History of kerala

The first recorded history of Kerala appears in the inscriptions of the Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka (269-232 b.c.).In these inscriptions, Ashoka refers to four independent kingdoms that lay to the south of his empire. These were the kingdoms of the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Keralaputrasand the Satiyaputras.Among them, the Keralaputras or the Cheras, as they were called, reigned over Malabar, Cochin and North Travancore – all part of present-day Kerala. They managed to maintain their independence because they were on good terms with the Great Maurya. Otherwise, Ashoka, who was a great empire builder, would surely have attempted to bring these kingdoms under his tutelage.
The four South Indian Kingdoms extended a hand of friendship towards the Mauryas. It was really Hobson’s choice for them, having already experienced the Mauryan onslaught during the reign of Ashoka’s predecessor, Bindusara (297-272 b.c.)


¤ The Sangam Age

Information about the Cheras during the Mauryan times is very scarce. It is only in the Sangam Age that the history of Kerala emerges from myths and legends. The Sangam Age refers to the period during which Sangam literature was composed. Sangam literally means academy and these great works in Tamil were written in the first four centuries of the Christian era.
Tradition has it that the first three academies met at Madurai and were attended by kings and poets.
However, the literature composed at the First Sangam is no longer extant.

Tolkappiyam : The earliest work on Tamil grammar, was composed during the Second Sangam.
Ettutogai : The Third Sangam produced a remarkable collection of Tamil literature known as Ettutogai (“Eight Anthologies”). These anthologies give us a detailed description of the political, social and economic conditions of that period.

¤ The Chera Kingdom

The Sangam Age witnessed three political powers ruling the area which now constitutes the State of Kerala. These were the Ays in the south, the Cheras in Central Kerala and Ezhimalas to the north. The Ays established a kingdom which in its halcyon days, extended from Tiruvalla in the north to Nagercoil in the south. Antiran, Titiyam and Atiyan were the most prominent of the Ay rulers.

The Ezhimalas too ruled over an extensive area that covers the present Kannur and Wynad districts of North Kerala. However, the Cheras were the most conspicuous of the dynasties and founded a powerful kingdom in Kerala.

The first Chera ruler was Perumchottu Utiyan Cheralatan – a contemporary of the great Chola, King Karikalan. After suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Chola ruler at the battle of Venni, he committed suicide.

His son, Imayavaramban Nedum Cheralatan, another important Chera ruler, succeeded him. During his long rule of 58 years, Imayavaramban Nedun Cheralatan consolidated the Chera Dynasty and extended its frontiers. He inflicted a crushing defeat on his sworn enemies, the Kadambas of Banavasi (see Uttar Kannad for details). Imayavaramban’s reign is of special significance to the development of art and literature. Kannanar was his poet laureate.

However, the greatest Chera King was Kadalpirakottiya Vel Kelu Kuttuvan, who is also identified with the mythical hero of the Silappadigaram (The Jewelled Anklet). Silappadigaram is one of the three great Tamil epics of the Sangam Age. The other two are Manimegalai and Sivaga-Sindamani. The great Tamil poet, Paranar, refers to his military exploits including his famous victory at Mogur Mannan and Kongar. Kuttuvan was the proponent of the Patni (wife) cult. The cult emphasised the utter devotion of a wife towards her husband. He dedicated a temple at Vanchi to Kannagi (the female protagonist of Silappadigaram), and the present Kurumba Bhagavati Temple at Kodungallur (Cranganore) is modelled on it. Kannagi’s devotion towards her husband was legendary. Recently, the Indian Government has instituted an award in her memory, which is given to the women.


¤ Kalabhra Interregnum

After the Sangam Age, Kerala passed through a dark period that lasted four centuries. This era is known as the ‘Kalabhra Interregnum’. At the end of the eighth centurya.d., South Indian kingdoms such as the Pallavas, the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas and the Pandyas succeeded in overthrowing the Kalabhras.


¤ Shankaracharya – The Great Theologian

It is a paradox that Buddhism disappeared (until its revival in recent years) from the land of its origin. One of the main reasons for this development was that a revived and reformed Hinduism began to emerge after the sixth century a.d.

In the eighth century, this reform movement was led by Adi Shankaracharya, whose position with respect to Hinduism is similar to that of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Roman Catholic Church. He travelled the length and breadth of India and got the better of many Buddhist missionaries in public discourses. Kalady, situated 25 kilometres northeast of Cochin, was the birthplace of Shankaracharya. A great philosopher and theologian, he propagated the advaita (monism) philosophy, which is also known as kevaladvaita (strict monism). Shankaracharya was also a great organiser. His missionary zeal was best exemplified in his establishment of four mathas (Hindu monastic establishments) in the four corners of the country. These are located at Sringeri in Karnataka, Dwarka in Gujarat, Puri in Orissa and Badrinath in Uttar Pradesh. Shankaracharya died at the young age of 32.


¤ The Second Chera Empire

Just after the eclipse of the Kalbhras, the Second Chera Empire made its appearance in the annals of Kerala history. Mahodyapuram (modern Kodangallur) was its capital. It was founded by Kulasekhara Alvar (a.d. 800-820), one of the 12 Alvars. Alvars were Tamil saints who composed and sang hymns in praise of Vishnu (The Preserver in the Hindu Holy Trinity of Creator-Preserver-Destroyer). They were exponents of the Bhakti (devotional) cult in South India. The Alvars gave a great impetus to the Bhakti cult in South India between the seventh and the 10th centuries. Kulasekhara Alvar was a scholar and a great patron of the arts. He composed five dramas – the Perumal Tirumozhi in Tamil, and Mukundamala, Tapatisamvarna, Subhadradhamala and Vichchinnabhiseka – all in Sanskrit, which testify to his scholarship.


¤ Rajasekhara Varman Rul (a.d. 820-44)

(succeeded Kulasekhara Alvar. He founded the ‘Kollam Era’ of Kerala, which began in a.d. 825. He is also reputed to have issued the Vazhappali Inscription, the first epigraphical record of the Chera Kingdom. Rajasekhara Varma was followed by Sthanu Ravi Varman (a.d. 844-55), a contemporary of the Chola King, Aditya I (a.d. 870-906).


The Tillaisthanam Inscription indicates that he was on friendly terms with the Chola monarch. His reign witnessed a flourishing trade between Kerala and China. This is borne out by the Arab merchant Sulaiman who visited India in a.d. 851. His first love was astronomy and Sankaranarayana, who composed the astronomical work Sankaranarayaniyam, adorned his court.

After Rajasekhara’s death, hostilities broke out between the Cheras and the Cholas, which continued until the disintegration of the Chera Kingdom. The Pandyas of the Madurai also involved themselves in the conflict.

Rama Varma Kulasekhara (a.d. 1090-1102) was the last of the Chera Kings. He shifted his capital to Quilon when the Cholas sacked Mahodyapuram during his reign. His death signalled the atomisation of the Chera Empire, from the ruins of which arose the independent kingdom of Venad.


¤ The Venad Kingdom

After the fall of the Kulasekharas, Venad emerged as an independent power. The kingdom reached its zenith under Udaya Marthanda Varma (1175-1195) and Ravi Varma Kulasekhara (1299-1314). An efficient ruler, Udaya Marthanda Varma was the architect of a brilliant administrative system for temples. The copper plates, which he issued during his rule, and which were called the Kollur Madham Plates and the Tiruvambadi Inscription of1183, testify to this fact.

Ravi Varma Kulasekhara was the most important ruler of the dynasty. He was a brave and active warrior. He brought peace and order to the strife-torn Pandya Empire, after Malik Kafur, lieutenant of the Delhi Sultan, Ala-ud-din Khilji (1296-1315), ravaged it. His reign saw the development of art and learning. A scholar and musician himself, he patronised intellectuals and poets during his tenure. The Sanskrit drama Pradyumnabhyudayam is ascribed to him. Trade and commerce also flourished during his rule and Quilon became a famous centre of business and enterprise.

After the death of Ravi Varma Kulasekhara, the history of the Venad Kingdom is not of special interest. The kingdom lingered on until the middle of the 18th century before it disintegrated.


