Calicut (Kozhikode)

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by Robert Harding

Calicut, or Kozhikode, 11° 15' N, 75° 46' E (11.8689, 75.3555), lies in the state of Kerala on the west coast of India. This is the ancient Malabar coast, which was an important centre in the Indian Ocean trade network in the 15th century. A strip of land wedged between the Indian Ocean and the Western Ghat mountains, the region has always been separate from its neighbours. It is united by its language (Malayalam) and a network of rivers and lakes that make communication easy.

Although there are a number of points along the coast where ships could anchor, the main ports in the south of Kerala are Cochin and Quilon and in the north, Calicut. The monsoons dictated shipping movements, with the northern winds allowing traffic from Iran and Arabia from August onwards. From Africa ships could access Kerala all year round, but only during the months of the northeast monsoon (October to February) could they make the return journey. From Kerala merchants could go to the eastern coast of India (Coromandel and the Bay of Bengal) or to Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and China. Trade has been important to this region of India for centuries, and it is with trade that its alternative name, Malabar, is closely linked.

The early history of the region is obscure, but it was ruled for a number of centuries by the Kulasekhara dynasty that was also known as the Cheras. In Kerala they were known as Cheraman Perumal, a name most closely linked to the last king of the dynasty. According to the sources, this king did not have a legitimate heir and so divided his kingdom among his followers, an event that may have occurred in the eleventh century but may not be historical. Although it was the collapse of the Chera Empire in 1122 that most likely triggered the division, future rulers would measure their rank partly through their ancestral relationships with him. One of these followers was said to have been given a small fragment of land known as Kozhikode (literally an area in which one rooster could be heard) and a sword with which to conquer more.

In fact, the origins of the dynasty were in the town of Nediyriuppu in the land-locked district (nadu) of Ernad. In perhaps the thirteenth century this family conquered the Polonad, the area around Calicut and founded or took over a town there at a place called Velapuram. Its modern name is probably derived from Koyil Kotta (fortified palace), leading to the Arabic "Kalikat". It was the beginning of a programme of expansion that saw the family spread further southwards. Its most significant conquest was Tirunavai, where the Mamankam festival, participated in by all Kerala, was held. The patronage of this festival and the king's growing political power, made the ruler of Calicut pre-eminent in Malabar. The title Samudri raja (king of the seas) was adopted and through distortion this became Zamorin.

The Zamorin expansion was aided by the growing importance of Calicut in trade. Until the 1200s merchants from the Persian Gulf, along with the Chinese, dominated commerce and used Quilon. With the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258 and the subsequent decline in Persian Gulf trade a void was created that came to be filled by Karimi merchants from Egypt. They were attracted to the newly-founded Calicut and the Chinese appear to have followed them in order to compete. By 1342, when the Muslim traveller Ibn Battuta arrived, Calicut was a large, flourishing port city.

[It] is one of the chief ports in Mulaibar. It is visited by men from China, Jawa, Ceylon, the Maldives, al-Yaman and Fars, and in it gather merchants from all quarters. Its harbour is one of the largest in the world."

The harbour is in fact inferior to that of either Quilon or Cochin, so it must have been the initiative of the Zamorins that was at least partly responsible for the shift.

The Arab merchants appear to have assisted the Zamorins in their expansion, not least through providing military supplies. By the fifteenth century trade was largely in the hands of these merchants. The Chinese had their own quarter, with buildings including a fortified warehouse. But according to Joseph of Cranganore, there may have been a violent falling-out with the Zamorin. What is clear is that by the end of the fifteenth century, Calicut was an important transhipment point between the Indian and Southeast and East Asian trade networks. Within India, Pattar brahmans, who originated from outside Kerala and had no access to land, turned to trade with Coromandel. Similarly, Konkani brahmans maintained trade relations with Coromandel and the north, while the Mappilas, Muslims from mixed marriages or who had converted, plied the Konkani routes but also maintained connections with the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

It was not just weaponry that made trade important for the Zamorins. The political system of Kerala by the fifteenth century consisted of an upper stratum of four rulers - of Calicut, Cochin, Cannanore and Travancore - above numerous "princes": each with warriors drawn from the Nayar caste. The major kings drew income from their own lands and tribute from the minor rulers. The system was potentially unstable because these "princes" could potentially withdraw support; and since by tradition they could be subordinated but not overthrown, the instability could not be rectified. A ruler's income could however be expanded radically through customs dues - and the rise of Calicut as an emporium had a direct effect on the Zamorin's wealth and power. The dues were 6-10%, though in return guest houses and security were provided.

The products were grown in Kerala that attracted the merchants included woods (teak and sapan), betel nut, wax, ginger, wild cinnamon, cardamom and coconut. Pre-eminent though was pepper, grown on high ground and harvested in January or February. A Dutch governor of Malabar, Jacob Hustaert, was to say of pepper that it was "the bride around whom everyone dances" and the control of its trade was an enormous prize.

In 1498 Vasco da Gama arrived in India at Kappad Beach, just north of Calicut. It was to inaugurate an era in which Europeans attempted to control the pepper network. Although Calicut concluded a deal with the Portuguese the latter also made a treaty with Cochin, and established a fort there. It was to be Cochin became the main port from which pepper was exported from Kerala. Portugal and Calicut were to have a difficult relationship through the rest of the century. Calicut's hereditary "admirals", the Kunjalis Marakkars, helped to keep the Zamorin independent, though the latter periodically entered into trade deals and even sided with the Portuguese in 1600 to bring down the Kunjalis. But the rise of Cochin, and of Goa further up the western coast, led to a decline in the fortunes of Calicut. By the end of the eighteenth century its trade was a shadow of what it had been. By 1598, the Dutch traveller van Lischtofen could record that "When the Portugals began to prosper and to get possession of the country, and became maister of the sea, Calecat beganne to decay and to lose both name and traffique and now at this time is one of the towns of least account in all Malabar and Cochin to the contrarie, their King being very rich and richer than the Samorin." Although the Portuguese were ousted by the Dutch from Cochin in 1657 (helped by the Zamorin) it did not change Cochin's position as the major port in Malabar.

Calicut was to have a brief reversal of fortune from the 1720s when the fall of the Safavid dynast in 1722 led to another decline of Persian Gulf ports. Arab and Gujarati merchants then took their trade to Kerala. Calicut became the centre of the pepper trade once again. But the kingdom of Travancore expanded and took over as the most important Keralan kingdom. And in 1765 Hyder Ali of Mysore captured Calicut, expelled its merchants and destroyed its sandalwood and pepper trees. His son Tipu Sultan turned the pepper trade into a government monopoly and in 1788 destroyed Calicut altogether. It was ceded to the East India Company in 1790 and rebuilt, but the era of the merchants that had fuelled Calicut's economy was over. It remains a seaport and local administrative centre.