea-port in Southwestern India on the Periyar River 3.2 km from its mouth. The derivation of the name Muziris is said to be from "Mucciripattanam," "mucciri" means "cleft palate" and "pattanam" means "city". Near Muziris, Periyar River was branched into two like a...
flourishing trade with the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
, Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
and Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
empires. The near destruction of Muziris led to the rise in prosperity of Kochi
Kochi (India)
Kochi , formerly Cochin, is a major port city on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Kochi is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. Kochi is often called by the name Ernakulam, which refers to the western part of the mainland Kochi...
(Cochin) and Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
. The Eradi assumed the title of Samudrāthiri ("one who has the sea for his border") and continued to rule from Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
. The title Samudrāthiri was shortened to Sāmoothiri over time in common usage. Access to the sea helped the Eradi chief, who was by now called the Saamoothiri develop the city into one of the major trading centers of the Eastern world
Eastern world
__FORCETOC__The term Eastern world refers very broadly to the various cultures or social structures and philosophical systems of Eastern Asia or geographically the Eastern Culture...
abounding in a wide variety of goods like pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
, textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
s, lac
Lac
Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of insects, namely some of the species of the genera Metatachardia, Laccifer, Tachordiella, Austrotacharidia, Afrotachardina, and Tachardina of the superfamily Coccoidea, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.The...
, ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
, cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
, myrobalans
Myrobalans
The common names myrobalan or myrobalans can refer to several unrelated fruit-bearing plant species:*Cherry plum myrobalan plum *Amla Amalaki, emblic myrobalans...
, and zedoary
Zedoary
Zedoary is the name for a perennial herb and member of the genus Curcuma Linn., family Zingiberaceae. The plant is native to India and Indonesia...
. Vessels of various sizes from around the world, like Chinese junk
Junk (ship)
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...
s, arrived on the shores of Calicut.
The Samoothiris changed to the most powerful kings in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
during the Middle Age
Middle age
Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
s and harboured greater ambitions to extend their rule over the whole of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. This motivated them to enter into battles with neighbouring kingdoms with great success.
Before the Thirunavaya wars the Saamoothiri annexed the states of Parappanad and Vettathunad.
Thirunavaya wars (circa 1353–1363 AD)
Between 1353 and 1363 AD, the Saamoothiri fought a series of battles with several smaller states (mainly the kingdoms of PerumpadappuKingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
(Rajas of Kochi as they came to be known later) and Walluvanad
Walluvanad
This article is about an erstwhile Nair feudal state in Kerala, India, for ancient Dravidian people of Valluvar, see Valluvar or Valluvanadu...
) in what is called the Thirunavaya War
Thirunavaya War
Thirunavaya Wars were a series of battles between the Saamoothiri Raja and the kingdoms of Perumpadappu and Walluvanad. The Saamoothiri was successful in capturing Thirunavaya and Vanneri and he styled himself as Rakshapurusha...
s. The technical reason for the wars were the Panniyur-Chovvaram Row. In this wars Samoothiri captured two strategic places from their enemies. The places were Vanneri and Thirunavaya
Thirunavaya
Thirunavaya is a small village in Malappuram district of Kerala, south India. This village is famed as the theatre of the Mamankam festival held in the Thirunavaya Temple on the banks of the Bharathapuzha River....
respectively from Perumpadappu
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
and Valluvanad. Vanneri was, in fact, the capital of Perumpadappu Rajas. The Perumpadappu Rajas subsequently shifted their capital to Thiruvanchikulam
Thiruvanchikulam
Thiruvanchikkulam was the capital of the Chera kingdom. Thiruvanchikulam is situated near the modern city of Kochi in the Kerala Province of modern India south to Mahodayapuram and north to former Muziris, the famous sea port on the Malabar coast...
(Mahodayapuram). The Saamoothiri
Saamoothiri
Zamorin is the title used by the Hindu Eradi Samanthan kshatriya rulers of the erstwhile late medieval feudal kingdom of Kozhikode located in the present day state of Kerala, India....
was also successful in capturing Thirunavaya
Thirunavaya
Thirunavaya is a small village in Malappuram district of Kerala, south India. This village is famed as the theatre of the Mamankam festival held in the Thirunavaya Temple on the banks of the Bharathapuzha River....
and he styled himself as Rakshapurusha ("Protector of the People"). The grudges held by the defeated princes of Valluvanad was the foundation of the bloody Mamankam festivals.
More expansions
Samoothiri continued to pursue his expansionist aims into surrounding dominions. He followed a policy of conferring conquered lands to the feudatories of the defeated kings. Saamoothiri's military power led to the subjugation without confrontation of rival feudatories like Dharmoth Panicker, Pulappatta Nair and Kavalappara NairKavalappara Swaroopam
Kavalappara Swaroopam or Kavalappara is a former Hindu Nair feudal city-state in Malabar, South India. Kavalappara Nairs were the vassals of the Zamorins of Calicut, and ruled some parts of Ottappalam, Chittur and Palakkad. At the peak of his glory, king of Kavalappara ruled some 96 village from...
of the Vellatiri. The regions of Malappuram
Malappuram
Malappuram is a municipality in the South Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 33.61 km2. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Malappuram district. As per the 2011 census Malappuram urban agglomeration is the fourth largest UA in kerala with a total population of...
, Nilambur
Nilambur
Nilambur is a municipality and a taluk in the Malappuram district of Kerala, South India. It is famous for its forests, especially its wildlife habitats, rivers, waterfalls and teak plantations. It is situated close to the Nilgiris range of the Western Ghats on the banks of the Chaliyar River...
, Vallappanattukara and Manjeri
Manjeri
Manjeri is a town and municipality in Malappuram District in the state of Kerala, India. It is the commercial capital of Malappuram District and is 28 km from an international airport and 50 km from Kozhikode railway station....
came under the dominion of the Saamoothiri. The Eralpad (Samoothiri prince) ruled these areas as the supreme commander, and was based at Karimpuzha
Karimpuzha
Karimpuzha is a village in Ottapalam taluk, Palakkad district. The Karimpuzha River is one of the tributaries of the Bharathapuzha River. Bharathapuzha is the fourth longest riverin Kerala, south India. A famous Sree Rama Swamy Temple is situated on the banks of this River. Temple was owned by...
.
Saamoothiri's attack on Perumpadappu
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
was repelled by the combined forces of Perumpadappu Raja
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
s and Vellatiri. Nedunganad, a small princely state between Valluvanad and Palakkad
Palakkad
Palakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
was won over with ease and the Nedungattiri, the Raja of Nedunganad was afforded certain rights of supervision over the temple of Cherplassery with a subsistence allowance.
In 1405 AD, Saamoothiri's army again defeated the Perumpadappu Rajas
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
(Rajas of Kochi
Cochin Royal Family
The Cochin royal family were rulers of Cochin, or Kochi, India. They were also known as Perumpadapu Swaroopam or Kuru Swaroopam.-Tradition of Perumpadapu Swaroopam:...
as they came to be known later) who then shifted their capital from Thiruvanchikulam
Thiruvanchikulam
Thiruvanchikkulam was the capital of the Chera kingdom. Thiruvanchikulam is situated near the modern city of Kochi in the Kerala Province of modern India south to Mahodayapuram and north to former Muziris, the famous sea port on the Malabar coast...
(Mahodayapuram) to Kochi
Kochi
-Places:* Kochi, a city in the state of Kerala, India, formerly known as Cochin* Kingdom of Cochin, a former feudal city-state on Malabar Coast, India** Fort Kochi, one of the three main urban components which constitute the present day city of Kochi, Kerala, India...
. Zamorin conquered Thrikkanamathilakam and it became a threat for Mahodayapuram (Thiruvanchikulam), and this may be the reason that Perumpadapu Swaroopam
Cochin Royal Family
The Cochin royal family were rulers of Cochin, or Kochi, India. They were also known as Perumpadapu Swaroopam or Kuru Swaroopam.-Tradition of Perumpadapu Swaroopam:...
changed their capital to Cochin.
Capture of Kottakkal
Panthalur and KottakkalKottakkal
Kottakkal is a town and a municipality in Malappuram District in Kerala, south India. It has 32 Wards. The National Highway 17 separates the municipality from Edarikkode Panchayath on some part in the west. It is an Eranadan town located 12 km south-west of Malappuram, the district...
under Karuvayoor Moosad
Karuvayoor Moosad
He was the Brahmin Chief Minister of Moopil Nair under Valluvakkonathiri, king of Valluvanad.He looked after Kottakkal and Pantallur...
, the chief marshal and preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
of Moopil Nairs came under Saamoothiri's rule soon thereafter. Kottakkal
Kottakkal
Kottakkal is a town and a municipality in Malappuram District in Kerala, south India. It has 32 Wards. The National Highway 17 separates the municipality from Edarikkode Panchayath on some part in the west. It is an Eranadan town located 12 km south-west of Malappuram, the district...
, known as White Fort in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, Venkalikotta and Venkitta Kotta in Malayalam, was a small military base of the Kingdom of Valluvanad. The annexation followed a bloody war which lasted 12 years. Karuvayoor Moosad
Karuvayoor Moosad
He was the Brahmin Chief Minister of Moopil Nair under Valluvakkonathiri, king of Valluvanad.He looked after Kottakkal and Pantallur...
assassinated Thinayancherry Elayath
Thinayancherry Elayath
Thinayancherry Elayath was one of the ministers of Zamorins of Calicut, India....
, one of the ministers of the Samoothiri. Saamoothiri's army finally trapped the Moosad at Padapparamba
Padapparamba
Padapparamba Sajid.P.K is a village in the Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala. It was the erstwhile place of Valluvanad, an erstwhile princely state of Kerala. Perinthalmanna, Malappuram, Kottakkal, Manjeri,valancheri,angadippuram,makkaraparamba,kulathoor are the major cities near to...
, captured him and put him to death. Then Moonnarpadu Thampuran, the cousin of the Samoothiri killed Karuvayoor Moosad
Karuvayoor Moosad
He was the Brahmin Chief Minister of Moopil Nair under Valluvakkonathiri, king of Valluvanad.He looked after Kottakkal and Pantallur...
in combat and restored control of the fort. The descendants of the thampuran dwelt in Kottakkal thereafter. The loss of this brave and fiercely loyal chief minister was the greatest blow to the Vellaattiri post Thirunavaya Wars. The newly acquired regions was subsequently ruled by Varakkal Paranambi, a minister of Saamoothiri.
This was followed by the Raja of Kochi
Cochin Royal Family
The Cochin royal family were rulers of Cochin, or Kochi, India. They were also known as Perumpadapu Swaroopam or Kuru Swaroopam.-Tradition of Perumpadapu Swaroopam:...
accepting the over lordship of the Saamoothiri and became a feudatory of the latter. The wars on Valluvanad by the Saamoothiri continued for longer duration.
Kolathiri
Kolathiri
Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā was the title by which the senior most male along the matilinial line of the Mushika or Kolathunādu Royal Family was styled...
was Samoothiri's another local rival. Calicut and Kolathunad fought numerous wars before the arrival of the Portuguese
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
. Later, this rivalry paved the way for an anti-Samoothiri alliance between the Portuguese
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
and the Kolathiri.
Edappally (Elangallur)
Edapally Rajas
Edappally Rajas were the rulers of the medieval feudal kingdom of Edappally, which also included parts of Karthikapally, Haripad, Cherthala in the present day state of Kerala, South India....
was a Samoothiri's vassal in the south. In battles between Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
and the Samoothiri they were with the Samoothiri. Edappally kings always wanted to regain Kochi
Kochi
-Places:* Kochi, a city in the state of Kerala, India, formerly known as Cochin* Kingdom of Cochin, a former feudal city-state on Malabar Coast, India** Fort Kochi, one of the three main urban components which constitute the present day city of Kochi, Kerala, India...
and Vypinkara from the Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
, which were lost from them decades ago, and the Samoothiri tried hard to do the task but was never successful in his attempts.
Vijayanagara attacks
But, then Deva Raya IIDeva Raya II
Deva Raya II was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty. Perhaps the greatest of the Sangama dynasty rulers, he patronised some of the famous Kannada and Telugu poets of the time...
(reigned 1424-1446 CE) of Vijayanagara Empire
Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...
conquered the entire present day Kerala state. He defeated (1443) the ruler of Kollam
Venad
Venad Swarupam was one of the three prominent late medieval Hindu feudal kingdoms on Malabar Coast, south India, along with Kingdom of Calicut and Kingdom of Cannanore. In the early 14th century, Venad ruler Ravi Varma Kulasekhara had established a short-lived supremacy over southern India...
as well as other chieftains such as Samoothiri. Fernão Nunes says that the Samoothiri and even the kings of Burma ruling at Pegu and Tenasserim paid tribute to the king of Vijayanagara Empire. Apparently by late 1430, Saamoothiri invited the Timurid dynasty ruler of Persia Shah Rukh for an emissary to visit Malabar in order to improve commerce. So, Abdur Razzaq
Abdur Razzaq (traveller)
Kamal-ud-Din Abd-ur-Razzaq ibn Ishaq Samarqandi, , was a Persian chronicler and Islamic scholar. He was the ambassador of Shah Rukh, the Timurid dynasty ruler of Persia to Calicut, India, from January 1442 to January 1445...
, the ambassador who visited southern India in 1443 wrote that overall Deva Raya II has extended the Vijayanagara Empire from Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
to Malabar.