¤ Emergence of Calicut

During the medieval period, Calicut rose to prominence from the ashes of the mighty Kulasekhara Empire, in the northern part of Kerala. The Zamorins (literally Lord of the Sea) were the hereditary rulers of Calicut who traced their lineage to the old Perumal dynasty of Kerala. Calicut emerged as a major seaport during the reign of the Zamorins.

Trade with foreigners like the Chinese and Arabs was the main source of revenue for the Zamorins. But it was the Arabs who managed to establish stronger trade links with the rulers of Calicut. Art and culture flourished under the Zamorins who were great patrons of literature.

Accounts of travellers like Ibn Batuta (1342-47), Ma Huan, the Chinese scholar, Abdur Razzak (1443), Nicolo Conti (1444) and Athanasius Nikitin (1468-74) corroborate this fact. Not content with the size of their kingdom, the Zamorins set about expanding its boundaries. The powerful Zamorins conquered Beypore, Parappanad, Vettat, Kurumbranad, Nilambur, Manjeri, Malappuram, Kottakal and Ponnai. By the 15th century, clashes between Cochin and Calicut became increasingly frequent. The reigning Zamorin emerged as the undisputed monarch of the North Malabar area, extending up to Pantalayani Kollam.


¤ The Europeans Arrive

The arrival of Vasco da Gama at Calicut in 1498, was a landmark event in the annals of history. At that time, Kerala was in the throes of political turmoil. Although the Portuguese did not enjoy cordial relations with the Zamorin, they succeeded in procuring some trading facilities at Quilon and Cannanore. But the Portuguese were intent on stopping the Arabs from trading with India.

Hostilities between Cochin and Calicut were exacerbated because the Raja of Cochin acted as a willing supporter of the Portuguese. However, the Zamorin faced a crushing defeat at the hands of the Portuguese when they laid siege on Cochin. The Portuguese gained permission to fortify Cochin and Cranganore in 1503 and 1504, respectively.

After Vasco da Gama, the most notable Portuguese to set foot on Indian soil, was Albuquerque. He managed to make peace with the Zamorin. A treaty was signed in 1513, which gave the Portuguese the right to construct a fort in Cochin and to carry on trade. However, the successors of Albuquerque were incompetent and corrupt. Naturally, that led to the decline of Portuguese power in Kerala.
The Portuguese had a strong impact on the educational and cultural life of the people of Kerala. The introduction of the printing press in Kerala can be counted as one of their biggest achievements. However, religious intolerance and bigotry marked their rule, leading to strife and disharmony among the local populace. This period also saw the revival of the Bhakti movement.


¤ Trade Link With Dutch

Lured by the possibility of trade with India, the Dutch landed on the western coast. Various treaties signed in 1608 and 1610 ensured trading facilities for the Dutch. With the treaty of 1619, the Dutch joined hands with the British to eliminate competition from the Portuguese.

The Dutch were able to fortify and monopolise trade in the regions of Purakkad, Kayakulum, Quilon and Travancore by 1662. One of the most singular achievements of the Dutch contingent in India was the conquest of Cochin in 1663. The decline of the Dutch became inevitable with the unprecedented rise of Travancore under Marthanda Varma (1729-58) and the Mysore invasion. The Zamorin also succeeded in depriving the Dutch of Cochin, Cranganore, Parur and Trichur at one go. By 1759, curtains fell on the Dutch power in India.


¤ Rise of Travancore

Travancore or Venad occupied centre stage in the political arena of Kerala around 18th century, thanks to the deeds of its two illustrious rulers, Marthanda Varma (1729-58) and Rama Varma, popularly known as Dharma Raja (1758-98). In his lifetime, Marthanda Varma successfully annexed the territories under the Dutch. Known as the Maker of Modern Travancore, Marthanda’s tenure is a remarkable period in the history of Kerala.


Rama Varma ascended the throne and ably carried out the task of administration. Two distinguished ministers, Ayyappan Marthanda Pillai and Raja Kesava Das assisted him in administering the kingdom.Rama Varma had to bear the brunt of Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan’s invasion. But Rama Varma’s defence system withstood even the might of Tipu’s forces.
Travancore was fortunate enough to be governed by many enlightened administrators like Velu Thampi, Rani Gouri Lakshmi Bai (1810-15), Gouri Parvati Bai (1815-29), Swati Tirunal (1829-47), Ayilyam Tirunal (1860-80), Sri Mulam Tirunal (1885-1924) who did much to see science, art and culture flourish in Travancore.


¤ Mysore Invades Kerala

Haider Ali, the ruler of Mysore, turned his attention towards Kerala after subduing Bednore in 1763. The regions of Kolathiri, Kottayam, Kadathanad, Kurumbranad and Calicut came under the dominion of Haider Ali. Again in 1773, Haider Ali laid siege on Kerala and conquered Trichur after restoring his authority in Malabar. Haider’s son, Tipu Sultan ascended the throne in 1782. Continuing in the footsteps of his illustrious father, Tipu managed to annex the entire South Malabar in 1783. Nevertheless, it was only in 1790 that he succeeded in breaching the Travancore Line.

But the beginning of the Third Mysore War spelt disaster for Tipu as, one after another, most of the kingdoms under Tipu surrendered to the British forces. With the signing of the Treaty of Serirangapatam in 1792, the last blow was dealt to Tipu’s reign. According to the terms of the treaty, Tipu had to hand over Malabar to the British.


¤ British Accession to Power

Like the other European powers, the British also came in as traders to India. By 1634-35, they had managed to gain permission to use all the Portuguese ports in Kerala from the Zamorin. The British fortified Calicut in 1664.In the years to follow, Travancore and Tellicherry also came under purview of the British.
But it was not all smooth sailing for the British. They had to face considerable opposition from the French and the Dutch. However, the British were successful in ousting other European powers such as the French and the Dutch, from their turf.

But the Keralites did not give in to the British without a whimper. Several revolts took place during the late 18th and early 19th century, which challenged British authority. Among them, the most important was the revolt of Velu Thampi and Paliath Achan who were Chief Ministers of Travancore and Cochin, respectively. Velu Thampi had led a popular uprising against the corruption and misrule of the king’s advisers.

The dictatorial attitude and adverse policies of the British Resident raised his hackles too. He found an ally in Paliath Achan, the Dewan of Cochin who was also dissatisfied with British administration.The famous proclamation asking people to rise against the British was issued in 1809 by Velu Thampi. Though the revolt was crushed mercilessly, Thampi and Achan are still revered as great patriots who sacrificed their lives for the country.

With the Treaty of Serirangapatam in 1792, Malabar came under the sway of the British. Compared to the many achievements of Travancore and Cochin, progress made by Malabar was insignificant. Malabar was converted into a district of the Madras Presidency.
Around 1836-56, Malabar saw a lot of disturbances due to the Mappila Riots. It is still unclear whether the cause of the riots was religious fanaticism or agrarian grievances and poverty. However, the British forces repressed the rebellion quite ruthlessly.

History of malabar

Arabian Sea once extended to the foot of the Western Ghats, and 'Cheram' or Cheranadu or Keralam is believed to have emerged out of the sea bit by bit over a period of many centuries. Areas like Malappuram can claim its antiquity much more than the coastal districts of Kerala.


· 1st to 5th century A.D. - Three powers ruled over today’s Kerala. They were Aay Rajas in the southern side, Ezhimala Kings in the northern side, and the first Chera kingdom comprising most of the present central Kerala.


· 500 to 814 A.D. - Kerala passed through a dark period in history which saw a multitude of invasions from outside. Invasion of Kalabhrars took place initially. The Kalabhrars were defeated by the Chalukyas, Pallavas and Pandyars. Later on there were invasions by the Rashtrakudas. Some of these kings claim to have ruled over Kerala. Many of these claims may have been exaggerations, but it can be safely concluded that this was a period of extreme political instability in Kerala.
These ages also witnessed the biggest Brahmin settlements into Kerala, especially in the 8th century A.D. The Rashtrakudars were supported by gramams like the Chovvaram gramam, who were Saivites. The Aryan Brahmins of these gramams may have come with these rulers.


· 825 A.D. - Beginning of Malayalam Era (calendar)


· 800 to approx.1112 A.D. - Second Chera kingdom. During this period Kerala returned to the political stability that it once enjoyed. The Chera kings were powerful emperors who ruled over most of Kerala.


