Over a quarter of a century ago I published my first serious historical study entitled Malabar and the Portuguese. It was followed soon afterwards by a companion volume on Malabar and the Dutch. It was, however, many years later that I picked up the thread of Kerala history again, in order to round off the period by dealing with the Mysorean invasion of Kerala. The present volume combines the three works, and may be said to cover the history of Kerala from 1498 to 1801.
A singular feature of Kerala history during this entire period is its lack of political unity. There was no central point from which the evolution of Kerala could be viewed. It is for this reason that I thought it best to weave the history of Kerala around the Portuguese, Dutch and Mysorean relations, for these outside powers were, during each succeeding period, connected with every part of Kerala. A unity of treatment was possible on that basis.
When the period opens Kerala is seen at the height of its feudal anarchy. There were no less than four kings, forty-six territorial chieftains and innumerable lesser barons. At the end of the period only the states of Travancore and Cochin existed and they also were under the paramountcy of the English East India Company while the rest was incorporated in the British district of Malabar. The historic kingdom of the Zamorins which had so heroically defended Kerala independence for over 250 years fell to the Mysorean assault. The principalities to the south of Cochin were incorporated in Travancore by Martanda Varma and Cochin itself escaped only by a timely surrender to Mysore, Thuss the division of Kerala into British Malabar, Cochin and Travancore which was to endure for nearly 150 years came into existence.
The story is in many ways a fascinating one. The history of the period assumes a significance far beyond its territorial limitation because of the major forces at play in the shaping of events. From the arrival of Vasco da Gama, the story of Kerala is translated into a chapter in world history. Some of the leading personalities whose activities are connected with Kerala are men of international stature: Vasco da Gama, Cabral, Affonso Albuquerque among the Portuguese, Van Imhoff and Van Rheede among the Dutch and Hyder Ali and Tippu among the Mysoreans. Nor were the Kerala rulers who were pitted against them men of ordinary calibre. great Zamorins are, alas, fated to remain anonymous, known to us only by their title, with only their heroic deeds to celebrate their glory. But Martanda Varma, Paliyathu Komi Achan, Rama Raja of Travancore and Keshava Das are men whose personalities stand out in bold relief on the canvas of history.
The From the point of view of culture also, this was the period marked by notable developments. It saw the rise of Malayalam as a great literature. Cherusserry and Punam in the north, Ezuthachan, Kunjan Nambiar and Unnayi Warrier in central Kerala, the Niranam Panikkars in central Travancore, in fact all the great figures of classical Malayalam, lived during this period. The Kathakali both as literature and as a dance form originated and matured at this time. In the field of Sanskrit scholarship and letters also the contribution of Kerala was outstanding. Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, Mazhamangalom Nampudiri and Aswati, Prince of Travancore and numerous others in the field of letters, the Payyoor Patteris and others in the field of Mimamsa and Bala Rama Varma in music and arts, made Kerala one of the centres of all-India culture. The court of the Zamorin was famed all over South India for its patronage of Sanskrit Letters in the 16th and 17th centuries and later Travancore under Rama Raja stepped into that position. From the point of view of painting also, the murals in the Padmanabhapuram and Mattanchery Palaces and the Vaikom and Ettumanoor temples testify to an efflorescence of Kerala genius.
A period of such significance in the political, social and cultural development cannot fail to be attractive to the historian. Since the publication of Malabar and the Portuguese in 1928, some interesting monographs relating to this period have been published by Malayali scholars. Of these the most important is a pioneer work on the history of The Zamorins of Calicut by Mr. K. V. Krishna Ayyar which is a mine of information on Calicut History. Mr. P. K. S. Raja's Medieval Kerala is another work of interest. Mr. O. K. Nambiar's Portuguese Pirates and Indian Seamen is a popular version of the struggle on the sea between the Zamorin and the Portuguese. The period of Dutch relations has been the subject of a major study by Dr. Poonnen. An exhaustive biography by Mr. Puthezhathu Raman, Menon of Saktan Thampuran, one of the Cochin Rajas who played a notable part in the time of Tippu, sheds light on the social conditions at the close of the period. Officially sponsored publications of the former Travancore Government, it need hardly be said, present a very biassed view of the development of that state. Literary history has been the subject of two authoritative works one by R. Narayana Panikkar, entitled Bhasha Sahitya Charitram and the other by Ulloor Parameswara Iyer under the title of Kerala Sahitya Charitram.
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