Later, the kings of Kerala rebelled against their Vijayanagara overlords, Deva Raya II quelled rebelling feudal lords, the Samoothiri and the Venattadi. But, as the Vijayanagara power diminished in the next fifty years, Samoothiri again rose to prominence in Malabar coast.
In 1498, Saamoothiri built a fort at Ponnani
Ponnani
Ponnani/Ponani is an ancient port, a coastal town and a municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 9.32 km2. Ponnani taluk is the smallest Taluk in Malappuram district. This tiny, picturesque town is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west...
during his conquest of the nadus.
Preface
From the early fifteenth century, the nautical school of Henry the Navigator had been extending Portuguese knowledge of the African coastline. From the 1460s, the goal had become one of rounding that continent's southern extremity to gain easier access to the riches of India (mainly black pepperBlack pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
and other spices) through a reliable sea route.
Vasco da Gama's expedition
On 8 July 1497 Vasco da Gama led a fleet of four ships with a crew of 170 men from LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
was sent by King Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
with a fleet of four ships to find the sea route to India. Gama's fleet was equipped by Captain Bartolomeu Dias
Bartolomeu Dias
Bartolomeu Dias , a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese explorer who sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first European known to have done so.-Purposes of the Dias expedition:...
, who had previously sailed to the tip of South Africa in 1488, but had to turn back from going onwards to India due to a mutiny on his ship. Dias, who was used to dealing with African tribes that inhabited the West coast of Africa at that time, equipped the fleet with goods like glass beads, copper bowls, tin bells, tin rings, striped cotton cloth, olive oil, and sugar that had proved useful to him in trade with the tribes. Gama could not offer the Saamoothiri any substantial gift (which was customary for new traders). The distance traveled in the journey around Africa to India and back was greater than around the equator. The navigators included Portugal's most experienced, Pero de Alenquer, Pedro Escobar
Pedro Escobar
Pedro Escobar, also known as Pêro Escobar, was a 15th century Portuguese navigator who discovered São Tomé and Príncipe together with João de Santarém and Fernão do Pó circa 1470. He is then recorded sailing with Diogo Cão on his first voyage in 1482, and as the pilot of the famous Bérrio caravel...
, João de Coimbra, and Afonso Gonçalves. It is not known for certain how many people were in each ship's crew but approximately 55 returned, and two ships were lost.
In February 1498, Vasco da Gama continued north, landing at the friendlier port of Malindi
Malindi
Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...
- whose leaders were then in conflict with those of Mombasa - and there the expedition first noted evidence of Indian traders. Gama and his crew contracted the services of a pilot whose knowledge of the monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
winds allowed him to bring the expedition the rest of the way to Calicut (Kozhikode), located on the southwest coast of India. Sources differ over the identity of the pilot, calling him variously a Christian, a Muslim, and a Gujarati. One traditional story describes the pilot as the famous Arab navigator Ibn Majid, but other contemporaneous accounts place Majid elsewhere, and he could not have been near the vicinity at the time. Also, none of the Portuguese historians of the time mention Ibn Majid.
Gama lands in Malabar
The fleet arrived in KappadKappad
Kappad, or Kappakadavu locally, is famous as the beach near Kozhikode , India, where the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama landed on May 20, 1498. His voyage established the sea route from Europe to India...
near Calicut, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on 20 May 1498. The King of Calicut, the Saamoothiri
Saamoothiri
Zamorin is the title used by the Hindu Eradi Samanthan kshatriya rulers of the erstwhile late medieval feudal kingdom of Kozhikode located in the present day state of Kerala, India....
(Samoothiri), who was at that time staying in his second capital at Ponnani, returned to Calicut on hearing the news of the European fleets's arrival. The navigator was received with traditional hospitality, including a grand procession of at least 3,000 armed Nairs, but an interview with the Samoothiri failed to produce any concrete results. The presents that da Gama sent to the Samoothiri as gifts from Dom Manuel—four cloaks of scarlet cloth, six hats, four branches of corals, twelve almasares, a box with seven brass vessels, a chest of sugar, two barrels of oil and a cask of honey—were trivial, and failed to cut any ice. While Samoothiri's officials wondered at why there was no gold or silver, the Muslim merchants who considered da Gama their rival suggested that the latter was only an ordinary pirate and not a royal ambassador! Vasco da Gama's request for permission to leave a factor behind him in charge of the merchandise he could not sell was turned down by the King, who insisted that da Gama pay customs duty—preferably in gold—like any other trader, which strained the relation between the two. Annoyed by this, da Gama carried a few Nairs and sixteen Mukkuva fishermen off with him by force. Nevertheless, da Gama's expedition was successful beyond all reasonable expectation, bringing in cargo that was worth sixty times the cost of the expedition.
Malindi
Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...
on 7 January 1499.
Although the Saamoothiri received the Portuguese warmly, relations between the two soured soon. This was because the Portuguese at the outset demanded a trade monopoly and also the expulsion of Muslim traders from Kozhikode.
The first India Armada, commanded by Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
, arrived in Portugal in the summer of 1499, in a rather sorry shape. Although he came back with a hefty cargo of spices that would be sold at an enormous profit, Vasco da Gama had failed in the principal objective of his mission - negotiating a treaty with Calicut, the spice entrepot on the Malabar Coast
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
of India.
Pedro Álvares Cabral's expedition
On the orders of King Manuel I of PortugalManuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
, arrangements immediately began to assemble a Second Armada in Cascais
Cascais
Cascais is a coastal town in Cascais Municipality in Portugal, 30 kilometres west of Lisbon, with about 35,000 residents. It is a cosmopolitan suburb of the Portuguese capital and one of the richest municipalities in Portugal. The former fishing village gained fame as a resort for Portugal's royal...
and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are sketchy, it...
. Determined not to repeat Gama's mistakes, this one was to be a large and well-armed fleet - 13 ships, 1500 men - and laden with valuable gifts and diplomatic letters to win over the potentates of the east. The fleet included Sancho de Tovar
Sancho de Tovar
Sancho de Tovar, 6th Lord of Cevico, Caracena and Boca de Huérgano was a Portuguese nobleman of Castilian birth, best known as a navigator and explorer during the Portuguese age of discoveries. He was the sub-captain of the fleet that discovered Brazil in 1500, and was later appointed Governor of...
, Nicolau Coelho
Nicolau Coelho
Nicolau Coelho was an expert Portuguese sailor during the age of discovery. He participated in the discovery of the route to India by Vasco da Gama where he commanded Berrio, the first caravel to return; was captain of a ship in the fleet headed by Pedro Álvares Cabral who landed in Brazil...
, Pêro de Ataíde
Pêro de Ataíde
Pêro de Ataíde or Pedro d'Ataíde , nicknamed O Inferno , was a Portuguese sea captain in the Indian Ocean active in the early 1500s...
, Bartolomeu Dias
Bartolomeu Dias
Bartolomeu Dias , a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese explorer who sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first European known to have done so.-Purposes of the Dias expedition:...
and others. Cabral's instructions were several-fold. Cabral's instructions were precisely to succeed where Gama had failed, and to this end was entrusted with magnificent gifts to present to the Samoothiri. Cabral was under orders to establish a feitoria (factory
Factory (trading post)
Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...
) in Calicut, to be placed under Aires Correia, the designated factor
Factor (agent)
A factor, from the Latin "he who does" , is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, historically with his seat at a factory , notably in the following contexts:-Mercantile factor:In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy,...
for Calicut.
August 22, 1500 - After an uneventful ocean crossing, Cabral's six ships land in Anjediva Island (Angediva, Anjadip), where they rest and recuperate, repair and repaint the ships.
Cabral in Calicut
September 13, 1500 - Sailing down the Indian coast, Cabral's expedition finally reaches Calicut (Calecute, Kozhikode). Gaily decorated boats come out to greet them, but remembering Gama's experience, Cabral refuses to go ashore until hostages are exchanged. He dispatches Afonso Furtado and the four Calicut hostages taken by da Gama the previous year, to negotiate the details of the landing. This eventually done, Cabral finally finally goes ashore himself and meets new Samoothiri of Calicut (Manavikraman Raja, the wary old Samoothiri that da Gama had met, had recently died). The Portuguese are better-prepared this time - Cabral presents the young Samoothiri with much finer and more luxurious gifts than Gama had brought, and more respectful and personalized letters of address from King Manuel I of PortugalManuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
.
A commercial treaty is successfully negotiated, and the Samoothiri gives Cabral a security-of-trade certificate etched on a silver plate. The Portuguese are allowed to establish a feitoria
Factory (trading post)
Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...
in Calicut and Aires Correia, the designated factor for Calicut, goes ashore with some 70 men. Once the factory is set up, Cabral releases the ship hostages as a sign of trust. Correia immediately sets about buying spices in Calicut's markets for the ships to take home.
Service request to Cabral
October?, 1500 - Not long after, the Samoothiri of Calicut dispatches a service request to Cabral's idling fleet. Arab merchants allied with rival state of Cochin are returning from Ceylon with a cargo of war elephants destined for the Sultan of Cambay (Khambhat, Gujarat). Claiming it to be illegal contraband (and the Samoothiri could probably use the elephants himself), Cabral is asked if he can intercept them. Cabral sends one of his caravels, brimming with cannon, under Pêro de AtaídePêro de Ataíde
Pêro de Ataíde or Pedro d'Ataíde , nicknamed O Inferno , was a Portuguese sea captain in the Indian Ocean active in the early 1500s...
(nicknamed 'Inferno'), to capture it. Hoping for a spectacle, the Samoothiri himself comes down to the beachfront to witness the engagement, but leaves in disgust when the Arab ship deftly slips past Ataide. But Ataíde gives chase and eventually catches up with it near Cannanore and successfully seizes the vessel. Cabral presents the captured ship, with its nearly-intact elephant cargo (one pachyderm was killed in the engagement), to the Samoothiri as a gift.
Calicut Massacre
December, 1500 - After two months of operation, factor Aires Correia has only been able to buy enough spices to load two of the ships. He complains to Cabral his suspicions that the guildGuild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
of Arab merchants in Calicut have been colluding
Collusion
Collusion is an agreement between two or more persons, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage...
to shut out Portuguese purchasing agents from the city's spice markets. This is not unlikely. Arab traders had reportedly used similar collusive tactics to drive out Chinese merchants earlier in the 15th C. It would make sense if they tried doing so again - particularly as the Portuguese had arrived trumpeting their hatred of 'the Moors' and demanding trading privileges and preferences, a clear danger to their own trade.
[Historians cite murkier elements to this, in particular, that the Portuguese traders might have been unwitting counters in on-going quarrels between competing older and newer Arab merchant guilds in the city and/or used as pawns in the personal power struggles among the Samoothiri's leading advisors, etc. There were certainly more dimensions to this affair, the full details of which will likely never be clearly known.]
Cabral presents the complaint to the Samoothiri, and requests that he crack down on the Arab merchant guild or enforce Portuguese priority in the spice markets. But the Samoothiri refuses to intervene in the matter - or rather makes only some vague promises, but disdains to get actively involved in the matter, as Cabral demands.
December 17, 1500 - Frustrated by the Samoothiri's inaction, Cabral decides to take matters into his own hands. On the advice of Aires Correia, Cabral orders the seizure of an Arab merchant ship from Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, then loading up with spices in Calicut harbor, claiming that as the Samoothiri had promised the Portuguese priority in the spice markets, the cargo is rightfully theirs. Incensed, the Arab merchants around the quay immediately raise a riot in the city and direct mobs to attack the Portuguese factory. The Portuguese ships, anchored out in the harbor and unable to approach the docks, helplessly watch the unfolding massacre. After three hours of fighting, some 53 (some say 70) Portuguese are slaughtered by the mobs - including the factor Aires Correia, the secretary Pêro Vaz de Caminha
Pêro Vaz de Caminha
Pêro Vaz de Caminha , was a Portuguese knight that accompanied Pedro Álvares Cabral to India in 1500, as a secretary to the royal factory. Caminha wrote the detailed official report of the April 1500 discovery of Brazil by Cabral's fleet...
, and three (some say five) of the Franciscan friars. Around twenty Portuguese then in the city manage to escape the riot by jumping into the harbor waters and swimming to the ships. The survivors report to Cabral that the Samoothiri's own guards were seen either standing aside or actively helping the rioters.
December 18–22, 1500 - Incensed at the attack on the factory, Cabral waits one day for redress by the Samoothiri. When this isn't forthcoming, he takes his revenge. The Portuguese seize around ten Arab merchant ships then in harbor, confiscating their cargoes, killing their crews, and burning their ships. Then, accusing the Samoothiri of sanctioning the riot, Cabral orders a full day shore bombardment of Calicut, doing immense damage to the unfortified city (estimates of Calicut casualties reach up to 600). Cabral proceeds to bomb the nearby Calicut-owned port of Pandarane as well.
Alliance with Cochin
December 24, 1500 - Cabral leaves smoldering Calicut, unsure of what to do next. At the suggestion of Gaspar da GamaGaspar da Gama
Gaspar da Gama was a merchant of Jewish origin who acted as interpreter and provided many services to the Portuguese, since he first approached Vasco da Gama fleet returning from the first travel from Europe to India. He was known to speak several East and West languages...
(the Goese Jew who had been accompanying the expedition), Cabral sets sail south along the coast towards Cochin (Cochim, Kochi), a small city-state at the outlet of the brackish Vembanad
Vembanad Lake
Vembanad Lake is the longest lake in India, and the largest lake in the state of Kerala. It is also one of the largest lakes, in India. A lake spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known by different names in different localities viz. Punnamada Lake in Kuttanad, Kochi Lake in...
lagoon in the Kerala backwaters. Half-in-vassalage and half-at-war with Calicut, Cochin had long chafed at the dominance of its larger neighbor and was looking for an opportunity to break away.