· 896 A.D. : Konganpada - War between Kongu king and Nedumpurayoor (Palakkad Raja). Kongu army was defeated by combined armies of Nedumpurayoor, Walluvanad, Ernad and Perumpadappu. In honour the Walluvanad 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.


· 949 A.D. : Vallabhankumaran, son of Raja Sekharan ( the first Walluwanad Raja about whom there are inscriptions ) who was Governor of Vallabha Rashtra under Kerala king, and Rajaditya Chola, the Chola prince, fought Pallava Ruler Krishna Deva III. The inscriptions of Tiruvattiyur gives the story of Vallabhankumaran renouncing his worldly life and assuming the ascetic order because he could not help his friend Rajaditya Chola who died in the battle of Takkolam in this war.


· 1000 A.D. - Mention is made of 'Rayiran Chathan, the owner of Walluva province, the Arangottu Swaroopam', as a witness in the Jew's Copper Plate given to Joseph Rabban by Bhaskara Ravi Varma I, the Chera ruler of Kerala.


· Approx. 990 A.D. to 1105 A.D. - The biggest and bloodiest war ever witnessed by Kerala, a war which lasted for over a 100 years. Started with invasion by the Chola kings. The Cholas continuously attacked and plundered Kerala, wave after wave, and again and again South Kerala was left in ruins. By 1095 A.D., Kulothunga Cholan had destroyed Kollam. Towards the end of these wars the Cholas conquered as far as central Kerala, and the capital of Chera kingdom, Mahodayapuram, was looted and burned completely by the Chola armies. But the last Chera king Ramavarma Kulasekharan won battles against the Chola army, with the help of tact, and efficient suicide squads (Chavers) provided by various subordinate kings, a technique to which the Chola armies were not familiar. By 1102 A.D., the Chola armies had been thrown back. Soon the armies led by Ramavarma Kulasekharan put an end to the Chola rule in Kerala. The king had done his job well. The Cholas never again rose to their former power in South India.


· Approx. 1112 A.D. - A few years after establishing long-sought-after peace in Kerala and re-instating a strong empire, the Second Chera kingdom abruptly ended. Only legends indicate what might have happened. The last Chera king, Ramavarma Kulasekharan, secretly left for Mecca and embraced Islam religion after dividing the kingdom among his relatives and chieftains, according to the most popular legend. The independent kingdoms that came into being were 18 in number. One of the King's princes was given Venad. The Perumpadappu Rajas are also believed to be relatives of the Chera king. The king appointed the Walluvanad Raja or Valluvakkonathiri (Vellaattiri) to preside over the Thirunavaya assembly as Rakshapurusha. Till then this status of the Rakshapurusha was held by the Perumal (Chera) kings, and the Mamanka at Thirunavaya had been conducted under them. When dissention or dispute arose between the different naduvazhis or others, it was the duty of the Rakshapurusha to make the contestants resolve their disputes. [Logan is of the opinion that Vellaattiri was also not directly under the Chera kings but enjoyed more freedom and rights than other chieftains under them. (Logan, Vol. 1, pp. 256-57)]


· Rule of the naduvazhis in Malabar: The territorial divisions consisted of nadus ruled by naduvazhis, which were divided into desams ruled by desavazhis who were directly under naduvazhis and subject to their dictation. The desam was further divided into gramams, tharas or cherees. These were like independent republics under the naduvazhi. [Valluvakkonathiri was also known by the names like Vellaattiri, Vallabhan, Rayiran Chathan and Arangotte Udayavar. Titles according to seniority were - Valluvakkonathiri, Vellalpad, Thacharalpad, Edathralpad, Kolathur and Padinjarekkara.] The Walluvanad Rajas were peaceful kings, who relied more on the strength of their tutelary deity, the mother Goddess of Thirumanthamkunnu, than the power of their army, in protection from enemies.


· Panniyoor and Chovvaram gramam: These were two of the gramams which was formed at this time. In the beginning the two villages were the centre of higher Vedic learning and vyed with each other. The competition turned to bitter rivalry between the Vaishnavites and Saivites in course of time.


· 1341 A.D. - The flood of Periyar which did great damage to the harbour of Kodungallur. Kochi later came to occupy its place.


· The power balance changed as Samoothiri killed Porlathiri of Polanad by treachery, occupied and developed the area which came to be called Kozhikkode as port, prospered by a flourishing trade, and used most of the resources to developing a huge army. Samoothiri had ambitions to be the absolute emperor of Kerala. The wealth from Kozhikkode port provided the crucial advantage in his wars. Parappanad and Vettathunad soon had to submit to the power of the Samoothiri and became his feudatories one by one.


· Panniyur - Chovvaram row : The Brahmins of Panniyur made an idol of Lord Siva in an awful disposition, presiding over death and disease. This was intended to be an insult on Chovvaram. The Namboodiris of Chovvaram stole the controversial idol from the shrine built by Panniyur group. The leader of Panniyur group, Tirumanasseri Namboodiri, who ruled Gowardhanapuram just south of Thirunavaya, with the help of his three thousand Nair soldiers, attacked and burned Chovvaram. The Chovvaram group appealed to the Walluvanad Rajas for help. But Thirumanasseri Namboothiri did not accept the mediation of the Rakshapurusha in this matter. This resulted in Valluvakkonathiri and Perumpadappu Raja declaring war simultaneously against Thirumanassery Namboothiri, who appealed to Samoothiri, a rising power then. He promised Samoothiri full support in capturing Ponnani from Vellaattiri. Samoothiri, looking for such an opportunity, gladly accepted the offer.


· Approx. 1351 to 1363 - Thirunavaya war : The Samoothiri's army and the combined armies of his subordinate kings, together attacked the allied army of Walluvanad and Perumpadappu from the north. The war was fought between Thirunavaya and Vakayur. Meanwhile another huge force under Eralpad (Samoothiri prince) commanded the Navy across the sea and landed at Ponnani, with intention to attack Thirunavaya from the south with the army of Thirumanassery Namboothiri, and also to prevent the army of Perumpadappu joining Vellaattiri's armies. The Muslim commanders in Ponnani, won over the side of Samoothiri earlier, supported this army with food, transport and provisions. In spite of the fact that the soldiers of Walluvanad did not get the timely help of Perumpadappu they fought vigorously and the war dragged on. It was only through machinations and tact that Samoothiri gained in the war. News became afloat that Samoothiri was able to win over the tutelary deity of Vellaattiri, the Goddess of Thirumanthamkunnu, by propitiating her at Kozhikkode. Nair soldiers of Vellaattiri were gradually unnerved by a growing feeling that their Goddess was deserting them. Samoothiri's minister Mangattachan was also successful in turning Kadannamanna Elavakayil Vellodi (Junior branch of Kadannamanna) to Samoothiri's side. In the ensuing war, two of the Vellaattiri princes fell dead in the battlefield. Thus deserted by his tutelary deity and disowned by his own men, Vellattiri at last withdrew from Thirunavaya.


· Closely following the fall of Thirunavaya, Samoothiri captured Vanneri from Perumpadappu. The Perumpadappu Rajas was forced to shift their capital to Thiruvanchikkulam under Samoothiri's attack.


· As Thirunavaya was captured, Samoothiri proclaimed himself as the Rakshapurusha and took over sole right of conducting the Mamankam festival. The next Mamankam at Thirunavaya was conducted under the auspices of Samoothiri with great pomp and splendor.


· 'Chaver' - Now began the custom of sending Chaver soldiers or suicide squads to the festival to dispose off the Samoothiri. These Chavers were sworn soldiers who preferred death to defeat, and who sacrificed their lives to avenge the death of their princes in the Thirunavaya war. The death of the Vellaattiri princes also started a period of intense hatred and war between the two kingdoms which was to last for more than four centuries. Kudippaka or blood feud was prevalent in the society. If a person was killed, it was the duty of the relatives or even the subsequent generations of the deceased to avenge the death. During the Mamankam festival all other Rajas used to send flags as a symbol of regard to the Samoothiri at Thirunavaya. But Valluvakkonathiri who did not recognize the Samoothiri as the legitimate Rakshapurusha but considered him only a usurper used to send Chavers instead. If these men could kill the Samoothiri, who was protected by thousands of soldiers, the right of Rakshapurusha would have devolved on the Walluvanad Raja.


