EUROPEAN TO KERALA

 THE LANDING OF VASCO DA GAMA AT KAPPAD, CALICUT, IN MAY 1498 MARKED THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA IN THE HISTORY OF KERALA. THE ARRIVAL OF THE PORTUGUESE ON THE MALABAR COAST CONSTITUTED AN IMPORTANT EPOCH IN THE HISTORY OF INDIA IN GENERAL AND KERALA IN PARTICULAR. WHEN GAMA LANDED IN CALICUT, ZAMORIN, THE MOST POWERFUL PRINCE OF KERALA WAS THE RULER OF THIS THAT PRINCIPALITY. ZAMORIN EXTENDED FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND COMMERCE TO ALL PEOPLES, INDIGENOUS AND FOREIGN. FRANCISCO DE ALMEDA WHO REACHED CALICUT AS THE FIRST PORTUGUESE VICEROY.

BY THE END OF THE 16TH CENTURY, THE PORTUGUESE POWER ON LAND IN MALABAR HAD DECLINED. THE DUTCH CHALLENGED THEIR SUPREMACY ON THE SEA. THE ZAMORIN AND MANY SMALL PRINCES IN THE REGION LOOKED TO THEM FOR DRIVING AWAY FROM THE CRUEL PORTUGUESE AND IN A PITCHED BATTLE IN JANUARY 1663 THE COMBINED FORCES OF THE DUTCH AND THE ZAMORIN DEFEATED THE PORTUGUESE AT COCHIN. THUS ENDED THE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OF PORTUGUESE RELATION WITH KERALA. EVEN DURING THOSE YEARS, THEIR INFLUENCE WAS FELT ONLY AT COCHIN, PURAKKAD, AND QUILON. THE PORTUGUESE CONTACT WITH KERALA PRODUCED FAR-REACHING CONSEQUENCES NOT ONLY IN THE COMMERCIAL FIELDS, BUT ALSO IN THE MILITARY, POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND RELIGIOUS FIELDS. 

COLONIAL PERIOD IN THE FAMOUS BATTLE OF COLACHEL (1741), MARTHANDA VARMA'S ARMY DEFEATED THE DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY, RESULTING IN THE COMPLETE ECLIPSE OF DUTCH POWER IN TRAVANCORE. THE MONOPOLY OF THE MARITIME SPICE TRADE IN THE INDIAN OCEAN STAYED WITH ARABS DURING THE HIGH AND LATE MEDIEVAL PERIODS. HOWEVER, THE DOMINANCE OF MIDDLE EAST TRADERS GOT CHALLENGED IN THE EUROPEAN AGE OF DISCOVERY DURING WHICH THE SPICE TRADE, PARTICULARLY IN BLACK PEPPER, BECAME AN INFLUENTIAL ACTIVITY FOR EUROPEAN TRADERS. 

PORTUGUESE PERIOD

 AROUND THE 15TH CENTURY, THE PORTUGUESE BEGAN TO DOMINATE THE EASTERN SHIPPING TRADE IN NORTHERN KERALA. THE ZAMORIN OF CALICUT PERMITTED THE PORTUGUESE TO TRADE WITH HIS SUBJECTS. THEIR TRADE IN CALICUT PROSPERED WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FACTORY AND FORT IN HIS TERRITORY. HOWEVER, PORTUGUESE ATTACKS ON ARAB PROPERTIES IN HIS JURISDICTION PROVOKED ZAMORIN AND FINALLY, IT LED TO CONFLICTS AMONG THEM. THE PORTUGUESE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE RIVALRY BETWEEN ZAMORIN AND KING OF COCHIN; THEY ALLIED WITH COCHIN AND WHEN FRANCISCO DE ALMEIDA WAS APPOINTED AS THE VICEROY OF PORTUGUESE INDIA IN 1505, HIS HEADQUARTERS WAS AT COCHIN. DURING HIS REIGN, PORTUGUESE MANAGED TO DOMINATE OVER THE RELATION WITH COCHIN AND ESTABLISHED A FEW FORTRESSES ON THE MALABAR COAST. IN 1571, THE PORTUGUESE WERE DEFEATED BY THE ZAMORIN FORCES IN THE BATTLE AT CHALIYAM FORT. 