Arriving in Cochin, a Portuguese emissary, accompanied by a Christian picked up in Calicut, are set ashore to make contact with the Trimumpara Raja (Unni Goda Varda), the Hindu prince of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
. The Portuguese are greeted warmly - the bombardment of hated Calicut outweighing the earlier matter of the war elephants. All the cordialities and hostage-swapping quickly fulfilled, Cabral himself goes ashore and negotiates a treaty of alliance between Portugal and Cochin, directed against Calicut. Cabral promises to make the Trimumpara Raja of Cochin the ruler of Calicut, upon that city's capture.
Factory in Cochin
A Portuguese factory is set up in Cochin, with Gonçalo Gil Barbosa as chief factor (the pre-designated Aires Correia having perished in the Calicut riot). A smaller, poorer city, the spice markets of Cochin are not nearly as well supplied as Calicut, but the trade is good enough to begin loading ships. The stay in Cochin is not without incident - the factory is set ablaze one evening (probably at the instigation of Arab traders in the city), but the Trimumpara Raja will not countenance a repeat of the events of Calicut. He cracks down on the arsonists, takes the Portuguese under his protection (the factors stay in his palace), and assigns his personal NairNair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
guard to escort the Portuguese factors in the city's markets and protect the factory against any further incidents.
Invitations from Cannanore, Quilon and Kodungallur
Early January 1501 - While in Cochin, Cabral receives missives from the rulers of CannanoreKolathunadu
Kolathunādu was one of the three most powerful feudal kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival Portuguese Armadas to India along with Zamorin's Calicut and Venad. Kolathunād had its capital at Ezhimala and was ruled by Kolathiri royal family and roughly comprised the whole northern...
(Canonor, Kannur, further north, another of Calicut's reluctant vassals) and Quilon
Quilon
Quilon may refer to,* Venad, a former state on Malabar Coast, India* Kollam , Kerala state, India* Kollam district, Kerala state...
(Coulão, Kollam, further south, once a great Syrian Christian merchant city, entrepot for cinnamon, ginger and dyewood). They commend Cabral's actions against Calicut, and invite the Portuguese to trade in their cities instead. Not wishing to offend his gracious Cochinese host, Cabral politely declines the invitations, promising only to visit those cities at some future date.
While still at Cochin, Cabral receives yet another invitation, this one from nearby Cranganore (Cranganor, Kodungallur). Once a great city on the northern end of the Vembanad lagoon, capital of the Chera dynasty
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, Cranganore had since fallen on hard times. Mother nature delivered Cranganore two severe blows - silting up the channels that connected Cranganore to the waterways, and breaking open a competing sea outlet by Cochin in the 14th C. Cochin's rise had been principally due to the re-routing of commercial traffic away from Cranganore. Nonetheless, the remaining merchants of the dwindling city still maintained their old connections to the Kerala pepper plantations in the interior. Finding the supply in Cochin running low, Cabral takes up the offer to top up their cargo at Cranganore.
The visit to Cranganore turns out to be an eye-opener for the Portuguese, for among the city's remaining inhabitants are substantial established communities of Malabari Jews
Cochin Jews
Cochin Jews, also called Malabar Jews , are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots claimed to date to the time of King Solomon, though historically attested migration dates from the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Historically, they lived in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India, now part of the...
and Syrian Christians
Syrian Malabar Nasrani
The Syrian Malabar Nasrani people, also known as Saint Thomas Christians, "'Nasrani Mappila'" and Nasranis, are an ethnoreligious group from Kerala, India, adhering to the various churches of the Saint Thomas Christian tradition...
. The encounter with a clearly recognizable Christian community in Kerala confirms to Cabral what the Franciscan friars had already suspected back in Calicut - namely, that Vasco da Gama's earlier hypothesis about a 'Hindu Church' was mistaken. If real Christians have existed alongside Hindus in India for centuries, then clearly Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
must be a distinct and separate religion, 'heathen idolaters', as the Portuguese friars characterized them, rather than a 'primitive' form of Christianity. Two Syrian Christian priests from Cranganore apply to Cabral for passage to Europe (one of them, known as José de Cranganore or Joseph the Indian (Josephus Indus), will provide instrumental intelligence about India to the Portuguese.
January 16, 1501 - News arrives that the Samoothiri of Calicut had assembled and dispatched a fleet of around 80 boats against the Portuguese in Cochin. Despite the Trimumpara Raja of Cochin's offer of military assistance against the Calicut fleet, Cabral decides to precipitously lift anchor and slip away rather than risk a confrontation. Cabral's armada leave behind the factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa and six assistants in Cochin. In their hasty departure, the Portuguese inadvertently take along two of the Trimumpara's officers (Idikkela Menon and Parangoda Mennon), who had been serving as noble hostages aboard the vessels.
Cabral at Kolathiri's
Heading north, Cabral's armada takes a wide sweep to avoid Calicut, and pays a quick visit to CannanoreKolathunadu
Kolathunādu was one of the three most powerful feudal kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival Portuguese Armadas to India along with Zamorin's Calicut and Venad. Kolathunād had its capital at Ezhimala and was ruled by Kolathiri royal family and roughly comprised the whole northern...
. Cabral is warmly received by the Kolathiri
Kolathiri
Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā was the title by which the senior most male along the matilinial line of the Mushika or Kolathunādu Royal Family was styled...
Raja of Cannanore who, eager for a Portuguese alliance, offers to sell the Portuguese spices on credit. Cabral accepts the cargo but pays him nonetheless (not a splendid cargo - only low-quality ginger, as it turns out, but Cabral is appreciative of the gesture.)
His ships now filled with spices, Cabral decides not to visit Quilon
Quilon
Quilon may refer to,* Venad, a former state on Malabar Coast, India* Kollam , Kerala state, India* Kollam district, Kerala state...
, as he had earlier promised, but to make way back home to Portugal. Late January, 1501 - Cabral takes aboard an ambassador from Cannanore, and starts his ocean crossing back to East Africa. On the way, the Portuguese capture a Gujarati ship, replete with a magnificent cargo. They steal the cargo, but spare the crew, once they realize they are not Arabs
So, in December 1500 the Saamoothiri expelled the Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
from Kozhikode due to their demand for a monopoly, and they moved to a trading post at the city of Kochi
Kochi (India)
Kochi , formerly Cochin, is a major port city on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Kochi is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. Kochi is often called by the name Ernakulam, which refers to the western part of the mainland Kochi...
were they were warmly welcomed.
João da Nova arrives
The Third India ArmadaPortuguese India Armadas
The Portuguese India armadas were the fleets of ships, organized by the Portuguese crown and dispatched on an annual basis from Portugal to India, principally Goa...
was assembled in 1501 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
and placed under the command of João da Nova
João da Nova
João da Nova , Xoán de Novoa or Joam de Nôvoa galician spellings, Juan de Nova, Spanish spelling, was a Galician explorer of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans at the service of Portugal...
. Nova's armada was relatively small and primarily commercial in objective. The objective of the Third Armada was wholly commercial. Their mission was to go to India, load up with spices, and return home. It was expected to be uneventful. Early August 1501 - Nova's armada arrives in Kilwa
Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani is a community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania.- History :A document written around AD 1200 called al-Maqama al Kilwiyya discovered in Oman, gives details of a mission to reconvert Kilwa to Ibadism, as it had recently been effected by the Ghurabiyya...
(Quiloa). where they are greeted on the beach by the degradado António Fernandes (Ataide's note said Fernandes was to be found in Mombassa; either Fernandes had travelled from there to Kilwa, or Ataíde was simply confused.) From the letters Cabral had left with Fernandes, João da Nova learns more of the details of the falling out with the Samoothiri of Calicut, the Portuguese factory at Cochin and the friendly relations with Cannanore
Kolathunadu
Kolathunādu was one of the three most powerful feudal kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival Portuguese Armadas to India along with Zamorin's Calicut and Venad. Kolathunād had its capital at Ezhimala and was ruled by Kolathiri royal family and roughly comprised the whole northern...
and Quilon
Quilon
Quilon may refer to,* Venad, a former state on Malabar Coast, India* Kollam , Kerala state, India* Kollam district, Kerala state...
. November, 1501 João da Nova's Third Armada alights in India, on an island off the Malabar coast, either Angediva or Santa Maria, and begin making their way down the Indian coast towards Kerala, capturing two Arab merchant ships near Mount d'Eli
Ezhimala Hill
Ezhimala , a hill reaching a height of 286 metres, is located in Kannur District of Kerala, South India. As the former capital of the ancient Mushika Kingdom, it is considered to be an important historical site. It is a conspicuous, isolated cluster of hills, forming a promontory 38 km north...
, on the way.
The two month delay between the Third Armada's departure from the African coast (prob. August–September, 1501) and the first date known of its activities in India (November, 1501) is unusual and has been subjected to much speculation. It is unlikely that the Armada lingered in Africa, as the monsoon would not have allowed a crossing at that late date. It is possible they simply took a long recuperative rest at Angediva/Santa Maria, or called in at nearby ports such as Batecala (Bhatkal
Bhatkal
Bhatkal is also known as Batecala in some historical text especially in Portuguese history.Once ruled by Jain King Bhattakalanka and thus the name. Bhatkal is a port town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India 126 km from Karwar. The town lies on NH-17 running between Mumbai and Mangalore...
) (as suggested by the chronicler Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia or Gaspar Corrêa was a Portuguese historian, author of "Lendas da Índia , one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia, being referred to as a Portuguese Polybius.- Biography :There is little information about the life of the author...
) to do some trading and maybe some piracy too, before heading south to Cannanore.
On the other hand, it has been hypothesized that during this interlude, Nova might have launched some exploratory ventures in the area during, in particular taken a wide swing far south, below Cape Comorin, to see if he could locate the fabled island of 'Taprobana
Taprobana
Taprobana was the historical name of an island in the Indian Ocean. It was first reported to Europeans by the Greek geographer Megasthenes around 290 BC, and was taken up by Ptolemy...
' (Ceylon), the world's main source of cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
(see below.)
The Third Armada arrives in Cannanore
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
(Cananor, Kannur) sometime in November. They are well-received by the Kolathiri
Kolathiri
Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā was the title by which the senior most male along the matilinial line of the Mushika or Kolathunādu Royal Family was styled...
Raja of Cannanore, who immediately urges João da Nova to load up his ships with spices from that city's markets. Nova side-steps the offer courteously, noting that he must first collect the supplies already acquired by the Portuguese factory in Cochin (Cochim, Kochi). Nonetheless, before setting off, Nova drops off a few agents, with instructions to initiate arrangements to purchase spices (principally ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
and cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
) in the Cannanore markets, to be picked up later.
[It is sometimes said that Nova established the Portuguese factory
Factory (trading post)
Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...
in Cannanore at this point. Although the factor he left behind was Paio Rodrigues, a private agent of D. Álvaro of Braganza
Álvaro of Braganza
Álvaro of Braganza was the 4th son of Ferdinand I, 2nd Duke of Braganza and his wife, Dona Joana de Castro.-Biography:...
and the Marchionni
Bartolomeo Marchionni
Bartolomeo Marchionni was a Florentine merchant established in Lisbon during the Age of Discovery.Bartolomeo Marchionni arrived circa 1468 at Lisbon as an agent to the Cambini. In a long career he become the most successful merchant and one of the richest men in Lisbon at the time...
consortium, not an employee of the Casa da India
Casa da Índia
Casa da Índia was the Portuguese organization that managed all overseas territories during the heyday of the Portuguese Empire in the 16th century. It was both the central authority for managing all aspects of overseas trade, the central shipment point and clearing house...
(the crown trading house). The Casa (and thus the Portuguese Crown) would only install a factor in Cannanore on the next expedition (4th Armada
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
The Fourth India Armada was assembled in 1502 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Vasco da Gama. It was Gama's second trip to India...
).
On the way to Cochin, Nova pounces on three merchant ships, including one owned by the Samoothiri himself, at the mouth of Calicut harbor, seizing their cargoes and burning the vessels in plain view of the city. Some valuable silver Indian nautical instruments and navigational charts were among the loot seized from these ships.
Nova in Cochin
Arriving in Cochin, João da Nova encounters the factor left behind by Cabral, Gonçalo Gil Barbosa. Barbosa reports trading difficulties in the local markets. Indian spice merchants require payment in cash (silverSilver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
principally), but Cabral had left him only with a stock of Portuguese goods (cloth mainly), expecting him to use the revenues from their sale to buy up the spices. But European goods have little vent in Indian markets, and Barbosa was still saddled with his unsold stock, unable to raise the cash to buy the spices. Barbosa seems to suspect that the Arab merchants guild has engineered a boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of Portuguese goods on Indian markets. He also reports that the Raja Trimumpara of Cochin, despite his alliance and protection of the factory, is in fact infuriated at the Portuguese because Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are sketchy, it...
's Second Armada
2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)
The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way...
had departed so suddenly (without cordialities and taking two noble Cochinese hostages with them).
The lack of silver cash seems to be the pressing problem that Nova did not anticipate. He certainly did not bring much cash with him, having also expected to sell Portuguese goods in India to raise it.