· There were four Nair families under Vellaattiri who used to send their heroes to fight and die in the Mamankam festival. These were 1. Chandratt Panicker 2. Putumanna Panicker 3. Kakot Panicker 4. Verkot Panicker. Along with them went a number of soldiers drawn from arms-bearing castes including Muslims who opted themselves to die. Most of these Chaver soldiers had lost their relatives or elders in previous wars with the Samoothiri, and were fuelled by 'kudippaka' against the Samoothiri. They came from various parts of Malabar, assembled at Thirumanthamkunnu under Vellaattiri, and were led by commanders from one of the four houses. Further details were provided by Logan and Hamilton about the Mamankam of 1683 and 1695 respectively.


· Vellaattiri after losing Thirunavaya and the right of the Rakshapurusha, began to conduct the pooram festival in the place of Mamankam, at Angadippuram (Walluvappally), his capital. Here in the temple of his tutelary deity Thirumanthamkunnu Bhagavathi, he stood on a raised granite platform from where in the olden days his predecessors started the procession to Thirunavaya for the Mamankam festival. It was from here that the Chavers were sent to the Mamankam festival afterwards when Samoothiri usurped it.


· The war of Thirunavaya was not the end of Samoothiri's aggression on Walluvanad. He continued his attacks on Vellaattiri. But he encountered stiff resistance and the fights went on in a protracted and sporadic fashion for a long time. [Kunnathattil Madambil Nair (Mannarghat Nair) was the desavazhi who looked after the affairs of the eastern boundary and hilly areas of Vellattiri. Chondathil Mannadiar (Puthumana Panicker) and Kavada Nair were other chiefs under him. Other dignitaries consisted of 14 swaroopies, two Nairs, two Namboothiris, two persons of the royal house, four Panickers, Elampulakkad Achan, Kulathur warrier, Uppamkalathil Pisharody, Pathiramana Vellodi, Parakkatt Kakkoott, Mannarmala Nair and Cherukara Pisharody. This council of great men was a huge challenge to Samoothiri even during times when mutual rivalries weakened the Vellaattiri Swaroopam.]


· Samoothiri followed a policy of appeasing the feudatories of Vellaattiri and conferring upon them the areas they originally held under Vellaattiri. He was able to win over Dharmoth Panicker, Pulappatta Nair and Kavalappara Nair to his side one by one. Thus Samoothiri gradually became the master of Malappuram, Nilambur, Vallappanattukara and Manjeri, which were under these feudal lords. Eralpad (Samoothiri prince) now began to rule these areas as supreme commander over them, with Karimpuzha as his base.


· But Samoothiri faced defeat in the next attack on Perumpadappu. The Perumpadappu Rajas appealed to their ally Vellaattiri for assistance. Their combined army resisted Samoothiri's forces and a bloody war ensued for three days, at the end of which Samoothiri's army was on the retreat.


· After a period of uneasy calm Samoothiri's armies invaded Nedunganad, a small princely state between Walluvanad and Palakkad. It was annexed by Samoothiri soon afterwards - Nedungattiri, the Raja of this place, was given certain rights of supervision over the temple of Cherplassery, and a subsistence allowance.


· 1405 A.D. - Samoothiri continued his aggression on Perumpadappu Rajas. The Perumpadappu Rajas, or Rajas of Kochi as they came to be known later, were forced to shift their capital from Thiruvanchikkulam to Kochi.


· Pantalur and Kottakkal came under Samoothiri only after a protracted struggle. These areas were under Karuvayoor Moosad, the Brahmin chief minister of Vellaattiri. Neither machinations of Mangattachan nor threat of war made his submission possible. Instead he even indulged in provocative treachery by inviting Thinayencheri Ilayathu, a minister of Samoothiri, to his home to negotiate a marriage proposal, and killing him. A furious Samoothiri decided to avenge the death of his minister and sent a huge army under Munalpad (third prince). After a bloody war which lasted for about 12 years, in which all types of treachery imaginable was performed by both sides, Samoothiri's army trapped the Moosad at Padapparamba, captured him and put him to death. The loss of this brave and fiercely loyal chief minister was the greatest blow to Vellaattiri after the Thirunavaya war. These captured areas were given to Varakkal Paranambi, a minister of Samoothiri.


· Unable to withstand Samoothiri's attacks, Kochi Raja finally accepted Samoothiri's rule and became his feudatory. Family feud between the elder and younger branches of the royal family of Kochi was well exploited by the Samoothiri to make Kochi Raja's submission possible.


· The severe and frequent wars on Walluvanad by the Samoothiri continued. But even after the loss of his ally Kochi Raja, Vellaattiri did not submit to Samoothiri.


· Most of the Nayar houses and 'kalaries' in the captured areas had lost their members in the wars against Samoothiri, and they were fuelled by kudippaka against the ruler. More deaths meant more kudippaka, and more Chavers. These houses would accept only Vellaattiri as their legitimate king. They were also helped by Vellaattiri's forces. To counter the local unrests, Samoothiri followed a custom of 'implanting' Muslim families and the families of other commanders who had allegiance to him, in the captured areas of Malappuram.


· By now all that was left to Vellaattiri were Attappadi valley, parts of Mannarkkad, Ottappalam and Perinthalmanna. Samoothiri invaded these territories but could not make much progress, because these regions were sparsely populated and most parts were dense forests and hills. It was impossible for Samoothiri's large army to march forth through these areas. The fights with Vellaattiri's men became more and more difficult for Samoothiri. Vellaattiri's smaller army in turn made the most of the landscape and successfully kept the armies of Samoothiri at bay.


· Samoothiri built a fort at Ponnani.


· 1498, May 18 - Vasco Da Gama arrived. He asked Samoothiri to let the Portuguese keep a small legion in Kozhikkode to protect their goods. Samoothiri rejected this and also told Gama that he had to pay levy at the same rates as that of others. Vasco Da Gama visited Kolathiri and made a trade agreement with the king. Then he returned to Portugal.


· 1500 - Kabral's visit.


· 1502 Feb - Gama returned. Samoothiri rejected the request of Gama for expulsion of Arabs and to give Portuguese the trade monopoly.


· The Portuguese attacked and killed a number of traders at Kozhikkode, and cut off the ears, nose and hands of many. Then Gama came triumphantly to Kochi. Here he was given a warm welcome. He concluded a treaty with Kochi Raja.


· On hearing of this agreement with the Portuguese and his feudatory Kochi Raja, the Samoothiri demanded expulsion of Portuguese from Kochi. Kochi Raja rejected this demand.


· 1503 March 1 - Gama, anticipating attack from Samoothiri, hurriedly left Kochi and returned to Portugal, despite entreats for help from Kochi Raja. Samoothiri's forces effected a crushing defeat to Kochi Raja's armies, killing three of the royal family and occupying Kochi.


· Within a few months, the Portuguese under Fransisco Albuquerque joined with the remaining forces of Kochi, reclaimed Kochi and reinstated Kochi Raja again.


· Thus these wars resulted in the independence of Kochi from the Samoothiri's rule, but Kochi remained a stronghold of the Portuguese for a long time.


· 1504 - Samoothiri decided to mount a huge attack on Kochi. An army with more than 60,000 soldiers marched to Kochi. But the war was not successful for the king. As it dragged on, 19,000 of his soldiers died in war and a further 13,000 died due to vishuchika(cholera). Samoothiri was on the retreat. In the same year, the Portuguese captured Kodungallur also, and built a fort around the town. The Raja of Kodungallur became a Portuguese feudatory.


· 1506 - Samoothiri's naval forces joined with the Navy of the Turks and Arabs, and a fierce battle took place at the sea with the forces of Lorenzo, son of Almeida. The Portuguese won again.


· Samoothiri now approached Kolathiri. The Portuguese had behaved contemptuously to the Muslims at Kannur, and so Kolathiri was thinking of teaching them a lesson. The king laid siege the St. Angelos fort at Kannur. But the Portuguese won this battle also, and Kolathiri was forced to plea for peace.


