Nediyiruppu Svarupam was a powerful kingdom which took its origin in Central Kerala sometime in the 13th century. The rulers of this kingdom came to be called as the Zamorins of Calicut. With vast foreign trade the kingdom had attained great prosperity during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. It was at the end of this period that the first Englishman came to the coast of Kerala for the purpose of trade.

This “Pioneer Englishman” was Ralph Fitch. In March 1615, Captain Keeling arrived off Calicut (Cranganore) with three ships which also brought Sir Thomas Roe on as embassy to the court of Jahangir.

This first envoy of the English East India Company conversed with the Zamorin and at last concluded a treaty, according to which the English were to assist Calicut in expelling the Portuguese from Cranganore and Cochin. The Zamorin allowed the English traders full freedom for trade in his domain and also permitted them to open warehouses in Ponnani and Calicut. This was the beginning of the English-Zamorin relations.

But the English did not help the Zamorin against the Portuguese in presence of the provisions of the treaty. In 1634-35, during the last days of the Portuguese power, the English Company entered into an agreement with the Portuguese and got access to all the Portuguese port in Kerala. In 1636 British merchants, for the first time sent a cargo of pepper to England from Cochin.

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But the capture of the Portuguese possessions by the Dutch unsettled the plans of the English. The Dutch noticed with alarm the presence of the English in Malabar. No sooner had Cochin fallen in 1663 to the Dutch than the English factors who had settled there 28 years ago received notice to quit and they left for Ponnani.

British interests suffered heavily in other ports as well. In 1664 the Zamorin gave the English permission to build a factory at Calicut, but as he was suspicious of the foreigners, he was not in favour of assigning new places for them. With Ponnani and Calicut, and with no other protection than that of the Zamorin, the English laid the foundations of their future influence.

In 1691 the Dutch abandoned Chetwai in favour of the Zamorin. Though the possession of Chetwai gave the Zamorin a commanding position of the flank of Cochin, he allowed the English to open warehouse there. Now the English began to take active steps to safeguard their interests in Malabar. They were alert in steadily building up their hold over the pepperland.

The Zamorin gave special privileges to the English which he had not given to any other foreigner. He did not allow the French Company to settle on the right bank of the Chetwai River. Again he protected the English from the Moors. While other European powers had to pay duties the English were exempted from this.

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Thus it is clear that the Zamorin remained a faithful ally of the English. When Haider invaded Malabar the Zamorin found himself incapable of defeating him and destroyed himself by setting fire to the powder magazine with his own hand and blowing himself up along with the fortress where his great ancestors erected pillars of conquest and annexation. Now the position was, as K.M. Pannikar put it,” Haider being the master of the ancient territories of the Zamorin and the inheritor, therefore, to all the claims which the powerful arm of the Manavikraman kings had maintained through ages, was now in a position to contemplate the conquest of Cochin and Travancore.”

As to the attitude of the English Company, their commercial considerations prevailed over political loyalty. The Chief of the Factors, therefore, agreed to remain neutral, provided the commercial privileges of the Company in those territories would be guaranteed by Haider.

The orders of the Bombay government to follow a conciliatory policy with Haider made the English factors to wait and observe instead of to act actively. Cochin submitted and paid to Haider the sum demanded while the Travancore Maharaja refused to pay a single pie. The beginning of the first Mysore War, forced Haider to return home immediately.

In 1773 Haider invaded Malabar again. The Zamorin who had in the interval asserted independence took his life in his hands and fled. The French and the Dutch refused to give him refuge, terribly fearing Haider’s wrath. But Dharma Raja of Travancore gave him asylum. Before Haidfer could cross Trichur the Second Mysore War broke out and he returned home.

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In 1782 Haider Ali died and Tipu Sultan succeeded his father. Tipu discovered that the conquest of Haider proved ineffective because the English had conquered Malabar with the support of Travancore.

Tipu’s march to Malabar proved fruitful and by the treaty of Mangalore (1784) the whole of Malabar came under the Mysoreans. Malabar remained under Tipu till the treaty of Seringapatam in 1792 when he ceded it to the English.

The English at first reinstalled all Malabar chiefs in their territories with the assistance of Travancore’s Dewan Raja Kesav Das. The Zamorin also returned to Calicut along with the Rajas of Cochin, Kolattiri and Kottayam the Wynad taluk which in 1798 Lord Marington, Governor General of India, definitely pronounced to be a part of the dominions of Tipu, was ceded by the partition treaty of Mysore after the fall of Seringapatam in 1799. Immediately after the treaty of 1792, British Company took steps for the task of establishing a stable government in Malabar.

Messer Farmer and Dow were appointed Commissioners on behalf of the Bombay (now Mumbai) Government to enquire into the state of the country and to make political and commercial settlements with the Malabar chiefs. Messrs William Page, Charles Boddam and Jonathan Duncan joined the commission from Bengal.

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This Joint Commission submitted their report to the Governor of Bombay (now Mumbai) and was approved. Mr. Farmer was put in charge at Calicut as supervisor and Chief Magistrate of the province of Malabar.

On 21st May 1800 the province was transferred to the Madras (now Chennai) Presidency and Major Macleod became the first principal Collector of Malabar. Thus the territories of the Prince of Calicut, Chirakkal, Palghat and Kottayam were amalgamated to form the district of Malabar at the opening of the 19th century.