History of Kollam

[3] Since the ancient times, city of Kollam (Quilon) has played some major roles in the business, economical, cultural, religious and political history of Asia and Indian sub continent.

Merchants from Phoenicia, China, the Straits of Malacca, the Arab world, Europe and East Africa used to visit and trade from Quilon in the ancient times.

During the ancient times, Kollam was world-famous for its trade culture, especially for the availability and export of fine quality Metal.

Teams of archaeologists and anthropologist have conducted visits to Kollam city and Port many times for treasure hunts and researches.

The region around Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras during Sangam period between c. 1st and the 4th centuries CE and it served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade route between the Malabar Coast and Tamil Nadu.

[14][15] According to the most widely circulated legend the arrival of Christianity in Kerala begins with the expedition of Saint Thomas, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus in AD 52.

He founded Seven Churches in Kerala, started from Maliankara and then Kodungallur, Kollam, Niranam, Nilackal, Kokkamangalam, Kottakkavu and Palayoor.

After the beginning of Kollam Era (825 AD), Quilon became the premier city of the Malabar region ahead of Travancore and Cochin.

A major theory is; According to Herman Gundert Kolla Varsham started as part of erecting a new church Tharissappally Church in Kollam (Thulasserry is a distorted form of Tharissappally which is used by some of the syriac Christians living in and around Kollam) and because of the strictly local and religious background, the other regions did not follow this system at first.

Then once the Kollam port emerged as an important trade center the other kingdoms were also started to follow the new system of calendar.

[41] A number of foreign accounts have mentioned about the presence of considerable Muslim population in the coastal towns.

[42] The Tharisappalli Copper Plates (849 AD) are a copper-plate grant issued by the King of Venad (Quilon), Ayyanadikal Thiruvadikal, to the Syriac Christians or Nasranies on the Malabar Coast in the 5th regnal year of the Chera ruler Sthanu Ravi Varma.

[45] The grant was made in the presence of important officers of the state and the representatives of trade corporations or merchant guilds.

Marco Polo claimed to have visited his capital at Quilon, a centre of commerce and trade with China and the Levant.

Europeans were attracted to the region during the late fifteenth century, primarily in pursuit of the then rare commodity, black pepper.

In same century, the capital of the war-torn Later Chera Kingdom was relocated to Kollam and the Kulasekhara dynasty merged with the Venad rulers.

The last King of the Kulasekhara dynasty based on Mahodayapuram, Rama Varma Kulashekhara, was the first ruler of an independent Venad.

[50] The Portuguese arrived at Kappad Kozhikode in 1498 during the Age of Discovery, thus opening a direct sea route from Europe to India.

Later the Queen negotiated with the Raja and he permitted to send two Portuguese ships to Quilon to buy fine quality pepper.

In 1503, the Portuguese General Afonso de Albuquerque went to Quilon as per the Queen's request and collected required spices from there.

[53] The resumption of the pepper blockade seems to have put a crimp in Albuquerque's preparations of the return fleet, much of it having still lacked spice cargoes.

[54] They were still docked when the Calicut fleet arrived, carrying an embassy from the Zamorin with the mission to persuade (or intimidate) Quilon from abandoning the Portuguese.

The regent queen of Quilon rejected the Zamorin's request, but also forbade Albuquerque from engaging in hostilities in the harbor.

Thus Quilon became the official protectorate of the Dutch and their officer in-charge, Rijcklof van Goens, placed a military troop in the city to protect it from probable invasions from Portuguese and the British.

But English East India Company began to follow the Dutch Method of "Triangular Trade" in early 1600s itself.

Here is Johan Nieuhof's description of Kollam and Tangasseri at the time of the Dutch occupation:[60] The city is fortified with a stone wall of 18 to 20 feet high, and eight bastions; its suburbs, which are very large and stately, are by the Portuguese called Colang-China.

The castle, the residence of the Portuguese Governor (Bishop's House) surmounted all the rest in magnificence; it lies very near the sea-side, at one end of the city, being covered on the top with coco leaves, as likewise two of its turrets, the third being tiled with pantiles.

[63] On October 17, 1795, Tangasseri was handed over to the British East India Company by the Dutch, following their defeat at Cochin.

It remained under Travancore until 15 August 1947 when Indian Independence Act 1947 came into force in the region by virtue of Instrument of Accession signed between Governor-General of India and Maharaja in 1947.

[70] There were numerous social and political struggles that took place in pre- independence era of Kollam such as Kadakkal Revolt against C. P. Ramaswami Iyer administration and Kallumala Samaram against caste oppression.