· 1507, November 14 - Portuguese under Almeida attacked Ponnani and indulged in all kinds of atrocities. The Portuguese were quite hostile to the Muslims.


· 1508 - Following Samoothiri's requests, the Navy of Egypt managed to inflict defeat on the Portuguese navy.


· 1509 - Portuguese counter attacked Samoothiri's forces and Egypt's Navy. Egypt withdrew from the war. In the same year, Almeida went back to Portugal, and was succeeded by Albuquerque.


· 1513 - An agreement was signed between Samoothiri and the Portuguese. It gave the Portuguese right to build forts in Kozhikkode and to make trade deals as they wished. Samoothiri agreed to provide a portion of the toll from Kozhikkode port to the Portuguese, and in return he was promised all support in his wars against Kochi Raja and Kolathiri. Kochi Raja voiced his protest to the agreement but it went unheeded.


· 1515 - Albuquerque died at Goa.


· Attempt on Samoothiri's life, which again created a rift with the Portuguese, and broke the peace.


· 1524 - Vasco Da Gama was sent by King of Portugal to make war on Samoothiri but he could not accomplish much.


· 1524, December 24 - Gama died at Kochi.


· 1525, February 26 - Menezes, Gama's successor made a devastating raid on Ponnani. But Samoothiri won the war in the end with the help of Tinayancheri and Kurumliyapatri by land, and Kunjali Marakkar by sea. Kunjali Marakkar became famous for his valour and skill in these wars against the Portuguese. Captain Kutti Ali entered Kochi port and burned all Portuguese ships he found there.


· 1525, November 4 - Portuguese abandoned their fort and blew it up by setting fire to a train of gun powder.


· The war dragged on.


· The Portuguese entered into a successful intrigue with Vettath Raja (one of the Samoothiri's unwilling feudatories), to make a fort near Bharathappuzha, in the opposite bank of Ponnani. However the Portuguese were not successful as the ships were destroyed when trying to cross the dangerous river mouth.


· Formation of Chalium fort by Portuguese - Vettath Raja enabled the Portuguese to erect a fort at Chalium at the mouth of the Beypore river. Chalium was a strategic site, for it was only 10 kms south of Kozhikkode. Chalium Raja also helped the Portuguese.


· Samoothiri retaliated by attacking Vettathunad and Chalium. The Raja of Chalium made unconditional peace with Samoothiri. Vettath Raja, after a protracted fight, was compelled to surrender all his lands near Ponnani and his island near Chalium. But Portuguese fort could not be destroyed.


· 1540 - Samoothiri entered into an agreement with the Portuguese and stopped the war. But the skirmishes continued in the seas by Muslim navigators based at Ponnani.


· 1550 - Portuguese attacked, pillaged and plundered Ponnani. They set fire to several houses and four mosques, including the Valia Palli.


· 1569 and 1570 -War with the Portuguese and Samoothiri's forces. Kutti Poker lost his life in his heroic fight against the Portuguese at Chalium fort.


· 1571, September 15 - Portuguese lost the war, Chalium fort surrendered and Samoothiri destroyed the fort, leaving not one stone upon another.


· 1573 - Pattu Marakkar (Kunjali III) obtained permission from Samoothiri to build a fortress and dockyard at Puthupattanam. This fort later came to be called the Marakkar Kotta. It was from here that Kunjali defended the country against the atrocities of the Portuguese.


· 1584 - Samoothiri needed free navigation without the passes of the Portuguese, to the ports of Gujarat, Persia and Arabia, to continue his trade. So an agreement with the Portuguese was made. The sanction to the Portuguese to build a factory at Ponnani was given. By now Samoothiri had clearly shifted his policy towards the Portuguese. The valiant Muslim commanders like Kunjali Marakkar who fought for generations against the Portuguese were ignored when Ponnani was given to their traditional enemies.


· 1591 - Samoothiri allowed the Portuguese to build a factory at Kozhikkode. He even laid the foundation of their church granting them necessary ground and building materials. His commanders like Kunjali Marakkar who were sworn enemies of the Portuguese were ignored again. Kunjali began to distance himself from Samoothiri.


· 1598 - Samoothiri joined with the Portuguese and fought his own Commander, Kunjali Marakkar. Kunjali surrendered to Samoothiri, and Samoothiri handed him over to the Portuguese, who killed him. Thus ended a glorious era of unflinching resistance from the Marakkar family to the Portuguese in Kerala.


· 1604 - The Dutch came and concluded a treaty with the Samoothiri, by virtue of which they were permitted to trade at Kozhikkode and Ponnani and to build forts in these places for their protection.


· 1646 - The reigning branch of Kochi Raja became extinct and adoptions were made both from the dispossessed branch and a collateral branch living at Palluruthy. Between these two branches family feud broke out.


· 1658 - The crown at Kochi became vacant again, and five princes from Tanur (Vettathunad) were adopted and were given the right to succeed. The mootha thavazhi (elder branch), ignored, appealed to the Samoothiri for help against the adoptees and the Portuguese. Samoothiri decided to help the mootha thavazhi. Aditya Varma, the Raja of Vadakkumkur, the Raja of Edappally and the chief of Palium rallied around the Samoothiri in support of the mootha thavazhi. The Raja of Poracaud supported the ruling Tanur adoptees. On the advice of the Palium chief, Veera Kerala Varma, the dispossessed prince of mootha thavazhi set sail to Colombo and sought help from the Dutch governor.


· 1661 - The Dutch now found a huge chance of getting a major say in the politics of Kerala and led the allies of the dispossessed prince, with the armies of Samoothiri, against the Portuguese and the ruling Kochi king (Tanur adopties). Samoothiri, finding new powerful allies, also had shifted his support to the Dutch from the Portuguese. The war resulted in the disastrous failure of the Portuguese and Kochi rulers. Their possession in Kerala fell into the hands of the Dutch. Three of the Tanur princes died in the war. But the ruling king escaped to Ernakulam where he was given refuge by the Raja of Poracaud. Over the fortress of Cochin, Pallippuram, Cannanore and Quilon, the flag of the Portuguese had given place to the flag of Holland. The mootha thavazhi prince now became Kochi Raja.


· 1683 - Mamankam festival. Account of Chaver attack at Mamankam of this year given by Logan - "Amid much din and firing of guns the Morituri, the Chaver Nayars, the elect of four Nayar houses in Waluvanad, step forth from the crowd and receive the last blessings and farewells of their friends and relatives. They have just partaken of the last meal they are to eat on earth at the house of the temple representative of their chieftain; they are decked with garlands and smeared with ashes. On this particular occasion it is one of the houses of Putumanna Panikkar who heads the fray. He is joined by seventeen of his friends - Nayar or Mappila or other arms-bearing caste-men - for all who so wish may fall in with sword and target in support of the men who have elected to die.
Armed with swords and targets alone they rush at the spearmen thronging the palisades; they wind and turn their bodies, as if they had no bones, casting them forward and backward, high and low, even to the astonishment of the beholders, as worthy Master Johnson describes them in a passage already quoted. But notwithstanding the suppleness of their limbs, notwithstanding their delight and skill and dexterity in weapons, the result is inevitable, and is prosaically recorded in the chronicle thus: The number of Chavers who came and died in the early morning the next day after the elephant began to be adorned with gold trappings - being Putumanna Kantur Menon and followers - was 18.
At various times during the ten last days of the festival the same thing is repeated. Whenever the Zamorin takes his stand on the terrace, assumes the sword and shakes it, men rush forth from the crowd on the west temple gate only to be impaled on the spears of the guardsmen who relieve each other from day to day."


· 1695 - About the next Mamankam from 'New Accounts of the East Indies' by Captain Alexander Hamilton, Chapter XV :- "In Anno 1695, one of these jubilees happened when the tent was pitched near Ponnany, a seaport of his (Samoothiri's) about 15 leagues to the southward of Calicut. There were but three men that would venture on that desperate action, who fell on with sword and target, among the guards, and after they had killed and wounded many, were themselves killed. One of the desperadoes had a nephew of fifteen or sixteen years of age, that kept close by his uncle in the attack on the guard, and when he saw him fall, the youth got through the guard into the tent and made a stroke at His Majesty's head and had certainly despatched him, if a large brass lamp which was burning over his head, had not marred the blow; but before he could make another he was killed by the guards, and I believe the same Samoothiri reigns yet. I chanced to come that time along the coast and heard the guns for two or three days and nights successively."
The 15 year old boy mentioned was Chandrath Panicker.