Nova immediately sets sail back to Cannanore, to see if the agents he left there had any more success, but they are facing much the same problem - Portuguese merchandise is going unsold, and the spice merchants are demanding payment in silver. The Third Armada's mission is on the verge of failure, when the Kolathiri
Kolathiri
Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā was the title by which the senior most male along the matilinial line of the Mushika or Kolathunādu Royal Family was styled...
Raja of Cannanore intervenes, and places himself as security for the sale of spices to the Portuguese on credit. This breaks the deadlock and allows the Portuguese to finally load up on the spice markets.
Naval Battle of Cannanore
Late December 1501 – Having loaded up with the spices he could get on credit in Cannanore (plus whatever cargoes he managed to steal by piratical attacks on Malabari ships), João da Nova makes preparations to leave India.December 31, 1501 - As he about to set out of Cannanore, João da Nova's Third Armada is cornered in the bay by a fleet dispatched by the Samoothiri of Calicut, composed of nearly forty large ships, plus some 180 small paraus and zambuks, an estimated armed Malabari force of 7,000 men.
The Raja of Cannanore urges João da Nova to stay under his protection and avoid a fight. But Nova, noticing the landside breeze in his favor, decides to attempt a break-out. After a few rounds of cannon open a little hole in the Calicut line, Nova orders his four ships into a column formation and charges through it, cannon blasting on either side. The powerful Portuguese cannonades and carracks' height foil Malibari attempts to throw grappling hooks and board the Portuguese quartet. As the Portuguese column continues out to sea, Nova continues firing his cannon relentlessly at his pursuers. The Calicut fleet, less seaworthy, begins to splinter and lag behind. As the Third Armada pulls away, the prospect of a grapple dims, and the battle is limited to a ranged artillery duel. The Malabari ships quickly realize their Indian cannon cannot match the range and speed of reloading of the Portuguese cannon, and begin to turn away. At this point, Nova gives a brief chase, before finally breaking up the engagement on January 2, 1502.
On the whole, after two days of fighting, the Third Armada had sunk five large ships and about a dozen oar-driven boats. But they inflicted a great deal of damage on the remaining Malabari vessels, while sustaining very little damage themselves.
Although João da Nova had not come prepared for a fight, the two-day naval battle off Cannanore was the perhaps the first significant Portuguese naval engagement in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. It was not the first clash between Portuguese and Indian ships - Gama's First Armada and Cabral's Second Armada
2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)
The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way...
had their share. But earlier encounters had been largely with poorly-armed merchant ships, scrawny pirates and isolated squads, targets a single, well-armed fighting caravel
Caravel
A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
could see off without much difficulty. This time, the Samoothiri of Calicut had attacked directly, stretching his sinews to deploy the best his navy could offer against a small group of relatively lightly armed Portuguese merchant carracks. The results were disheartening to the Malabari sea-king.
The Battle of Cananore made abundantly clear the great disparity between European and Indian technology in ship design and artillery - a gap that, in subsequent years, the Portuguese would repeatedly exploit and the Samoothiri of Calicut was desperate to close. To nullify the Portuguese naval superiority, the Samoothiri would have to stick to land or look abroad - to the Arabs, the Turks and Venetians.
The battle is also historically notable for being one of the earliest recorded deliberate uses of a naval column
Column (formation)
A military column is a formation of soldiers marching together in one or more files in which the file is significantly longer than the width of ranks in the formation...
, and for resolving the battle by cannon alone. These tactics would become increasingly prevalent as navies evolved and began to see ships less as carriers of armed men, and more as floating artillery. In that respect, this has been called the first 'modern' naval battle (at least for one side). May 21, 1502 On the return journey, João da Nova discovers the uninhabited island of Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
in the South Atlantic Ocean, naming it after saintly empress who's day it was. The expedition of the Third Armada had not been a resounding success. Although there was no significant loss of ships or men, they came back with less spices than anticipated (letters insinuate that cargo holds came back partially empty).
Gama's second trip
The Fourth India ArmadaPortuguese India Armadas
The Portuguese India armadas were the fleets of ships, organized by the Portuguese crown and dispatched on an annual basis from Portugal to India, principally Goa...
was assembled in 1502 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
and placed under the command of D. Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
. It was Gama's second trip to India. It was designed as a punitive expedition, targeting Calicut, to avenge the travails of the 2nd Armada
2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)
The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way...
and the massacre of the Portuguese factory in 1500. The Second India Armada
2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)
The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way...
, commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are sketchy, it...
, had arrived in Portugal in the summer of 1501 in a terrible shape. Ship and human losses were tremendous, its mission objectives failed. As a result, King Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
ordered a new fleet to be assembled, the 4th India Armada, armed to the teeth, with the explicit objective of bringing Calicut to heel. he 4th Armada was composed of 20 ships and between 800 and 1800 men. Mid-August, 1502 - After its Indian Ocean crossing, the Fourth Armada alights near the opulent port of Dabul
Dabhol
Dabhol is a small seaport town in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra in India. •- History :Hardly a trace remains of the once-flourishing port of Dabhol , on the north bank of the mouth of the Vashishti River in the Konkan region of India.In the 15th and 16th C., Dabul was an opulent Muslim trade...
(north of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
). These are the territorial waters of the powerful Muslim sultan Adil Shah
Yusuf Adil Shah
Yusuf Adil Shah , referred as Adil Khan or Hidalcão by the Portuguese, was the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur for nearly two centuries...
(Hidalcão) of Bijapur. Expecting trouble, the fighting ships hoist up their lateen sails and load up their cannon. But no one comes out to challenge them, so they begin coasting south along the Indian coast towards Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
.
Late August/Early September 1502 - Business in Batecala done, Vasco da Gama sets sail towards Cannanore. They anchor in around Mount d'Eli
Ezhimala Hill
Ezhimala , a hill reaching a height of 286 metres, is located in Kannur District of Kerala, South India. As the former capital of the ancient Mushika Kingdom, it is considered to be an important historical site. It is a conspicuous, isolated cluster of hills, forming a promontory 38 km north...
, the common touch-point for ships on the Jedda-Calicut route, evidently intending to catch some prizes before proceeding.
Sinking of the Miri
September 29, 1502 - After prowling around Mt. d'Eli for nearly a month with little success (they captured only one minor ship), captainGil Matoso (on the São Gabriel), spots a large merchant ship carrying Muslim pilgrims returning from MeccaMecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
(or going to it, chronicles contradict). The ship, the Miri, is identified as belonging to a certain al-Fanqi, one of wealthier men of Calicut and said by some to be the Mecca
Sharif of Mecca
The Sharif of Mecca or Hejaz was the title of the former governors of Hejaz and a traditional steward of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
n factor
Factor (agent)
A factor, from the Latin "he who does" , is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, historically with his seat at a factory , notably in the following contexts:-Mercantile factor:In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy,...
in Calicut. Matoso chases the pilgrim ship down, which surrenders rather quickly, probably imagining that its master had enough money to ransom it off. But Vasco da Gama shrugs off all the offers. As the Portuguese crew plunder the ship and transfer its cargo, it quickly becomes evident that Gama intends to burn the ship with all its passengers - men, women and children - on board. When Gama proves deaf to their pleas for mercy, the passengers frantically attack the Portuguese men-at-arms with their bare hands. To no avail.
October 3, 1502 - a day, eyewitness Thomé Lopes
Thomé Lopes
Thomé Lopes or Tomé Lopes was a Portuguese scrivener, writer of an eyewitness account of the second journey of Vasco da Gama to India .Thomé Lopes's background is obscure...
states, "I will never forget for the rest of my days". The pilgrim ship thoroughly plundered, on Gama's orders, the passengers are locked in the hold and the ship burnt and sunk by artillery. It takes several days to finally go down completely. Portuguese soldiers row around the waters on longboats mercilessly spearing survivors.
The sinking of the Miri is an act that will instantly cement Gama's cruel and fearsome reputation, and generate a great deal of hatred for the Portuguese in India. Gama defended his act as "vengeance" for the Calicut massacre
2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)
The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way...
of 1500, arguing that the ship's owner, as a prominent person in Calicut, was 'doubtlessly' responsible for the sinister counsel to the Samoothiri that led up to it.
Of the eyewitnesses, all mention it, but only Thomé Lopes
Thomé Lopes
Thomé Lopes or Tomé Lopes was a Portuguese scrivener, writer of an eyewitness account of the second journey of Vasco da Gama to India .Thomé Lopes's background is obscure...
openly condemns the act, claiming Gama acted "with great cruelty and without any mercy whatsoever". The chroniclers don't shy away from describing the event and their unease is evident. Although Barros
João de Barros
João de Barros , called the Portuguese Livy, is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his Décadas da Ásia , a history of the Portuguese in India and Asia.-Early years:...
and Castanheda
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda was a Portuguese historian in the early Renaissance.His "History of the discovery and conquest of India", full of geographic and ethnographic objective information, was widely translated throughout Europe.- Life :Castanheda was the natural son of a royal officer, who...
reiterate Gama's justification of the act as revenge for Cabral, they don't seem to embrace it themselves. Indeed, Barros, Góis
Damião de Góis
Damiao de Góis , born in Alenquer, Portugal, was an important Portuguese humanist philosopher. He was a friend and student of Erasmus. He was appointed secretary to the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1523 by King John III of Portugal...
and Osório claim the ship belonged to the Sultan of Egypt
Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri
Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri was the second last of the Mamluk Sultans. One of the last of the Burji dynasty, he reigned from 1501 to 1516.On the disappearance of Sultan Al-Adil Sayf ad-Din Tuman bay I, it was not till after some days that the choice of the Emirs and Mamluks fell upon Al-Ashraf...
, who was in no way responsible for the events in Calicut, thus subtly suggesting Gama may have made a mistake. Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia or Gaspar Corrêa was a Portuguese historian, author of "Lendas da Índia , one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia, being referred to as a Portuguese Polybius.- Biography :There is little information about the life of the author...
is a little more open in his disapproval. He notes that several of the Portuguese captains were appalled by Gama's decision and tried to persuade him against it (if only because they would forego a hefty ransom). Correia gives a heart-rending account of the desperate and valiant resistance of the doomed passengers. Poet Luís de Camões
Luís de Camões
Luís Vaz de Camões is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Vondel, Homer, Virgil and Dante. He wrote a considerable amount of lyrical poetry and drama but is best remembered for his epic work Os Lusíadas...
passes over the incident in silence, evidently feeling it detrimental to the heroic portrait of Vasco da Gama.
Estimates of those killed on the Miri hover around 300. Portuguese chroniclers are eager to report that 20 children were spared this fate, and brought back by the 4th Armada to Lisbon, where they will be baptized and raised as friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
s at the Nossa Senhora de Belém
Jerónimos Monastery
The Hieronymites Monastery is located near the shore of the parish of Belém, in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal...
. Among the eyewitnesses Thomé Lopes
Thomé Lopes
Thomé Lopes or Tomé Lopes was a Portuguese scrivener, writer of an eyewitness account of the second journey of Vasco da Gama to India .Thomé Lopes's background is obscure...
and the anonymous Flemish sailor make no mention of this small mercy, although Matteo de Bergamo does point it out.
Factory in Cannanore
October 18, 1502 - Vasco da Gama's armada finally reaches CannanoreKannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
(Canonor, Kannur), and delivers the Cannanore ambassador that had gone to Lisbon with Cabral's 2nd Armada
2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)
The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way...
. The Kolathiri
Kolathiri
Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā was the title by which the senior most male along the matilinial line of the Mushika or Kolathunādu Royal Family was styled...
Raja of Cannanore invites Gama to come ashore for an elaborate reception, but Gama replies that he swore a personal oath not to set his foot on Indian soil again until his vengeance on Calicut was sated. As a result, the rajah orders a wooden scaffold to be built over the seashore, where they can meet in person without violating the vow.
Gama presents the raja with royal letters and munificent gifts (a jeweled sword, a brocaded armchair) and discussions immediately begin. A commercial treaty is negotiated, establishing a Portuguese crown factory
Factory (trading post)
Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...
in Cannanore, and arranging a fixed-price schedule, which the Raja personally guarantees, for the sale of spices to the Portuguese.
[The negotiation for the commercial treaty did not go smoothly, particularly the fixed price clause. The Kolathiri Raja protested that he had no power over market prices nor the right to dictate how private merchants disposed of their property. Gama had to resorted to feints, threats and then sailed out of Cannanore in anger. Barros credits the role of Paio Rodrigues, the Portuguese factor (private, not crown, an employee of the private employee of D. Álvaro of Braganza
Álvaro of Braganza
Álvaro of Braganza was the 4th son of Ferdinand I, 2nd Duke of Braganza and his wife, Dona Joana de Castro.-Biography:...
and the Marchionni
Bartolomeo Marchionni
Bartolomeo Marchionni was a Florentine merchant established in Lisbon during the Age of Discovery.Bartolomeo Marchionni arrived circa 1468 at Lisbon as an agent to the Cambini. In a long career he become the most successful merchant and one of the richest men in Lisbon at the time...
consortium), that had been left behind in Cannanore by João da Nova
João da Nova
João da Nova , Xoán de Novoa or Joam de Nôvoa galician spellings, Juan de Nova, Spanish spelling, was a Galician explorer of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans at the service of Portugal...