DUTCH PERIOD

 THE WEAKENED PORTUGUESE WERE OUSTED BY THE DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY. RESULTANTLY, THEY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF CONTINUING CONFLICTS BETWEEN KOZHIKODE AND KOCHI TO GAIN CONTROL OF THE TRADE. THE DUTCH, IN TURN, WAS WEAKENED BY CONSTANT BATTLES WITH MARTHANDA VARMA OF THE TRAVANCORE ROYAL FAMILY AND WERE DEFEATED AT THE BATTLE OF COLACHEL IN 1741. AN AGREEMENT, KNOWN AS THE TREATY OF MAVELIKKARA, WAS SIGNED BY THE DUTCH AND TRAVANCORE IN 1753. ACCORDING TO WHICH THE DUTCH WERE COMPELLED TO DETACH FROM ALL POLITICAL INVOLVEMENTS IN THE REGION. IN THE MEANTIME, MARTHANDA VARMA ANNEXED MANY SMALLER NORTHERN KINGDOMS THROUGH MILITARY CONQUESTS, RESULTING IN THE RISE OF TRAVANCORE TO A POSITION OF PREEMINENCE IN KERALA. HYDER ALI OF MYSORE CONQUERED NORTHERN KERALA IN THE 18TH CENTURY, CAPTURING KOZHIKODE IN 1766. 

BRITISH PERIOD 

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF DUTCH POWER FROM MALABAR POLITICS LEFT FOR THE ENGLISH EAST INDIA COMPANY AS THE ONLY EUROPEAN POWER CAPABLE OF MAINTAINING A HOLD ON MALABAR AND THE REST OF INDIA

THE FIRST ENGLISHMAN WHO CAME TO KERALA WAS PERHAPS MASTER RALPH FITCH. IN 1583 HE LEFT ENGLAND FOR THE EAST IN THE COMPANY OF SOME MERCHANTS AND LANDED IN COCHIN. RALPH FITCH FREQUENTLY TRAVELED BETWEEN CALICUT AND COCHIN. IN 1615 CAPTAIN KNEELING ARRIVED OFF THE CALICUT COAST WITH THREE SHIPS, WHICH BROUGHT SIR THOMAS ROE TO THE COURT OF JAHANGIR. KNEELING VISITED MALABAR IN MARCH 1616 AND CONCLUDED A TREATY WITH THE ZAMORIN. THUS THE ZAMORIN BECAME ONE OF THE EARLIEST ALLIES OF THE ENGLISH IN INDIA. AS PER THE TREATY SIGNED WITH THE ZAMORIN, THE BRITISH AGREED TO ASSIST CALICUT IN EXPELLING THE PORTUGUESE FROM CRANGANORE AND COCHIN. IN RETURN THE ZAMORIN PROVIDED SEVERAL TRADE FACILITIES TO THE BRITISH. THE BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY FOUNDED ITS FIRST FACTORY IN THE SOUTH IN 1644 AT VIZIHINJAM. IN THE SAME YEAR THE ZAMORIN GAVE THEM PERMISSION TO BUILD A FACTORY AT CALICUT, BUT AS HE WAS SUSPICIOUS OF THE MOTIVES OF ALL FOREIGN TRADERS HE WAS NOT INCLINED TO GIVE THEM FURTHER SITES IN HIS TERRITORY. IN 1684 THE BRITISH GOT PERMISSION FROM THE RANI OF ATTINGAL TO ERECT A FACTORY AT ANJENGO AND ALONG WITH THIS THEY BUILT ANOTHER AT KOVALAM.  KERALA VARMA PAZHASSI RAJA (JANUARY 1753 – NOVEMBER 1805) WAS THE RULER OF THE KINGDOM OF KOTTAYAM IN MALABAR, BETWEEN 1774 AND 1805. HE IS POPULARLY KNOWN AS KERALA SIMHAM (LION OF KERALA). UPRISINGS OF NOTE INCLUDE THE REBELLION BY PAZHASSI RAJA AND VELU THAMPI DALAWA.