· 1729 to 1731 - Epidemic of small pox all over Kerala.


· 1741 - From the Dutch - Stein Van Gollenese wrote: - "Valluvanatty (Walluvanad) alias Arangolla is a kingdom next to Bettette (Vettathunad). The king has the privilege every 12 years of sending notorious murderers to the feast of Mamanka, the right to conduct which, so he says, has been taken away from him by the Zamorin contrary to all right and justice. A few weeks ago, he caused two elephants of the Zamorin to be carried off, which has provoked the Zamorin to such an extend that the latter intends to make war upon him after the feast of Mamanka; but as this matter is no way affecting the Honourable Company, we may look forward to the results with equanimity."


· 1743 - Mamankam festival. Chavers came from Walluvanad as usual to question the authority of Samoothiri.


· After the festival Samoothiri send his armies to attack Vellaattiri. The Vellaattiri had also prepared for a final assault and was organizing his army for a show of strength. The advancing army of the Samoothiri met with the same problem that they had faced in the previous large scale war with Vellaattiri - the hilly and untractable Walluvanad were well used by Vellaattiri's men in the war. These forests proved to be perfect death traps for Samoothiri's soldiers. The Vellaattiri's striking power was also underestimated. Both armies underwent heavy losses, and Samoothiri was forced to stop the war by the onset of monsoon.


· Meanwhile Marthanda Varma of Travancore affected a crushing defeat of the Dutch forces. The rising power of the British and French elsewhere in India declined the strength of the Dutch. After this defeat they never really regained their former power in Kerala. By now the Samoothiri had also distanced himself from them.


· 1745 - Revolt of the Muslims in Tirurangadi against the Nairs and chieftains, which came as a blow to Samoothiri.


· 1757 - Samoothiri managed to lay siege on Chetvai, forcing the Dutch to leave the port.


· Samoothiri's forces invaded Walluvanad and captured some more areas belonging to the Vellaattiri. Then the triumphant army of Samoothiri entered the territory of the Palakkad Raja. The forces were commanded by Chencheeri Namboothiri. Thousands of people were murdered in the attack. The Palakkad Raja lost the war and had to agree to pay one-fifth of his revenue to Samoothiri as war indemnity.


· Beginning of Samoothiri's decline of power - After the war Palakkad Raja did not pay the amount agreed to earlier, but sent Kombi Achan to Mysore with an appeal to render military help. The Dalawa of Mysore ordered the Foujdar of Dindigal, Haider Ali, to render military help to the Palakkad Raja. Haider Ali sent his brother-in-law Maqdum Ali with an army of 2000 horses and 5000 infantry. They made surprise attacks on the frightened Nair soldiers of Samoothiri's army and easily put them to flight. The lack of resistance was a pleasant surprise to Mysore army. Samoothiri sued for peace and promised to pay a war indemnity of 12 lakhs. This was accepted and Maqdum returned to Mysore with his army.


· Hyder Ali became the supreme leader of Mysore.


· Samoothiri once again sent his army to Palakkad demanding one-fifth of the revenue as agreed upon after the successful war led by Chencheeri Namboothiri earlier. Samoothiri's army attacked the forts of Palakkad Raja and killed a number of Achans. Those who escaped from the massacre turned for help to Haider Ali. Itti Kombi Achan entered into an agreement with Haider Ali, who agreed to help the Raja of Palakkad to regain his lost territory from the Samoothiri. Palakkad Raja had refrained from this move till he was forced to do so, because no other king in Malabar, including Vellaattiri, supported this move.


· Hearing of the agreement of Palakkad Raja with Hyder, the Samoothiri himself withdrew from the conquered territory of Palakkad. This gave further confidence to Hyder that Samoothiri could be easily defeated in war. Samoothiri had courted defeat even before the 'scent' of war. This also further demoralized his commanders. Meanwhile the Rajas of Palakkad became a tributary to Mysore and agreed to pay a sum of 5000 fanams to Mysore annually. They were considered to be faithful allies of Hyder thereafter.


· Hyder Ali next demanded the sum of 12 lakhs as previously agreed by the Samoothiri to Maqdum. Samoothiri pleaded to Hyder for more time.


· 1766 - The last Mamankam conducted by Samoothiri. As usual Chavers came from Walluvanad. Every Mamankam conducted under the Samoothiri, from approx. 1364 to 1766, witnessed the sacrifice of these Chavers who preferred death to defeat.


· Soon, Hyder after occupying Kadathanad, made a triumphant entry into Kozhikkode. The battle by the Mysore army had been won long before the actual battle began. The Samoothiri after sending his relatives to Ponnani, locked himself up in his fort and committed suicide.


· The Rajas of Malabar went to Travancore and continued the resistance to Mysore's forces with the help of the Travancore king.


· By 1790 - The British managed to defeat Tippu Sultan and finally established their rule over Malabar. The Mysore kings' efforts to establish their rule over Malabar had only weakened Malabar's defenses and made the job of the British easier.


· The next Samoothiri king and Kochi Raja declared themselves as subordinates to the British.


· 1792 - Vellaattiri had to enter into an agreement with the British but retained some of his original territory. Thus the Walluvanad Raja who once occupied a pre-eminent place among the Rajas of Malabar and who did not submit to the power of Samoothiri for more than 400 years, despite being lost countless number of times, and fought to the last for keeping his ancient heritage, was at last degraded into the position of a petty feudal chief by the British.


· 1793 to 1797 - The first war of Pazhassi Raja with the British. Keralavarma Pazhassi Raja was of the Kottayam royal family, who ruled Wayanad. The British tried to arrest the king in his palace, but Pazhassi Raja escaped to Wayanad hills and continued his fight. Many Englishmen died. The British were forced to withdraw their armies from Wayanad. However they were attacked again while retreating, with the result of further casualties. They finally accepted the demands by the king and a truce was obtained.


· 1800 to 1805 - Pazhassi Raja revolted against the policies of the British again. The king opposed all efforts by the British to rule Wayanad. By the tactics of guerilla warfare, the British were made to suffer innumerable hardships. Sir Arthur Wellesley was appointed to capture the Raja. The British won critical battles by a combination of treachery, tact and brute force. Finally the revolt was suppressed and Pazhassi Raja was killed in battle.


· British rule in Malabar continued till 1947.

History Of Kannur

There is no evidence of the Paleolithic man having lived in this
region . Nevertheless , rock-cut caves and Megalithic burial sites of the
Neolithic age have come to light in certain parts of the district.
The Thaliparamba- Kannur -Thalassery area abounds in rock -cut
caves, dolments, burial stone circles and menhirs , all of Megalithic burial
order.
It can be assumed that the first batch of Aryan immigrants into the
State entered the district through the Tuluva region.

Mooshaka Kings and Kolathiris
Early in the ninth century A.D., the Cheras re-established their
political supremacy in Kerala under Kulasekhara Varman. This second
line of Chera emperors ruled till 1102 A.D with their capital at
Mahodayapuram. The bulk of the area, comprising of the present Kannur
district, seems to have been included in this empire. A separate line of rulers
known as the Mooshaka Kings held sway over Chirakkal and Kasaragod
areas (Kolathunad) with their capital near Mount Eli. It is not clear
whether this line of rulers were attached to Mahodayapuram or whether
they ruled as an independant line of kings in their own right. By the 14th
century A.D., the old Mooshaka kingdom had come to be known as
Kolathunad and the rulers known as Kolathiris and had come into prominence
in north Kerala.
The Kolathiris were a power to reckon with at the time of the
arrival of the Portuguese towards the end of the 15th century. They were
political and commercial rivals of the Zamorins of Kozhikode.
During the medieval age, several Arab scholars visited the west
coast. Baliapatam, Srikantapuram, Dharmadom, Bekal and Mount Eli
(Ezhimala) are some of the places which figure prominently in their travelogues.
Vasco Da Gama
Though Vasco Da Gama, the famous Portuguese navigator, did
not visit Kannur on his way to Kozhikode in May 1498, he established
contacts with the Kolathiri ruler. His ships which had left Kozhikode on
August 29, 1498 were contacted by the boats sent by the Kolathiri and
Gama was invited to visit the palace. The aim of the Kolathiri was to gain
wealth and power with the help of the Portuguese, the same way the
Zamorin had acquired with the help of the Arabs. In winning the alliance
of the Kolathiri, Vasco Da Gama, in turn, had successfully exploited the
jealousies of the native princes and won for the Portuguese a virtual
monopoly of the pepper trade.