's Third Armada
3rd Portuguese India Armada (Nova, 1501)
The Third India Armada was assembled in 1501 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of João da Nova. Nova's armada was relatively small and primarily commercial in objective. Nonetheless, they engaged the first significant Portuguese naval battle in the Indian Ocean...
at the beginning of the year. After Gama stormed off and ordered sail out of the city, Paio Rodrigues mediated between the Kolathiri Raja and the Captain-Major and finalized the treaty
Correia points out this is the treaty where the Portuguese cartaz
Cartaz
Cartaz was a naval trade license or pass issued by the Portuguese in the Indian ocean during the sixteenth century , under the rule of the Portuguese empire. It shared similarities with the British navicert system of 1939-45...
system was first introduced. Henceforth, every merchant ship along the Malabar coast had to present a certificate signed by a Portuguese factor (in Cannanore, Cochin, etc.), or else be subject to attack and seizure by a Portuguese patrol. This licensing system would be subsequently adopted later on other Portuguese-controlled coasts (e.g. East Africa, Malacca, Brazil), with differing degrees of success. It will be largely maintained until the 18th C.
Bombardment of Calicut
October 25, 1502 - Fleet departs Cannanore. Chroniclers differ a little on the subsequent sequence of events. While still in Cannanore, Gama had sent Pedro Afonso de Aguiar to Calicut in advance, with the warning that he had come to settle scores for the mistreatment of CabralPedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are sketchy, it...
and to get compensation for the overruning of the Calicut factory in 1500
2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)
The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way...
. In response, the Samoothiri of Calicut sent back a string of messengers to Cannanore (and along the way to Calicut), each delivering promises that the Samoothiri was willing to settle matters with Gama, and compensate the Portuguese for the loss of their factory goods. On the other hand, Gama also receives a message from Gonçalo Gil Barbosa, the Portuguese crown factor in Cochin, warning him that it was all a tactical ruse, that the Samoothiri of Calicut had also dispatched a circular letter to all the lords of the Malabar Coast
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
instructing them to close their ports and markets to the Portuguese.
October 29, 1502 - Gama's large armada finally arrives before the harbor of Calicut (Calecute, Kozhikode). The Samoothiri dispatches an emissary, a Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
(dressed as a Christian friar) on a boat to Gama. The Brahmin reports that the Samoothiri had arrested twelve of those responsible for the 1500 riot, and offers a peace and friendship treaty and the opening of a discussion of the restoration of the trade goods seized from the Portuguese factory, albeit noting that the Samoothiri has also suffered property damages from Portuguese actions and that he intends to deduct it from the final account. Gama is angered, feeling that the Samoothiri has changed his tone from his earlier messages, and demands the property taken from the factory be restored in full and brought to his ship, and that all Muslim merchants must be expelled from the Calicut, before any discussion about a treaty begins.
While awaiting the Samoothiri's reply, Gama seizes a nearby idling zambuq and some fishing boats that had unwisely ventured into Calicut harbor, taking some fifty fisherman captive. This action evidently angers the Samoothiri, who sends a stern reply to Gama, noting that Gama had already taken severalfold times more property from Calicut ships, and slaughtered ten times more of his citizens (on the Miri, etc.) than the Portuguese lost in the 1500 riot. Despite being the net sufferer and the clamor of his citizens for revenge, the Samoothiri is prepared to forgive and forget and start anew. The Samoothiri also replies that Calicut is a free port and he has no intention of expelling 'the Moors'. Moreover, the Samoothiri orders Gama to release his 'hostages', that he will not subject himself to negotiation conditions and that if Gama is unhappy with his offer, then he should leave Calicut harbor at once, for the Samoothiri has not given him permission to anchor there, or at any other port in India.
October 31, 1502 - Infuriated by the reply, Gama sends out a strongly worded ultimatum
Ultimatum
An ultimatum is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance. An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series of requests...
, declaring that the Samoothiri's permission means nothing to him, that he has until noon the next day to deliver the Portuguese factory goods to his ship. Gama uses this overnight interlude to send his boats out to sound the harbor of Calicut to find optimal firing positions. That same night, Calicut forces set about frantically digging entrenchments, erecting a protective timber palisade and laying cannon along the harbor shore.
November 1, 1502 - At noon, having received no reply, Gama orders that his Malabari prisoners strung up
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
by their necks from the shipmasts, allocating a few to each ship. Calicut crowds approach the beach to watch the grisly spectacle. Then the armada advances into the harbor and opens fire. The bombardment is principally aimed at clearing the beach and trenches. The Malabari shore cannon are too few, their range and power too weak, to provide an effective reply. The bombardment continues until nightfall. That night, the corpses of the hung Malabaris are taken from masts, their feet and hands severed off and sent by a small boat to the beach, with an insulting message to the Samoothiri, including a demand that the Samoothiri reimburse the Portuguese for the powder and shot expended on destroying his city.
November 2, 1502 - The city bombardment resumes the next morning. The mostly poor dwellings on the shore having been razed the previous day, the Portuguese cannons now have a clear view of central city and the statelier homes of the richer citizens of Calicut and bring their larger ordnance to bear. The city is relentlessly bombarded all morning - some 400 large rounds and an indeterminate number from the smaller caliber guns At noon, when the Portuguese pause for lunch, a small group of Malabari vessels tries to attack the idling squad, but are quickly seen off.
November 3, 1502 - Barros reports that the two-day bombardment had sufficiently crippled the city that several of the captains urge Gama to authorize a landing of troops to sack
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
Calicut. But Gama, still hopeful the Samoothiri might come to terms, turns down their request, believing a sack would only esclate matters to the point of no return. So, the next morning, vengeance satisfied, Gama sets sail out of Calicut harbor.
[In his somewhat different account, Gaspar Correia doesn't report the hanging of the prisoners; instead, after the bombardment, while still anchored before the harbor of the smoldering city, the Fourth Armada captures a Coromandel
Coromandel Coast
The Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian Subcontinent between Cape Comorin and False Divi Point...
merchant convoy of 2 large ships and 27 small boats unlucky enough to turn up at Calicut at that very moment. Seizing the convoy, Gama orders the cargoes transferred, the crews tied, their teeth beaten out, their noses and hands cut off and the ships set alight. The Brahmin emissary (still being held by the Portuguese) is sent back to shore with a bag full of severed hands and a note for the Samoothiri telling him to "make a curry out of them".]
The violent treatment meted out by Vasco da Gama sends shockwaves throughout the Malabar coast. Merchant ships in Indian ports hurriedly leave the area or go into concealment. All shipping along the coast essentially freezes.
The Coastal Patrol
Before leaving Calicut, Gama assembles a squadron of five or six fighting ships under Vicente SodréVicente Sodré
Vicente Sodré , was a 16th C. Portuguese knight of Order of Christ and the captain of the first Portuguese naval patrol in the Indian Ocean. He was an uncle of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.- Background :...
and his brother Brás Sodré, with some 200 soldiers (mainly crossbowmen), to maintain the blockade on Calicut harbor, and patrol the coast preying on Calicut shipping. The exact composition of the patrol squadron differs in the sources, and it seems there is some reshuffling of captains in the process. The following is only one possible list, compiled from different sources, and should not be taken as authoritative:
| Captain | Ship | Notes |
| 1. Vicente Sodré Vicente Sodré Vicente Sodré , was a 16th C. Portuguese knight of Order of Christ and the captain of the first Portuguese naval patrol in the Indian Ocean. He was an uncle of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.- Background :... |
São Rafael | naveta previously commanded by factor Diogo Fernandes Correia |
| 2. Brás Sodré | Vera Cruz | naveta prev. comm. by Rui da Castanheda |
| 3. Pêro de Ataíde Pêro de Ataíde Pêro de Ataíde or Pedro d'Ataíde , nicknamed O Inferno , was a Portuguese sea captain in the Indian Ocean active in the early 1500s... |
Bretoa? | naveta prev. comm. by Francisco da Cunha 'Marecos'? |
| 4. Fernão Rodrigues Bardaças | Santa Marta | caravel |
| 5. Pêro Rafael | Garrida | caravel |
| 6. Diogo Pires Diogo Pires José Diego Pires is Brazilian football player, who plays for ŠK Slovan Bratislava.He has a gifted left foot, one of the main free kick takers.-External links:* at transfermarkt.de... |
Fradeza | caravel prev. comm. by João Lopes Perestrello? |
[The patrol squadron captains are taken from the lists in Castanheda
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda was a Portuguese historian in the early Renaissance.His "History of the discovery and conquest of India", full of geographic and ethnographic objective information, was widely translated throughout Europe.- Life :Castanheda was the natural son of a royal officer, who...
, Góis
Damião de Góis
Damiao de Góis , born in Alenquer, Portugal, was an important Portuguese humanist philosopher. He was a friend and student of Erasmus. He was appointed secretary to the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1523 by King John III of Portugal...
and Osório Other sources are not so explicit. The ship names are tentatively deduced from Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia or Gaspar Corrêa was a Portuguese historian, author of "Lendas da Índia , one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia, being referred to as a Portuguese Polybius.- Biography :There is little information about the life of the author...
, who, as usual, deviates in naming the captains.
Gama in Cochin and Quilon
November 3, 1502 His blockade of Calicut in place, Vasco da Gama arrives in Cochin (Cohim, Kochi) with the bulk of the armada. He is received by Trimumpara ruler of Cochin, not without a touch of anxiety. But cordialities soon set that to rest. The NairNair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
hostage taken accidentally by the 2nd Armada
2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)
The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way...
the previous year is delivered, along with the letter of the other Nair who stayed back in Lisbon.
Gama concludes negotiates a new commercial treaty with the ruler of Cochin, this time with a fixed-price schedule, like at Cannanore. Diogo Fernandes Correia, the new designated factor for Cochin, relieves Cabral's factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa (now slated to be transferred to Cannanore) and sets about his business buying spices for the return journey.
While conducting business at Cochin, Vasco da Gama receives a letter from the queen-regent of Quilon
Quilon
Quilon may refer to,* Venad, a former state on Malabar Coast, India* Kollam , Kerala state, India* Kollam district, Kerala state...
(Coulão, Kollam), on behalf of her young son, the raja Govardhana Martanda. The queen invites the Portuguese fleet to load up with spices at Quilon. Gama declines politely, noting that he cannot do anything without the permission of his Cochinese hosts. As a result, the queen-regent dispatches a messenger to the prince of Cochin. Trimumpara Raja prevaricates at first, fearing that competition from Quilon's more amply-supplied markets will hurt his own. But Cochin's slender supply is worrying the Portuguese factors. At length, an agreement is reached between all parties: Gama is to dispatch only two ships to load up with spices at Quilon, and promises not to set up a permanent factory in that city. The two ships, carrying temporary factor João de Sá Pereira, the first Portuguese to enter Quilon, will load up quickly, and return to Cochin within ten days.
It is reported that while at Cochin, Gama also receives a message from Syrian Christian
Syrian Malabar Nasrani
The Syrian Malabar Nasrani people, also known as Saint Thomas Christians, "'Nasrani Mappila'" and Nasranis, are an ethnoreligious group from Kerala, India, adhering to the various churches of the Saint Thomas Christian tradition...
community of nearby Cranganore offering to place themselves under the protection of the King of Portugal.
Naval Battle of Calicut
December, 1502-January, 1503 While Vasco da Gama is winding up business in Cochin, and preparing to sail back to Cannanore, Trimumpara Raja of Cochin summons Gama with a piece of disturbing intelligence. The Samoothiri of Calicut had hired the services of a Red Sea Arab privateer 'Cojambar' (Khoja Ambar), who had brought several large Arab ships, and slipped past the Portuguese blockade. The Arab ships have joined a fighting fleet assembling at Calicut, under the command of Calicut admiral 'Coja Casem' (Khoja Kassein), intending to ambush the Portuguese on the way to Cannanore.The Calicut fleet is estimated at 20 large ships, 40 gun-mounted sambuk
Sambuk
A Sambuk, Sanbuk or Sambuq is a type of dhow, a traditional wooden Arabic sailing vessel.It has a characteristic keel design, with a sharp curve right below the top of the prow...
s (large dhow
Dhow
Dhow is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with lateen sails used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Some historians believe the dhow was invented by Arabs but this is disputed by some others. Dhows typically weigh 300 to 500 tons, and have a...
s) and an innumerable number of smaller oar-powered boats, carrying several thousand armed men. Although a large Calicut fleet had failed against the much smaller 3rd Armada
3rd Portuguese India Armada (Nova, 1501)
The Third India Armada was assembled in 1501 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of João da Nova. Nova's armada was relatively small and primarily commercial in objective. Nonetheless, they engaged the first significant Portuguese naval battle in the Indian Ocean...
of João da Nova
João da Nova
João da Nova , Xoán de Novoa or Joam de Nôvoa galician spellings, Juan de Nova, Spanish spelling, was a Galician explorer of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans at the service of Portugal...
the previous year, the Samoothiri might have calculated that the addition of the Arab Red Sea ships and more experienced captains might tip the balance - particularly against the heavily loaded and less-maneuverable large naus of the 4th Armada.
The Raja of Cochin urges Gama to avoid the fleet and just set sail for Portugal at once. But Vasco da Gama refuses to revise his plans, claiming he needs to retun to Cannanore to deposit a factor there and pick up a cargo of ginger he had ordered. Nonetheless, he dispatches a message to Vicente Sodré's squadron of fighting caravels, then patrolling near Cannanore, to join him in Cochin.
While this discussion is going on, a Brahmin arrives in Cochin, with an offer of peace from the Samoothiri, proposing to let bygones be bygones and 'restart' the Calicut-Portuguese relationship afresh. But Gama refuses and accuses the Brahmin of being a spy. Gama has him tortured, mutilated (ears cut off and dog ear's sewn on) and sent back to Calicut.
