#Kochin_History

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A Brief History Of Kochi

Kochi is the commercial capital of Kerala. Kochi survived lot of natural and human attacks in the past to reach the a status of today. Here is the brief summary of the kochi's history. the Portuguese, Dutch, English men all played their part in the development of Kochi.

History of Kochi

The plane dips in almost sensuous surrender to the velvety thickness of green at Kochi airport. There is wetness to the dawn air. For Kerala, perennially verdant land in south west India, is nature blessed country. The rains comes twice a year, unrestrained and swollen with a restless energy that transforms the countryside into a blaze of fierce green. Kochi lies there glittering in the sun, swept by surf of Arabian sea, a pretty mosaic of old colonial bungalows, pristine white churches, old Jewish Synagogues, a scattering of islands and mysterious spice streets. India's most romantic port city.

Muziri's Era of Kochi

The year was 1341 A.D, when as a result of heavy floods in river Periyar, the mouth of ancient port Muziris got silted up. This grand old port, was hailed as the 'Premium Emporium indiae' since the early centuries of the Christian era. A Tamil poet of the Sangam Age describes it as "…the thriving town of muchri, where the beautiful great ships of yavanas bringing gold, come splashing the white foam on the waters of Periyar which belong to Chera King…and return laden with pepper." Paranar in his 'Puranauru' also refers to the brisk trade of pepper at muzris- "Sacks of pepper are brought from the market. The gold received from ships in exchange for articles sold is brought on shore in barges at Muchiri, where the music of the surging never ceases…" Merchants flocked here from lands as distant as Bagdad, Byzantine and Moorish Cordova. It was here that St.Thomas the Apostle came first with his message of Christianity, it was to Muziris that the Jews fled for refuge after the final destruction of Jerusalem, it was at Muzris thet India's first Mosque was built. But now with flooding of Periyar, Muziris lost her former glory. Deprived of her natural harbor, and with a restless monsoon washing away her bulwarks, she lost her trade and her people. The discipline into insignificance was bulwarks; she lost her trade and her people. The discipline into insignificance was inevitable.

Kingdom of Kochi

In the same upheaval, anew natural harbor was formed that came to called Cochazhi or Kochi in common parlance, and Cochin in the English Language. In no time Kochi came to be recognized as one of the India's finest and safe ports. The fall of Muziris coincide with Kochi's rise. It enjoyed so much prosperity that its only rival was Kozhikode. Eventually the royal family shifted their capital to Kochi and the seal on its political importance.

Rulers of Kingdom of Kochi

1. Unni Raman Koyil - 11 (1503–1537) 2. Veera Kerala Varma (1537 – 65) 3. Keshava Ramavarma (1565–1601) 4. Veerakerala Varma (1601 – 15) 5. Ravivarma (1615 – 24) 6. Veera Kerala Varma (1624–1637 ) 7. Godhavarma (1637 – 45 ) 8. Veera Rayira Varma (1645 – 46 ) 9. Veerakerala Varma (1645 – 50 ) 10. Ramavarma ( 1650 – 56 ) 11. Rani Gangadhara Lakshmi ( 1656 – 58 ) 12. Ramavarma ( 1658 – 62 ) 13. Godhavarma ( 1662 – 63 ) 14. Veera Kerala Varma(1663–1687) 15. Rama Varma (1687–1693) 16. Ravi Varma (1693–1697) 17. Rama Varma (1697–1701) 18. Rama Varma (1701–1721) 19. Ravi Varma (1721–1731) 20. Rama Varma (1731–1746) 21. Veera Kerala Varma (1746–1749) 22. Rama Varma (1749–1760) 23. Veera Kerala Varma (1760–1775) 24. Rama Varma (1775–1790) 25. Rama Varma(SHAKTAN THAMPURAN 26. Rama Varma(1864–1888) 27. Ravi Varma(1943–1946) 28. Kerala Varma(1946–1948)

The Portuguese in Kochi(1503-1663)

Caesar Frederick, merchant of Venice described Kochi as "the chief place that the Portugal's have in the Indies next to Goa…Out of the kingdom of Kochi properly they carry away them into Portugal great abundance of pepper, great quantities of ginger, dried and conserved wild cinnamon, good quality of areca, great store of cordage of catire made of the bark of tree of great nut, and better than that hemp, of which they carry great store in to Portugal."

Dutch era of Kochi

The Dutch who captured Kochi from the Portuguese in 1663, contributed greatly to the place and its trade, while also building some very fine guys, houses and bastions for the port.

English Period (1814 — 1947)

A tough old war horse, Kochi was survivor of thousand battles between the feuding kings of Kerala as well of deliberate sabotage attempts by the colonial powers, as for example the British who blew up the finest buildings, quays, the fort and the magnificent Portuguese Cathedral of Santa Cruz in 1806 in their bid to establish the supremacy in the power struggle.

Post Independence era

By the 19th century, the winds of nationalistic were sweeping across the land and Kochi played her predestined part in the revolution. History took its due cause until Indian independence in 1947. Kochi was integrated with Travancore to form the new state of Travancore- Kochi in 1949. And on the first November of 1956, when the states of Indian Union were re-organized on the linguistic basis, Malabar district was added to Travancore-Kochi, and thus the modern state of Kerala came being.

Today's smart kochi

Today the Kochi with its twin Ernakulum, comprises the middle section of the Kerala, and continues to be a commercial entrepot for merchants dealing in cashew nut, coir, tea, coffee, rubber, timer, sea food, spices and most important pepper. As it happens, Kerala pepper is the largest foreign exchange earner among India's cash crops. It is a busy city, a commercial centre with any number of office, housing blocks, modern supermarkets and luxury hotels. Yet Kochi wears its patina of sophistication thinly. Beneath it is the same respect for tradition, the same passionate love for the soil that marks the rest of Kerala