Francisco De Almedia was sent from Portugal with specific instructions
to erect forts at stratetgic points. He started constructing the
Kannur Fort in 1505 and it was named St. Angelo.
On March 16, 1506, the Portuguese effectively intercepted an armada
of Turks and Arabs, whom the Zamorin had launched against
Kannur. The Portuguese navy under Lorenzo Almedia engaged the
Zamorin's fleet in battle and the Portuguese ships won a decisive victory.
This naval victory resulted in the establishment of Portuguese naval supremacy
in the Indian seas.
Portuguese ascendency
An important political development which took place at this juncture
was the alliance between the Kolathiri and the Zamorin who were
till then sworn enemies. The Zamorin was able to convince the Kolathiri
of the real motives of the Portuguese in India and the perils inherent in his
policy of befriending them.
The Portuguese followed a policy of religious persecution and forcible
conversion. They therefore clashed with most of the native princes
and chieftains.
In 1558, the Kolathiri came openly into the field against the
Potuguese by providing active support to the Kunhjali Marrikkar of
Kozhikode. The Kolathiri and the Zamorin fought a common war against
the Portuguese and they besieged the fort of St. Angelo at Kannur,in
1564. But the Portuguese continued to maintain a precarious foothold at
Kannur till 1663 when the fort was captured by the Dutch in February
that year.
Arrival of the English East India Company
The English East India Company got its first foothold in the district
towards the closing years of the 17th century, when it acquired a site at
Thalassery for the erection of a fort and a factory.

The disintegration of the Kolathiri's dominion started in the latter
half of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century following dissensions
in the royal family by the extensive surrender of territory to consorts
of the ruling members.
In spite of the many difficulties it had to face in the initial stages,
the trade of the English East India Company prospered during the latter
part of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century, by their liberal trade
policies. Further, unlike the Portuguese, they refused to interfere in the
religious and caste affairs of the local population.
Mysorean conquest
In 1725, the French captured Mayyazhi and renamed it as Mahe
in honour of the French captain Francois Mahe De Labourdonnais.
The most important episode in the political history of north Kerala
in the second half of the 18th century is the conquest of Mysore by Haidar
Ali and Tipu Sultan. Haidar Ali conquered Malabar in 1773.
In January 1788, Tippu Sultan descended on Kerala with a large
army and founded a new capital at Feroke for his Malabar province.
The treaties of Srirangapatanam, signed on 22nd February and
18th March, 1792, formally ceded Malabar to the British.
The British entered into agreements with the Rajas of Chirakkal,
Kottayam and Kadathanand and all of them acknowledged the full sovereignty
of the Company over their respective territories.
The British Government divided the province of Malabar into two
administrative divisions - the Northern and Southern, presided over by a
Superintendent each at Thalassery and Cherpulasseri, under the general
control of the Supervisor and Chief Magistrate of the province of Malabar
who had his headquarters at Kozhikode.

Pazhassi Revolt
While the British were busy with the political settlement of the
district, a serious revolt was headed by Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja of
the Padinjare Kovilakom of the Kottayam family. The potent cause of
the revolt was the unpopular revenue policy followed by the East India
Company in Malabar. He stopped all collections of revenue in Kottayam.
The Raja further threatened to cut down all the pepper vines if the
Company's officers persisted in revenue collection.
In April 1796, a determined effort was made by the Britsh to capture
the Raja in his own palace at Pazhassi. This was in vain.
On December 18, the British Commissioner issued a proclamation
forbidding the people to assemble or to assit the Pazhassi Raja and warning
them that if they did so, they would be considered as irreconcilable
enemies of the Company and that their property would be confiscated.
On December 30, a futile attempt was made to reconcile the differences
between the Raja and the Company.
On eighth January 1797, Pazhassi Raja's men launched daring attack
on the havildar's guard stationed at Pazhassi and the whole party
except one man was killed. In the battle fought on three successive days,
nineth, 10th and 11th March 1797, the detachment made by the Company
forces was overpowered by the swords, spears, bows and arrows of
Pazhassi Raja's men. As the situation was full of perils, a reconciliation
with the Pazhassi Raja became a matter of political expediency.
While South Canara and other parts of South India were being
brought under British imperial control, following the fall Srirangapatanum.
(1799), Pazhassi Raja raised the standard of revolt a second time and
shook for a while the very foundations of British power.
Colonel Stevenson's efforts early in 1801 cut off the Pazhassi Raja
from his adherents in South Malabar and by May the British troops hadmade much headway and with every port both above and below the
ghats in British hands and the whole country disarmed, the Pazhassi Raja
became a wanderer in the jungles accompanied by his wife and immediate
attendants.
On 24th May, 1804, Colonel Macleod issued a proclamation warning
the people that they would be treated as rebels if they failed to furnish
information about rebel movements and if they helped the Pazhassi troops
with arms, ammunition or provisions. Finally the proclamation of June 16
offered rewards for the apprehension of Pazhassi Raja, two other members
of his family and his principal lieutenants and declared their estates
and properties confiscated from that date.
On first November, Baber took direct charge of the operations and
on 30th November, 1805 he surrounded and shot the Raja dead in an
operation on the banks of a nullah. The Raja's body was cremated with
"customary honours". With the death of Pazhassi Raja, the resistance
movement in north Kerala came to an end.
Freedom Movement
Kannur district has played an important role in all the political movements
of recent times. The Indian National Congress, which was founded
in 1885, captured the attention of the people of this district from its very
inception. A district committee came into existence in Malabar in 1908.
A branch of the All India Home Rule League, Founded by Dr. Annie
Beasant, functioned in Thalassery during this period and among its active
workers was V.K. Krishna Menon.
The decision of the Nagpur Congress to give up constitutional methods
of agitation and resort to Non-Violent Non Co-operation as a means
of achieving Swaraj,led to widespread boycott of foreign goods, courts
of law and educational institutions in Kannur.
Mahatma Gandhi and Maulana Shaukat Ali toured the district to
carry the message of the Non-Co-operation and Khilaphat Movements.The Khilaphat movement coincided with the famous Malabar Rebellion
of 1921 which was put down by the British with an iron hand.
Payyannur Conference
Kannur district came into the lime light of Kerala politics in May
1928, when the fourth All Kerala Political Conference was held at
Payyannur under the auspices of the Kerala Provincial Congress. This
conference was presided over by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The Payyannur
conference passed a resolution requesting the Indian National Congress
to adopt 'Complete Independence' instead of "Swaraj" as its goal at the
annual session which was scheduled to take place at Calcutta during that
year.
Salt Sathyagraha
Payyannur was the main venue of the Salt Sathyagraha in Malabar.
On 13th April , a batch of Congress volunteers under the leadership of K.
Kelappan started on foot from Kozhikode to the beaches of Payyannur
and broke the salt laws there on April 21. The Satyagraha camp at
Payyannur was raided and the campers were beaten up. There were
widespread demonstrations in Kannur, Thalassery and other parts of the
district and a number of Congress workers were arrested. The district
was always in the forefront in Civil Disobedience Movements and all
along Congress workers broke salt laws and picked foreign good dealers
and liquor shops.
The period following the withdrawal of the Civil Disobedience
Movement witnessed the emergence of a radical wing in the Kerala Provincial
Congress. Some of the radical elements in the Kerala Pronvircial
congress organiszed a Kerala unit of the Congress Socialist Party in 1934
and functioned as a seperate group within the Provincial Congress. The
leadership of this group was in the hands of persons like P. Krishna Pillai.,
A.K. Gopalan and E.M.S. Namboothiripad. An extremist group of Nationalist
Muslims also emerged within the Congress during this period
under the leadership of Mughammad Abdur Rahiman. The Congress Socialists
and the Nationalist Muslims made common cause against theGhandhian group known as the Right Wing which was led by such leaders
as K. Kelappan, C.K. Govindan Nair and K.A. Damodara Menon.
A notable development in the politics of Malabar during the thirties
was the rise of the Muslim League as a distinct political party. It was the
Muslim leaders of Kannur and Thalassery who played the lead role in
forming this organisation.
The leftist elements in the Kerala Provincial Congress were also
active in the politics of Malabar in the late thirties. They took active part
in organising the workers, peasants, students and teachers of Kannur
district under their banner. In the election held to the Kerala Provincial
Congress Committee in January 1939, in the righiest suffered a servere
setback. Muhammed Abdur Rahiman was elected as the president of the
K.P.C.C. and E.M.S. Namboothiripad as its general secretary. Towards
the end of the same year, a branch of the Indian Communist Party was
formally founded in Malabar. The Congress Socialist Party workers joined
the Communist Party block.
Morazha Incident
The K.P.C.C. gave a call to the people of Malabar to observe 15th
September , 1940 as Anti-Imperialist Day. The action was disapproved
by the Congress High Command, but there were meetings and demonstrations
all over Malabar on this day. Kannur District was the centre of
this agitation. There were voilent clashes between the people and the
police at several places and lathi charge and tiring were resorted to by
the police to meet the situation. Two young men were killed in a clash
between a mob and a police party at Morazha. In connection with the
latter incident, K.P.R. Gopalan, a prominent communist, was arrested on
a charge of murder and later sentenced to death. But, owing to the intervention
of several top ranking political leaders including Mahatma Ghandhi,
the death penalty was not carried out.
The 'Quit India' Movement of August 1942 also had its echoes in
Kannur district. A socialist group among the Congress workers under
Dr. K.B. Menon, provided leadership to the movement.In 1945, at the end of the War, the Congress leaders were released
from prison. The Muslim League had by this time become a decisive
force in Malabar politics. It supported the demand of the All India Muslim
League for the partition of India.
Famine and Peasant Struggles
The War period, especially from 1943 to 1945, had its ravages on
the district. Famine and cholera epidemic took thousands of lives from
the lower strata of society. On the initiative of the people under the leadership
of the Kisan Sabha, commendable services were rendered to tide
over the crisis.
The "Grow More Food Campaign" organised at Mangattuparamba
by the Kisan Sabha was a new chapter in the history of mass movement.
More than fifty acres of government land was brought under cultivation.
But the government suppressed the movement by force and destroyed
the farm.
Though the War ended in 1945, famine continued to haunt the
people. Karivellore, the northern most village of the present Kannur district,
made a historic stride in the struggle against poverty and famine.
The transporting of paddy from Karivellore to Chirakkal Kovilakom was
blocked and distributed to the people of the village. The movement was
led by peasant leaders like A.V. Kunhambu and K.Krishnan Master. One
Kannan and Kunhambu became martyrs in the struggle when police
opened fire.
During the month of December 1946, the people of Kavumbayi,
an eastern village of the district, raised their demand for punam cultivation.
A strong police contingent was sent to the spot. The peasants resisted
the armed forces which led to the killing of five peasants in the
firing.
The rise of the organised working class in the industrial sector was
another important phenomenon of the period that changed the course ofthe anti-imperialist movement. The struggle of Aron Mill workers in the
year 1946 is noteworthy in this regard.
Even after independence, the struggles of the peasantry formed
an important part in the history of the State. They fought against landlords
and their exploitation. Places like Thillankeri, Manyankunnu, Korom
and Paddikkunnu are memorable in the annals of the peasant struggles in
the post independence era.
The All India Conference of Kisan Sabha, held at Kannur in 1953,
resolved to initiate struggles for new tenancy legislations. The movement
for Aikya Kerala (united Kerala) also got momentum during this period
and all sections of the society rallied under the movement.