Early February, 1502, After a final audience with Raja Trimumpara, taking aboard his ambassador to the Lisbon court, leaving Diogo Fernandes Correia as factor in Cochin, and taking Cabral's old factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa, to serve as factor in Cannanore, Gama's fleet (around ten fully laden ships) finally leaves Cochin. They are soon joined by Sodré's caravel squadron, and set sail warily towards Cannanore, guns ready for the Calicut ambush.
Gama and Sodré spot the Calicut fleet of Coja Casem and Arab privateer Cojambar, near the coast, out of Calicut harbor. In one of the first recorded instances of a naval line of battle
Line of battle
In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...
, Gama's spice naus and escort caravels sail in a line end-to-end, concentrating all their immense firepower as they pass against the twenty large Arab ships of Cojambar, before they can get organized, sinking a number of them and doing immense damage to the remainder. Although the Arab squadron is out of commission too soon, Coja Casem nonetheless proceeds forward with his fleet of Malabari sambuks, hoping to use their speed to outmaneouver the guns of the heavy-laden naus and reach for the grapple. But Gama sends the escort caravels under Vicente Sodré to intercept them in their tracks, while the cargo naus hurry on toward Cannanore. Although the caraveils are outnumbered, it isn't much of a battle. The fight is essentially over when Pero Rafael and Gil Matoso quickly board and capture Coja Casem's flagship (oddly, found with a lot of women and children on board). The Calicut fleet breaks up and rushes back to port. The pursuing caravels capture a number of sambuks, which they proceed to tow and set on fire before Calicut. The long-prepared ambush has been foiled. Danger dispelled, the caravels proceed to Cannanore to make junction with the main fleet.
The Battle of Calicut, like the previous year's naval battle of Cannanore
3rd Portuguese India Armada (Nova, 1501)
The Third India Armada was assembled in 1501 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of João da Nova. Nova's armada was relatively small and primarily commercial in objective. Nonetheless, they engaged the first significant Portuguese naval battle in the Indian Ocean...
, once again demonstrated the critical importance of the technical superiority of Portuguese ships and naval artillery. But it also demonstrated to the Portuguese that the Samoothiri of Calicut was not as easy to intimidate as they had expected. Despite the terror actions, the bombardment and the naval blockade, the Samoothiri steadfastly refused to capitulate to Vasco da Gama's terms. On the contrary, the hiring of an Arab privateer fleet demonstrated a certain resourcefulness and willingness to continue fighting and take the fight to the Portuguese.
The hiring of Cojambar was also a foreboding. The Samoothiri clearly understood he had to appeal to foreigners to help close the technical gap between Indian and Portuguese forces. Surely it would only be a matter of time before the Samoothiri got his hands on Arab, Turkish and Venetian technology, and more substantial support from these great powers than just a Red Sea pirate or two?
If the battle of Calicut impressed something on Vasco da Gama, it was precisely that the Portuguese in India were living on borrowed time, that it was going to take more resources than he had to bring the Samoothiri to heel and secure continued Portuguese access to the spice markets. And that was the message he would bring back to Lisbon.
In the meantime, his priority was to do everything he could to maintain the Portuguese toe in India - that is, to protect the Portuguese factories and Indian allies of Cochin and Cannanore, from the Samoothiri's inevitable revenge the moment the 4th Armada left.
Return to Cannanore
Arriving in Cannanore, Gama leaves Cabral's old factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa, and two assistants, Bastião Álvares and Diogo Nunes. With the permission of the Kolithiri Raja of Cannanore, Gama erects a small palisade around the factory. Some 200 armed men (others report merely 20) are to remain with the factory.More troubling, however, is the India patrol squadron. Back in Lisbon, Vincent Sodré had been given a commission (regimento) by king Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
instructing him to lead a patrol of five or six caravels in the Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which is about 20 miles wide....
, and prey on the rich Arab prizes going in and out of the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
. But Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
, realizing the vulnerability of Cochin and Cannanore, invokes rank as captain-major of the armada and orders Sodré to set that mission aside, and maintain his patrol on the Indian coast, to defend the Portuguese factories and their Indian allies against any reaction by the Samoothiri. Late February, 1503 Vasco da Gama sets sail with his ten (or twelve) laden ships back to Lisbon.
[Note: some chronicles put Gama's departure from Cannanore on December 28, 1502, meaning all the events described earlier must be compacted within that shorter time period.]
The return journey is quick and relatively smooth, with only one stop in Mozambique Island.
Preparing a landward invasion of Cochin
March, 1503 - As soon as Vasco da Gama's 4th Armada leaves India, as predicted, Raja Trimumpara of Cochin receives intelligence that the Samoothiri of Calicut is at this very moment preparing a landward invasion of Cochin. Portuguese factor Diogo Fernandes Correia urges Vicente SodréVicente Sodré
Vicente Sodré , was a 16th C. Portuguese knight of Order of Christ and the captain of the first Portuguese naval patrol in the Indian Ocean. He was an uncle of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.- Background :...
to keep the caravel patrol squadron close to Cochin. But Vicente Sodré, eager for the easy plunder of the Arab Red Sea shipping, dismisses the rumors, Correia reminds him of Gama's orders, to no avail - Sodré pulls out his old royal regimento and orders the coastal patrol to follow him out to the Red Sea. It is said that at least two of the captains of the coastal patrol refuse Sodré's orders, and willingly surrender the command of their ships rather than disobey Gama's original orders.
Lopo Soares de Albergaria arrives
Basing themselves only on Vasco da Gama's report, the 6th Armada that set out in early 1504 was equipped more purposefully, bringing more soldiers and ships to protect the Portuguese factories in Cochin and Cannanore. As noted explicitly in his regimento, Lopo Soares de AlbergariaLopo Soares de Albergaria
Lopo Soares de Albergaria was the third Governor of Portuguese India, having reached India in 1515 to supersede governor Afonso de Albuquerque....
was under strict orders to accept no peace with the Samoothiri of Calicut, and do what he could to harass Calicut.
Ataide's letter gave Lopo Soares the news of India up until February, 1504. What Lopo Soares did not know (but probably could guess) was that at this very moment there was a desperate battle going on in Cochin
Battle of Cochin (1504)
The Battle of Cochin sometimes referred as the Second Siege of Cochin was a series of confrontations, between March and July 1504, fought on land and sea, principally between the Portuguese garrison at Cochin, allied to the Trimumpara Raja, and the armies of the Zamorin of Calicut and vassal...
. In March, the Samoothiri of Calicut had launched a massive attack on Cochin, intending to capture the city and seize the Portuguese timber fortress. He brought some 57,000 troops, equipped with many Turkish firearms and Venetian guns. The tiny Portuguese garrison at Cochin, some 150 men under the command of Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira, called the Great, was a 15th century Portuguese sea captain, soldier, explorer and cartographer. He travelled particularly in the central Atlantic Ocean west of the Cape Verde islands, along the coast of West Africa and to India...
, by clever positioning, individual heroics and quite some luck, managed to fend off attack after attack by the Samoothiri's army and fleet in the ensuing months. The last assault was launched in early July, after which the humiliated Samoothiri called off the invasion.
August, 1504 - Crossing the Indian Ocean, the 6th Armada of Lopo Soares de Albergaria arrives at Anjediva island. There they find two Portuguese ships repairing - those of António de Saldanha
António de Saldanha
António de Saldanha was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th century captain. He was the first European to set anchor in what is now called Table Bay, South Africa, and made the first recorded ascent of Table Mountain.- Background :...
and Rui Lourenço Ravasco. They had been part of the third squadron of last year's 5th Armada
5th Portuguese India Armada (Albuquerque, 1503)
The Fifth India Armada was assembled in 1503 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque. It was Albuquerque's first trip to India. It was not a particularly successful armada - navigational mistakes scattered the fleet on the outward journey...
. They relate their sorry tale - how they got lost and separated in Africa, how they spent the winter season harassing East African ports and Red Sea shipping, and howw they were only able to undertake their Indian Ocean crossing this summer. They have no idea of the whereabouts of the third ship of their squadron, that of Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira, sometimes called simply Diogo Fernandes, was a Portuguese 16th C. navigator, originally from Setúbal, Portugal. Diogo Fernandes was the first known European captain to visit the island of Socotra in 1503 and the discoverer of the Mascarenes archipelago in 1507...
, having lost track of it nearly a year ago.
[As it happens, Diogo Fernandes Pereira had wintered in Socotra
Socotra
Socotra , also spelt Soqotra, is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some east of the Horn of Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through...
by himself and undertook a solo crossing to India earlier in May; he arrived in Cochin just in time to help Duarte Pacheco fend off the last few assaults of the Samoothiri.]
Late August/Early September, 1504 - Saldanha and Lourenço accompany Lopo Soares' 6th Armada down the coast to Cannanore
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
. Arriving there, they finally hear fuller reports from factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa of the battle of Cochin
Battle of Cochin (1504)
The Battle of Cochin sometimes referred as the Second Siege of Cochin was a series of confrontations, between March and July 1504, fought on land and sea, principally between the Portuguese garrison at Cochin, allied to the Trimumpara Raja, and the armies of the Zamorin of Calicut and vassal...
. Lopo Soares sets sail at once.
September 7, 1504 - The 6th Armada appears before Calicut. Lopo Soares dispatches a message demanding they hand over any and all Portuguese prisoners to him; moreover, he demands that they also deliver the two Venetian engineers who had been helping the Samoothiri build European cannon. The Samoothiri is absent from the city at the moment, but his ministers are willing to release the Portuguese prisoners. The Italians, however, they cannot. Restless, Lopo Soares has the 6th Armada subject Calicut to forty-eight hours of continuous shore bombardment, causing great damage.
Satisfied, the 6th Armada proceeds south to Cochin. They are met before Fort Manuel by the Trimumpara Raja and the tired Portuguese garrison. But Duarte Pacheco
Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira, called the Great, was a 15th century Portuguese sea captain, soldier, explorer and cartographer. He travelled particularly in the central Atlantic Ocean west of the Cape Verde islands, along the coast of West Africa and to India...
himself is not there at the moment - he had recently left on a jaunt to Quilon
Quilon
Quilon may refer to,* Venad, a former state on Malabar Coast, India* Kollam , Kerala state, India* Kollam district, Kerala state...
, to check on the Portuguese factory there. Greetings and gifts are exhanged - including a sizeable chunk of money sent by Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
to bolster the Trimumphara Raja's treasury.
With the Cochin spice markets starved by the recent siege, Lopo Soares sets about collecting spices from elsewhere. Four or five ships (Lopes da Costa, Aguiar, Coutinho, Abreu and perhaps another) are sent down to Quilon
Quilon
Quilon may refer to,* Venad, a former state on Malabar Coast, India* Kollam , Kerala state, India* Kollam district, Kerala state...
to load up. Two ships (Pêro de Mendonça and Vasco Carvalho) are sent out to patrol the coast south of Calicut, and seize whatever merchant ships they can (and take their spice cargoes), while Tristão da Silva, joined by five bateis (pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
s) are dispatched on patrol duty inside the lagoon.
Hearing of the armada's arrival, Duarte Pacheco (then in Quilon) sets sail back to Cochin, and meets Lopo Soares on September 14 (October 22 according to Castanheda).
Raid on Cranganore
October, 1504 While in Cochin, Lopo Soares receives reports that the Samoothiri of Calicut has dispatched a force to fortify Cranganore, the port city ruled by a vassal of Samoothiri, at the northern end of the Vembanad lagoon, and the usual entry point for the Samoothiri's army and fleet into the Kerala backwatersKerala Backwaters
The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state...
. Reading this as a preparation for a renewed attack on Cochin after the 6th Armada leaves, Lopo Soares decides on a preemptive strike
Preemptive strike
A preemptive strike refers to a surprise attack launched with the stated intention of countering an anticipated enemy offensive. Preemptive strike may also refer to:...
. He orders a squadron of around ten fighting ships and numerous Cochinese bateis and paraus, to head up there. The heavier ships, unable to make their way into the shallow channels, anchor at Palliport
Pallippuram, Ernakulam
Pallippuram is a village on Vypeen island, in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, south India. The village is located approximately 25 k.m. from Ernakulam and 20 k.m. from Cochin International Airport. The east border is Veeranpuzha, the north extension of Vembanad Lake and the Indian Ocean in the west...
(Pallipuram, on the outer edge of Vypin
Vypin
Vypin or Vypeen is one among a group of islands, that form part of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. The island is about 27 km long...
island), while those ships, bateis and paraus that can continue on.
Converging on Cranganore, the Portuguese-Cochinese fleet quickly disperses the Samoothiri's forces on the beach with cannonfire, and then lands an amphibian assault force - some 1,000 Portuguese and 1,000 Cochinese Nairs, who take on the rest of the Samoothiri's forces in close combat. The Samoothiri's forces are defeated and driven away from the city.
The assault troops capture Cranganore, and subject the ancient city, the once-great Chera
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
capital of Kerala, to a thorough and violent sacking and razing. Deliberate fires were already started by squads led by Duarte Pacheco Pereira and factor Diogo Fernandes Correa, while the main fighting was still going on. They quickly consume most of the city, save for the Syrian Christian
Saint Thomas Christians
The Saint Thomas Christians are an ancient body of Christians from Kerala, India, who trace their origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are also known as "Nasranis" because they are followers of "Jesus of Nazareth". The term "Nasrani" is still used by St...
quarters, which are carefully spared (Jewish
Cochin Jews
Cochin Jews, also called Malabar Jews , are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots claimed to date to the time of King Solomon, though historically attested migration dates from the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Historically, they lived in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India, now part of the...
and Muslim
Mappila
Mappila or Moplah refers to a Muslim community of Kerala, primarily in the northern region called Malabar, which arose in Malabar as a result of the pre and post Islamic Arab contacts. Significant numbers of the community are also present in the southern districts of Karnataka and western parts of...
homes are not given the same consideration).
