History of cochin

Kochi was another important Nadu that became independent after the disintegration ofthe perumal kingdom.The Cochin royal house is known as Perumpadappu Swarupam asthey had their original headquarters at Chithrakutam in the Perumpadappu village inVanneri.When the Zamorin invaded Valluvanad in the 13th Century,the Perumpadappufamily abandoned the Vanneri Palace and migrated to Ko9dungallur from where in 1405AD they shifted to Kochi.The aggressive raids of the Zamorin and the Periyar floodsmight have prompted them to shift the capital.The transfer of the trading activities fromMahodayapuram to the newly formed (Kochazhi) Kochi also promoted this shifting.Kochi came to political limelight only by the 13th Century.According to tradition, Kochiwas given to the nephew of the last Perumal when he partitioned the kingdom.Howeverthey were subordinate to the Perumal’s authority.The territorial boundary of the kingdomextended from Ponnani in the North to Shertallai in the south and from Chittur in the eastto Kochi in the West. Kochi rulers are being mentioned in inscriptions and in early literaryworks.Viraraghava associated with the Syrian Copper plates is a Cochin ruler.RamaVarma, another ruler of Cochin is mentioned in Siva Vilasam. Sukasandesam and UnniatiCharitam allude to the unique position held by the ruler of Kochi among the Naduvazhisof Kerala.The Brahmins recognised them as Kshatriyas, an honour granted not even to theZamorins.The Perumpadappu Muppil (chief) exercised jurisdiction over a large number oftemples in Kerala.This moral and religious authority exercised by him had given him placeof pride among the Naduvazhis of Kerala.Veeraraghava was the most important ruler of Kochi – before the advent of thePortuguese.He is associated with Veeraraghave Pattayam, or Syrian Christians copperplates of 1225 AD.This inscription is about the granting of the Manigramam rights and certain other privileges to Iravi Kortanan, leader of the Syrian Christians.It grants 72proprietary rights to Iravi kortanan, to have elephants, Silk umbrella, slaves, palanquinsetc.The inscription is important as it suggests the position of the Cochin royal family as thesuccessors of the Perumal.The local chieftains of Sukapuram, Panniyur and Eranad andValluvanad were present as signatories and witnesses of this grant.The prolonged conflict between Cochin and Kozhikode for the political supremacy ofcentral Kerala brought new dimensions to Kochi. It was the Cochin Raja who gavefacilities for trade to the Portuguese when they landed in Kerala.The Dutch palace waspresented as a present to the Cochin ruler by the Portuguese.The Kochi ruler alsowelcomed the Jews and the Konkani’s to the Malabar Coast.When the Dutch came, theKochi Raja’s became subservient to them.Their intervention in the prolonged conflict withKozhikode ended in 1717 and the Raja got back all his ancestoral territories.The periodwitnessed the rebellions of Paliath Achan, Anchikaimal and Chazhur Tampan.It also sawthe formation of the northern confederacy, Zamorin’s invasions and Cochin’s alliance withTravancore.When Mysorean intervention had taken place, Kochi became a tributary to thatpower and later made an alliance with the English.