Malayalam

Malayalam

Malayalam is the principal language of the South Indian state of Kerala and also of the Lakshadweep Islands off the west coast of India. In terms of the number of speakers, Malayalam ranks eighth among the fifteen major languages of India. The word “malayalam” originally means mountainous country (“mala”- mountain,”alam”-valley),signifying its origin from the western ghats..

Evolution of Malayalam Language

Malayalam belongs to the southern group of Dravidian languages. Its affinity to Tamil is most striking. ProtoTamil- Malayalam, the common stock of Tamil and Malayalam, apparently disintegrated over a period of four of five centuries from the ninth century onwards, resulting in the emergence of Malayalam as a language distinct from Tamil. As the language of scholarship and administration, Tamil greatly influenced the early development of Malayalam. Later the irresistible inroads the Brahmins made into the cultural life of Kerala accelerated the assimilation of many Indo-Aryan features into Malayalam at different levels.

Development of Malayalam Literature

The early literature of Malayalam comprised three types of composition:

• Classical songs known as “pattu” of the Tamil tradition (Eg:Ramacharitam)
• Manipravalam of the Sanskrit tradition, which permitted a generous interspersing of Sanskrit with Malayalam(Eg:Vaishikatantram )
• Folk songs rich in native elements

Malayalam poetry from the beginning till the late twentieth century,contains varying degrees of the fusion of the three different strands.
The earliest extant prose work in the language is a commentary in simple Malayalam, Bhashakautaliyam (12th century) on Chanakya's Arthasastra. Malayalam prose of different periods exhibits some degree of influence of different languages such as Tamil, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Syriac, Portuguese, Dutch, French and English. Modern Malayalam literature is rich in poetry, fiction, drama, biography, and literary criticism.

Malayalam Script

In the early thirteenth century, “vattezhuthu” (round writing) traceable to the pan-Indian Brahmi script, gave rise to the Malayalam writing system, which is syllabic in the sense that the sequence of graphic elements means that syllables have to be read as units, though in this system the elements representing individual vowels and consonants are for the most part readily identifiable.
Malayalam now consists of 53 letters including 20 long and short vowels and the remaining consonants. The earlier style of writing is now substituted with a new style from 1981. This new script reduces the different letters for typeset from 900 to less than 90. This was mainly done to include Malayalam in the keyboards of typewriters and computers.

Malayalam Language modifications

Variations in intonation patterns, vocabulary, and distribution of grammatical and phonological elements are observable along the parameters of region, community, occupation, social stratum, style and register.

• Sanskrit influence
  Influence of Sanskrit is most prominent in the brahmin dialects and least in the Harijan dialects. Loanwords from English, Syriac, Latin, and Portuguese abound in the christian dialects and those from Arabic and Urdu in the muslim dialects. Malayalam has borrowed from Sanskrit thousands of nouns, hundreds of verbs and some indeclinables.
• English influence
  English stands only second to Sanskrit in its influence in Malayalam. Hundreds of individual lexical items and many idiomatic expressions in modern Malayalam are of English origin.

• Origin

  Malayalam first appeared in writing in the vazhappalli inscription which dates from about 830 AD. In the early thirteenth century the Malayalam script began to develop from a script known as vattezhuthu (round writing), a descendant of the Brahmi script.

  As a result of the difficulties of printing Malayalam, a simplified or reformed version of the script was introduced during the 1970s and 1980s. The main change involved writing consonants and diacritics separately rather than as complex characters. These changes are not applied consistently applied so the modern script is often mixture of traditional and simplified characteres

  Malayalam is also regularly written with a version of the Arabic script by Muslims in Singapore and Malaysia, and occasionally by Muslims in Kerala.

  Notable features

• This is a syllabic alphabet in which all consonants have an inherent vowel. Diacritics, which can appear above, below, before or after the consonant they belong to, are used to change the inherent vowel.
• When they appear the the beginning of a syllable, vowels are written as independent letters.
• When certain consonants occur together, special conjunct symbols are used which combine the essential parts of each letter.

Used to write:

Malayalam, a Dravidian language with about 35 million speakers. It is spoken mainly in the south west of India, particularly in Kerala, the Laccadive Islands and neighboring states, and also in Bahrain, Fiji, Israel, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore, UAE and the UK.

Malayalam alphabet

Vowels (svaram)

Consonants (vyanjanam)