In the meantime, the Calicut fleet, some 5 ships and 80 paraus, that had been dispatched to save the city are intercepted by the idling Portuguese ships near Palliport
Pallippuram, Ernakulam
Pallippuram is a village on Vypeen island, in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, south India. The village is located approximately 25 k.m. from Ernakulam and 20 k.m. from Cochin International Airport. The east border is Veeranpuzha, the north extension of Vembanad Lake and the Indian Ocean in the west...
and defeated in a naval encounter.
Two days later, the Portuguese receive an urgent message from the ruler of Tanur (Tanore), whose kingdom lay to the north, on the road between Calicut and Cranganore. The raja of Tanur had come to loggerheads with his overlord, the Samoothiri, and offered to place himself under Portuguese suzerainity instead, in return for military assistance. He reports that a Calicut column, led by the Samoothiri himself, had been assembled in a hurry to try to save Cranganore, but that he managed to block its passage at Tanur. Lopo Soares immediately dispatches Pêro Rafael with a caravel and a sizeable Portuguese armed force to assist the Tanurese. The Samoothiri's column is defeated and dispersed soon after its arrival.
The raid on Cranganore and the defection of Tanur are serious setbacks to the Samoothiri, pushing the frontline north and effectively placing the Vembanad lagoon out of the Samoothiri's reach. Any hopes the Samoothiri had of quickly resuming his attempts to capture Cochin via the backwaters are effectively dashed.
No less importantly, the battles at Cranganore and Tanur, which involved significant numbers of Malabari captains and troops, clearly demonstrated that the Samoothiri was no longer feared in the region. The Battle of Cochin had broken his authority. Cranganore and Tanur showed that Malabaris were no longer afraid of defying his authority and taking up arms against him. The Portuguese were no longer just a passing nuisance, a handful of terrifying pirates who came and went once a year. They were a permanent disturbance, turning the old order upside down. A new chapter was being opened on the Malabar coast.
Late December, 1504 His naus loaded with spices from Cochin, Quilon and stolen merchant ships, Lopo Soares prepares his departure from Cochin. Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira, called the Great, was a 15th century Portuguese sea captain, soldier, explorer and cartographer. He travelled particularly in the central Atlantic Ocean west of the Cape Verde islands, along the coast of West Africa and to India...
, the hero of the battle of Cochin
Battle of Cochin (1504)
The Battle of Cochin sometimes referred as the Second Siege of Cochin was a series of confrontations, between March and July 1504, fought on land and sea, principally between the Portuguese garrison at Cochin, allied to the Trimumpara Raja, and the armies of the Zamorin of Calicut and vassal...
, is slated to be relieved. (It is said the Trimumpara Raja
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
of Cochin was beside himself with grief and did everything he could to persuade Lopo Soares to let Duarte Pacheco stay on; but bowing to inevitability, the Trimumpara offered Duarte Pacheco a free cargo of pepper as personal reward for his services. Duarte Pacheco, knowing how the Trimumpara Raja had been personally impoverished by the war, refused to take it.)
Duarte Pacheco's replacement as capitão-more of Fort Manuel of Cochin is nobleman Manuel Telles de Vasconcelos (or Manuel Telles Barreto, according to Barros). Lopo Soares leaves Manuel Telles with three (possibly four) ships: one nau, and two caravels, under the commands of Diogo Pires
Diogo Pires
José Diego Pires is Brazilian football player, who plays for ŠK Slovan Bratislava.He has a gifted left foot, one of the main free kick takers.-External links:* at transfermarkt.de...
and Pêro Rafael (and possibly Cristovão Jusarte (Lisuarte Pereira?)), all veterans of the battle of Cochin. Lopo Soares annexes what remains of the earlier fleets (e.g., Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira, sometimes called simply Diogo Fernandes, was a Portuguese 16th C. navigator, originally from Setúbal, Portugal. Diogo Fernandes was the first known European captain to visit the island of Socotra in 1503 and the discoverer of the Mascarenes archipelago in 1507...
, Antonio de Saldanha
António de Saldanha
António de Saldanha was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th century captain. He was the first European to set anchor in what is now called Table Bay, South Africa, and made the first recorded ascent of Table Mountain.- Background :...
, etc.) into the 6th Armada. Overall, Lopo Soares is bringing back to Lisbon two more ships than he left with.
Battle of Pandarane
December 31, 1504 - Setting out from Cochin, the 6th Armada first heads north, intending to dock briefly at the port of PonnaniPonnani
Ponnani/Ponani is an ancient port, a coastal town and a municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 9.32 km2. Ponnani taluk is the smallest Taluk in Malappuram district. This tiny, picturesque town is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west...
, in order to pay his respects to his new ally, the raja of Tanur. While negotiating entry at the port (Ponnani doesn't actually belong to Tanur, which is further inland), Lopo Soares receives a message that a large Arab-Egyptian
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
fleet ('Moors from Cairo and Mecca') - some 17 Arab ships, 4000 men - had arrived at Pandarane (Pantalyini Kollam), a spacious port just north of Calicut.
They had not come on a military mission, but only to evacuate expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
merchants and their families from Calicut and bring them home to Egypt and Arabia.
Calculating that the ships are probably loaded with the evacuating rich families' valuable belongings and treasures, Lopo Soares cannot resist. The naus being too loaded with spices to manoeuvere properly, Lopo Soares decides to send them on to Cannanore
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
, and attack the Pandarane fleet with just two caravels and 15 Malabari bateis (pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
s), loaded with around 360 Portuguese soldiers. It is a bold venture, but Lopo Soares traps the Egyptian fleet in Pandarane harbor and in the subsequent ferocious battle, succeeds in capturing and plundering the Arab fleet, killing some 2,000 defenders in the process. Portuguese casualties are not light - at 23 dead, 170 wounded, that is about half the force, more than Duarte Pacheco lost in all his encounters at Cochin
Battle of Cochin (1504)
The Battle of Cochin sometimes referred as the Second Siege of Cochin was a series of confrontations, between March and July 1504, fought on land and sea, principally between the Portuguese garrison at Cochin, allied to the Trimumpara Raja, and the armies of the Zamorin of Calicut and vassal...
a few months earlier.
Early January, 1505 After a brief stop in Cannanore, Lopo Soares and the 6th Armada set sail back across the Indian Ocean.
In 1505, the first Portuguese viceroy D. Francisco de Almeida
Francisco de Almeida
Dom Francisco de Almeida , also known as "the Great Dom Francisco" , was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492...
arrived in India with a golden crown sent by King Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
to reward the steadfastness of the Trimumpara Raja of Cochin in his Portuguese alliance. But the old Trimumpara Raja had abdicated by this time and taken up a life of religious devotion; it was his heir, Candagora, who was crowned in a solemn ceremony by Almeida as 'King of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
'.
By 1506, the Saamoothiri had built a fleet of 200 ships to fight the Portuguese, as well as an efficient artillery with the help of Italian cannon manufacturers. This fleet was defeated in 1506 by the Portuguese Lourenço de Almeida
Lourenço de Almeida
Lourenço de Almeida , son of Francisco de Almeida, acting under him, distinguished himself in the Indian Ocean, and made Ceylon tributary to Portugal...
in the Battle of Cannanore.
By 1507, the Samorin had rebuilt his forces and intended to cooperate with the Egyptian Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
fleet. The Battle of Chaul led to the defeat of the Portuguese. The Saamoothiri joined a coalition led by the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Sultan of Gujarat, Mahmud Begara in the Battle of Diu
Battle of Diu (1509)
The Battle of Diu sometimes referred as the Second Battle of Chaul was a naval battle fought on 3 February 1509 in the Arabian Sea, near the port of Diu, India, between the Portuguese Empire and a joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, the Zamorin of Kozhikode...
in 1509 but were defeated by the Portuguese. A struggle by the Raja's navy led by his famous admiral, Kunjali Marakkar
Kunjali Marakkar
The Kunhali Marakkar or Kunjali Marakkar was the title given to the Muslim naval chief of the Zamorin , Hindu king of Calicut, in present day state of Kerala, India during the 16th century. There were four major Kunhalis who played a part in the Zamorin's naval wars with the Portuguese from 1520...
ensued and lasted several years. The Portuguese had built the Chaliyam fort just south of Calicut with the permission of the Raja of Vettattnad
Vettattnad
Vettathunad or Tanur swaroopam was a small erstwhile feudal kingdom in southern Malabar on Arabian Sea in southwest India ruled by a Hindu dynasty known as Tanur dynasty, over whom the Zamorin of Calicut claimed certain nominal suzerain rights.The King was called 'raja'or 'thampuran' or...
(Tirur) in 1530 AD from where the Portuguese attacked Saamoothiri's interests with impunity. The subsequent Rajas collaborated with the Dutch
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
to defeat the Portuguese- Kochi coalition during 1661.
In 1570, the Sultan of Bijapur, Ali Adil Shah I
Ali Adil Shah I
Ali Adil Shah I was the fifth Sultan of Bijapur Sultanate.On the day of his coronation Ali abandoned the Sunni practices and reintroduced the Shi’ah Khutbah and other practices...
entered into an alliance with the Sultan of Ahmadnagar, Murtaza Nizam Shah and the Samoothiri of Kozhikode for a simultaneous attack on the Portuguese territories of Goa, Chaul and Mangalore. He attacked Goa in 1571 and ended Portuguese influence in the region. The Bijapur sultans were especially known for their loathing of Christianity.
After the Portuguese
A Dutch fleet led by Steven van der Hagen arrived in Calicut in November 1604 and marked the beginning of the Dutch presence on the Indian coast and concluded a treaty on Nov 11, 1604. It provided for a mutual alliance between the two to expel the Portuguese from Indian soil. In return they were given facilities for trade at Calicut, including spacious storehouses. The Dutch had a more favourable relation with the Calicut and were provided greater participation in the ongoing trade. But, Samoothiri later occupied Kodungallur from the Dutch (The Dutch had had the fort from the Portuguese after end of Portguese in the great game in the East). Only after a treaty on December 17, 1717, the Dutch got the fort from the Samoothiri. So, the Dutch moved to Cochin for an alliance.The Dutch could not however stay for long. Their force weakened after constant wars with Marthanda Varma of Travancore (until 1753) and were forced to surrender to a British force that marched from Calicut to Cochin on Oct 20, 1795 (as part of the larger Napoleonic Wars between Holland and England in Europe).
The British reached Calicut in 1615 under Captain William Keeling and concluded a treaty of trade under which, among others, the English were to assist Calicut in expelling the Portuguese from Cochin and Cranganore, a term that the British never fulfilled. In 1664, Samoothiri gave the English permission to build a factory in Calicut but did not extend any other favours as he was by now growing suspicious of all foreign(European) traders.
Samoothiti attacked Kodungallur in 1666 and 1668. In these attacks, the Paravur Dynasty was with the Dutch. Paravur dynasty were the allies of Cochin for a long time. But, sometimes, as other city states did, they were with the Samoothiri. Between 1701 and 1710, there were wars with the Cochin and the Samoothiti. This time the Dutch were with the Cochin and Paravur was with the Samoothiti. At the end, a treaty was signed between the Cochin and the Samoothiti.
Soon, the peace was broken and the war continued. Dutch, supporting the Cochin, blocked the Samoothiri at Chetwai. Simultaneously, the Paravur king attacked Cranganore fort, owned by the Dutch. Samoothiri was ordered him to attack the Kodungallur fort to immediately end the war as the time for the Mamankam was soon. So, A peace deal was signed and the Dutch got Pappinivattom and Chetwai. So, all the vassals from Kodungallur to Chetwai now came under the Dutch. To defend the attacks of the Samoothiri, The Dutch started to build a fort in Chetwai in 1714 which will later fame as the Chetwai Fort. The Cochin supported the construction and Samoothiri so worried that he captured the fort within a year with help of the British at Thalassery. All the attempts of the Dutch to recapture the fort failed and at the end the fort was given to them as the a result of the peace treaty in 1718. The alliance of Samoothiri and Paravur king continued.
Again war continued in 1756 when the Samoothiri defeated the Dutch and Chetwai, Pappinivattom, Enamakkal, Paravur kingdom, Alangat kingdom (Mangatt), Thrissur, and Mullurkarra ceded to the Samoothiri. Most of the vassals on the side of Cochin joined with the Samoothiri and he kept some forces at Alangat.
But, the coalition forces of Dutch and Cochin retaliated by the forces from Batavia, and the support of Travancore lead by King Marthandavarama. Travancore, joined the forces as a result a treaty, defeated the Samoothiri at Paravur and Alangot and when at the end the Travancore forces stormed to Malabar, the Samoothiri agreed a peace deal. As a result of the previous treaty between Cochin and Travancore, Paravur and Alangot became a part of Travancore.
End of the dynasty
Hyder Ali ascended the throne of Mysore in 1761. By 1764, he obtained a pledge of neutrality from the British at Tellicherry in the event of a conflict with the Kerala powers. In the February of 1766, Hyder Ali marched into northern Kerala. With the help of Ali RajaAli Raja
The Ali Raja was the title of the Muslim raja of Cannanore from the 16th to early 19th Century. The king's palace, which he purchased from the Dutch in 1663, was named Arakkal Palace after the ruling dynasty.-Origins:...
in 1763, Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
over ran smaller principalities in North Malabar
North Malabar
North Malabar , is a historic as well as geographic distinction in India used to refer the area covering; present Kasaragod and Kannur Districts, Mananthavady taluk of Wayanad District and Koyilandy & Vatakara taluks of Kozhikode District in modern Kerala and the entire Mahé sub-Division of...
and set up a confrontation with the Zamorin, the major ruler of the region. With active support of Kombi Achan (Raja of Palakkad
Palakkad
Palakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
), the Muslim forces of Mysore marched towards Calicut from the south.
Raja of Palakkad was an old enemy of the Samoothiri. Samoothiri had destroyed the Tharoor fort during his attacks on Tharoor. Only then, the Tharoor Royal family moved to Palakkad. When the wars with Palakkad continued the Raja invited Hyder Ali at the end, very regretfully indeed. Hyder Ali send Makhdoom Ali, his commander, to Palakkad. But, soon Raja understood the big mistake of inviting foreign powers to Kerala. During the 1766 invasion of Hyder Ali, even the king of Palakkad was killed and later when Hyder Ali's son Tipu Sultan divided Palakkad, the Mankara portion was on the side of the Samoothiri.
The Zamorin decided to face the mighty enemy with his numerically and militarily inferior forces rather than escaping to Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
like the neighbouring Kolathiri
Kolathiri
Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā was the title by which the senior most male along the matilinial line of the Mushika or Kolathunādu Royal Family was styled...
. In 1767, as the Mysoreans edged closer to the outer reaches of the city, the Zamorin sent most of his relatives to safe haven in Ponnani and to avoid the humiliation of surrender committed self- immolation by setting fire to his palace, the Mananchira Kovilakam. Following the tragedy, the second line successor to the throne, the Eranalppad Kishen Raja, continued his military action against the Mysorean forces from South Malabar and eventually forced Hyder Ali to cede many parts of Malabar to local rulers, who were supported by the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
.
During the 1780s, Ravi Varma Raja
Ravi Varma of Padinjare Kovilakam
Ravi Varma Raja was a Nair warrior prince from Calicut who fought a two decade long revolt against the Mysore Sultanate under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan between 1766–1768 and 1774–1791, and the British East India Company in 1793....
, the Eralppad of Calicut led a successful rebellion against the Mysore forces. Though Tipu conferred on him a jaghire (vast area of tax-free land) mainly to appease him, the Zamorin prince, after promptly taking charge of the jaghire, continued his revolt against the Mysore power, more vigorously and with wider support. He soon moved to Calicut, his traditional area of influence and authority, for better co-ordination. Tipu sent a large Mysore army under the command of M. Lally and Mir Asrali Khan to defeat the Zamorin prince at Calicut. It is believed that Ravi Varma Raja assisted several members of the priestly community (almost 30,000 Namboothiris) to flee the country and take refuge in Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
, to escape the atrocities of Tipu.
Ravi Varma Raja
Ravi Varma of Padinjare Kovilakam
Ravi Varma Raja was a Nair warrior prince from Calicut who fought a two decade long revolt against the Mysore Sultanate under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan between 1766–1768 and 1774–1791, and the British East India Company in 1793....
helped the British defeat the Mysore Army and in return was promised full powers over Calicut. But after the defeat of Tippu Sultan, the British reneged on the promise. An irate Eralppad and his nephew, Ravi Varma Unni Raja II (Ravi Varma Unni Nambi) stabbed the Dewan Swaminatha Iyer (who later recovered with the help of English doctors) and fled to Wynad, where they joined the guerilla army of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja. Ravi Varma Raja I died in the guerilla warfare, while his nephew committed suicide upon capture by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1034–1042 | The founding of Calicut |
| 1101–1200 | War with Vellatri for the Mamankam |
| 1342–1347 | Ibn Batuta at Calicut |
| 1402–1410 | Ma Huan at Calicut |
| 1498 May 27 | Vasco Da Gama Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India... along with three ships and 170 men, lands at Kappakadavu Kappad Kappad, or Kappakadavu locally, is famous as the beach near Kozhikode , India, where the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama landed on May 20, 1498. His voyage established the sea route from Europe to India... , a beach town situated about 16 km from Kozhikode, and is welcomed by the then Saamoothiri, Manivikraman Raja. |
| 1500 December | Saamoothiri expels Portuguese forces from Kozhikode. |
| 1500 December 24 | Portuguese (led by Pedro Álvares Cabral Pedro Álvares Cabral Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are sketchy, it... ) take refuge at port of Kochi, where the Kochi Raja placates them with spices for trade. |
| 1501 January | Portuguese conclude a treaty with Tirumulpad, the King of Kochi, allowing them to open a factory there. |
| 1502 August | Vasco Da Gama returns to India to try to control the Saamoothiri. He bombards Kozhikode and burns a Calicut ship, the Meri, full of Muslim pilgrims from Mecca . |
| 1503 | Portuguese crown the new Raja of Kochi, effectively making him a vassal of the King of Portugal. Vasco returns to Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... . |
| 1503 March | Saamoothiri attacks Kingdom of Kochi to foil the growing Portuguese influence. |
| 1503 | First Portuguese Viceroy Dom Francisco de Almeida Francisco de Almeida Dom Francisco de Almeida , also known as "the Great Dom Francisco" , was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492... arrives in Kochi to find it destroyed, manages to obtain permission to build a fort. Thus the first European fort is built in India by 1505 called Fort Manuel (after King Manuel I of Portugal). |
| 1504 September 1 | Portuguese bombard and destroy the town of Kodungallur Kodungallur Kodungallur is a municipality in Thrissur District, in the state of Kerala, India on the Malabar Coast. Kodungallur is located about 29 km northwest of Kochi city and 38 km Southwest of Thrissur, on National Highway 17 . Muziris the ancient seaport at the mouth of the Periyar River was... in retaliation. |
| 1505 March | Portuguese destroy several boats belonging to the Saamoothiri, with severe loss of life. |
| 1505 November | Murder of the Portuguese factor António de Sá and his men in Kollam Kollam Kollam , often anglicized as ', is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city lies on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake on the Arabian sea coast and is situated about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram... . |
| 1506 | Saamoothiri approach Raja of Kolathiri and convinces him of Portuguese imperial ambition. Kolathiri Kolathiri Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā was the title by which the senior most male along the matilinial line of the Mushika or Kolathunādu Royal Family was styled... already displeased with Portuguese for harming Muslims at Cannanore Kannur Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in... thereby breaking an important treaty. The Saamoothiri lay siege to the St.Angelos fort at Kannur Kannur Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in... . Portuguese break the blockade. Raja of Kolathiri forced accede. |
| 1506 | Saamoothiri's naval forces join the Turkish Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... and Arab forces to attack the Portuguese navy led by Dom Lourenço de Almeida Lourenço de Almeida Lourenço de Almeida , son of Francisco de Almeida, acting under him, distinguished himself in the Indian Ocean, and made Ceylon tributary to Portugal... , son of the Portuguese Viceroy. Portuguese repel attack. |
| 1507 November 14 | Portuguese under Almeida attacked Ponnani. |
| 1508 March | Sultan of Cairo's navy along with Sultan of Gujarat's forces defeat Portuguese at Battle of Chaul, killing Dom Lourenço de Almeida Lourenço de Almeida Lourenço de Almeida , son of Francisco de Almeida, acting under him, distinguished himself in the Indian Ocean, and made Ceylon tributary to Portugal... . |
| 1509 February | Portuguese counter-attack and defeat the Saamoothiri's forces and the Egyptian/Turkish Navy at the Battle of Diu Battle of Diu (1509) The Battle of Diu sometimes referred as the Second Battle of Chaul was a naval battle fought on 3 February 1509 in the Arabian Sea, near the port of Diu, India, between the Portuguese Empire and a joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, the Zamorin of Kozhikode... . Turks and Egyptians withdraw temporarily from India leaving the seas to the Portuguese until 1538. |
| 1513 | Saamoothiri and Portuguese sign a treaty giving Portuguese right to build a fort at Kozhikode. |
| 1520? | Assassination attempt on Saamoothiri by the Portuguese. |
| 1524 | King of Portugal sends Vasco Da Gama again to India to subdue the Saamoothiri. |
| 1525 February 26 | Portuguese navy led by new Viceroy Menezes raids Ponnani, but the Saamoothiri defeats them with assistance from Tinayancheri and Kurumliyapatri. |
| 1530 | Chaliyam fort built by Portuguese with the consent of the Raja of Tanur(Vettattnad Vettattnad Vettathunad or Tanur swaroopam was a small erstwhile feudal kingdom in southern Malabar on Arabian Sea in southwest India ruled by a Hindu dynasty known as Tanur dynasty, over whom the Zamorin of Calicut claimed certain nominal suzerain rights.The King was called 'raja'or 'thampuran' or... ) and Raja of Chaliyam. Chaliyam fort was 'like a pistol held at the Zamorin's throat' as it was a strategic site, only 10 km south of Kozhikkode. |
| 1540 | Saamoothiri enters into an agreement with the Portuguese. Treaty allows Portuguese trade monopoly at Kozhikode port. |
| 1550 | Portuguese attack Ponnani. |
| 1569–1570 | War between the Portuguese and Saamoothiri's forces at Chaliyam fort. |
| 1571 September 15 | Saamoothiri defeats Portuguese. Chaliyam fort completely destroyed by Saamoothiri. |
| 1573 | Pattu Marakkar (Kunjali III) obtains permission from Saamoothiri to build a fortress and dockyard at Puthupattanam. This fort later came to be called the Marakkar Kotta (Marakkar Fort). |
| 1584 | Saamoothiri shifts policy towards the Portuguese because of his estrangement with Kunjali Marakkar Kunjali Marakkar The Kunhali Marakkar or Kunjali Marakkar was the title given to the Muslim naval chief of the Zamorin , Hindu king of Calicut, in present day state of Kerala, India during the 16th century. There were four major Kunhalis who played a part in the Zamorin's naval wars with the Portuguese from 1520... who begins to defy the Saamoothiri. Sanction the Portuguese to build a factory at Ponnani |
| 1591 | Saamoothiri allow the Portuguese to build a factory at Kozhikode. He lays the foundation of church granting them necessary ground and building materials. |
| 1598 | Saamoothiri joins Portuguese to fight his ex-Naval Commander, Kunjali Marakkar III. Kunjali surrenders to Saamoothiri who hands over the commander to the Portuguese calling him a traitor. The Portuguese kill Kunjali at Goa Goa Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its... in 1600. |
| 1604 | Dutch East India Company Dutch East India Company The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia... concludes a treaty with the Saamoothiri to permit trade at Kozhikode and Ponnani. |
| 1661 | Saamoothiri joins a coalition led by the Dutch to defeat the Portuguese and the Raja of Kochi. |
| 1743 | Saamoothiri continues war with Valluvanad. |
| 1757 | Saamoothiri defeats Walluvanad state. |
| 1760 | Hyder Ali Hyder Ali Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers... , ruler of the state of Mysore intervenes to help the Walluvanad Raja and defeats the Saamoothiri, who signs a treaty with Hyder Ali. |
| 1766 | Hyder Ali Hyder Ali Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers... marches upon Kozhikode. Saamoothiri commits suicide, setting fire to his palace, on April 27. |
| 1766–1793 | Twenty seven years long resistance against the Mysorean forces and later against the British East India Company, by the Zamorin princes led by Ravi Varma of Padinjare Kovilakam Ravi Varma of Padinjare Kovilakam Ravi Varma Raja was a Nair warrior prince from Calicut who fought a two decade long revolt against the Mysore Sultanate under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan between 1766–1768 and 1774–1791, and the British East India Company in 1793.... . |
| 1797 | Surrender of the whole of Malabar to the company's government. |
| 1806 | Agreement between the then Zamorin and the company, entitling the former with the right of Malikhana for an indefinite period. |
| 1877 | Zamorin's college founded by P K Kuttiettan alias Sir Manavikrama Zamorin Maharaja Bahadur, KCSI Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion... . |
See also
- KozhikodeKozhikodeKozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
- VettattnadVettattnadVettathunad or Tanur swaroopam was a small erstwhile feudal kingdom in southern Malabar on Arabian Sea in southwest India ruled by a Hindu dynasty known as Tanur dynasty, over whom the Zamorin of Calicut claimed certain nominal suzerain rights.The King was called 'raja'or 'thampuran' or...
- Samoothiri TowerSamoothiri TowerSamoothiri Tower is a proposed multistorey tower located in the South Indian city of Kozhikode. The Tower will be built as the Information centre for the Tourism of Malabar...
- Mamankam
- Revathi PattathanamRevathi PattathanamRevathi Pattathanam is an annual assembly of scholars held since ancient times at Kozhikode in Kerala, India. Traditionally a seven-day event, the festival used to be held under the patronage of the Zamorin of Kozhikode. The prime event of the assembly, is the conferring of the title Bhatta along...
- Samanthan Nair
- EradiEradiEradi is a Samanthan Nair clan of Kshatriya origin, coming from the Indian state of Kerala. The word is derived from the place name Eranad in Kerala. The "Samoothiri" comes from this Eradi subcaste, now assimilated to Nair, the major upper caste of state of Kerala. Historically the Eradis numbered...
- Mysore invasion of Kerala