kerala history - history of kerala _ landmarks in kerala history _ various eras in kerala history

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3/26/2016 Kerala History - History of Kerala | Landmarks in Kerala History | Various Eras in Kerala History

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Kerala History - Detailed Information About

the History of Kerala

There is limited information available about the ancient period of Kerala history. This

is because there is hardly any written record left from the time nor is there enough

evidence to prove them. There are many myths and speculations about the creation of

Kerala and its early periods. According to Hindu mythology, Kerala was created by

Parasuram, one of the avathars (incarnation) of MahaVishnu. Geologists believe that

Kerala was formed by some seismic activity, gradually or suddenly.

Based on the available details, the history of Kerala can be conveniently divided into

various periods.

History of Kerala - Ancient Period

Ancient Period refers to the time before the Christian era. As mentioned earlier,

history of Kerala can be traced back to 4000 B.C., when Proto Australoid and Negrito

race inhabited the land. Microlithic artifacts dating back to 4000 B.C. have been

recovered from near Calicut. Megalithic monuments like various kinds of burial stones

and urns and some man-made underground chambers have also been found. By

around 3000 B.C., Kerala had trade relation with Sindhu Valley Civilization and its

spices and commodities like Sandalwood, Ivory, Teakwood etc. were exported to many

countries of the west. Kerala held a considerable position in the commercial map of

the ancient world. It is believed that the Peacocks, Monkeys, Ivory and spices which

King Solomon received, were imported from Kerala . It was by 700 B.C. that the

Dravidians migrated to south India from the Mediterranean region. The Aryans

entered Kerala from north India by 300 B.C.

270 B.C. to 240 B.C. saw the spread of Buddhism in Kerala. The oldest record about

Kerala is found in one of the rock edict by emperor Asoka dating back to B.C. 257.

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Sangham Period in Kerala History

This period can be dated from the beginning of the Christian era to the middle of the

7th century. 'Sanghams' were assemblies or groups of poets which were in existence in

various parts of the Pandiyan Empire. The aim of these Sanghams was to encourage

poetic arts. Three Sanghams are known to have existed during the period.

Heppalus, a Roman-Greek sailor reached Musiris ( Kodungalloore) in A.D. 45 and this

enabled direct trade with Roman empire. The distance of sea voyages were reduced by

the discovery of new routes. Many mariners like Heppalus, Panthenus, Huan Tsang,

Cosmos Indicopleustes etc., landed at the coasts of Kerala during this period.

By around 50 - 125 A.D., the Chera kings captured parts of northern Kerala. During

this period also, Kerala had strong trade with the West. In A.D. 52, St. Thomas reached

Kerala and Christianity began to ourish. With the demolition of Jerusalem church by the Romans, the Jews ed from Israel and some of them reached Kerala. As per the

book Keralolpathy , the period up to 216 A.D. is known as 'Parasurama period' and the

period 216 A.D. to 428 A.D. is known as age of 'Perumals'. The Brahmin families which

migrated to Kerala were settled to 64 villages. In 644 A.D., Malikben Dinar reached

Kerala and he constructed Mosques and propagated Islam. Cheran Chenguttuvan (125-

180) was one of the famous rulers of this era.

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Post-Sangham Period in the History of Kerala

The period ranging from the middle of 7th century to the early part of the 9th century

is known as the Post - Sangham period. This was the period when Buddhism began to

decline. The main rulers of this period were Cheraman Perumal and Kulasekara Alwar.

Both these kings later abdicated their thrones. Kulasekara Alwar later became aVaishnavite poet and Cheraman Perumal accepted Islam and went to Mecca. Adi

Shankara (Sankaracharya, 788 - 820 A.D.) lived and propagated the Advaida

philosophy during this period. Each king during the period was enthroned for a period

of 12 years. After his term, a new king was selected following a festival or cultural

event known as Mamankam [1]. These type of events are unique to Kerala

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Kulasekara Periods - Kerala History

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The next period in Kerala history is the period of rule of the Kulasekara Kings.

Kulasekara empire lasted for about 3 centuries beginning from 800 AD. This period is

also known as the Period of 'Second Chera' empire. These kings were known after their

family name as Kulasekaras. Kolla Varsha or the Quilon Calendar (Malayalam Calendar

system)[2] was introduced during this period. It came into existence on the 25th of July

, 825 A.D. Quilon city was reconstructed by Maruvan Sabareso. The Pandyas retreated

from Kerala occupation.Sthanu Ravi Varma, Bhaskara Ravi I, Bhaskara Ravi II were

main rulers of this period. Between 1000 and 1019, Raja Raja Chola and Rajendra

Chola attacked Kerala. Rajendra Chola seized vizhinjam. In 1070 Kerala was liberated

from Chola control.

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Kerala History - Period of the Provincial rulers

Frequent wars with the Chola and Pandya kingdoms weakened the Chera empire and

nally lead to their breakdown. With the breakdown of Chera empire the next phase of

Kerala history began. This was the period of the provincial rulers. Provincial rulers

were those who took control of a small province rather than a large empire. These

provinces were once part of the Chera empire. The provincial rulers were conned to

small areas but they frequently fought each other for domination. The kings of Venad

and Kochi and Zamorins of Kozhikode were the prominent rulers.

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European Arrival in Kerala

Arrival of the Europeans marked the beginning of another era in the history of Kerala.

In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached Kappad, near Kozhikode. This was followed by the

arrival of a number of Europeans. Though the main aim of their visit was trade and

discovery of a shorter sea route to the Malabar coast, the prevailing political instability

paved way for their entry into the administration. Making use of the rivalry between

the provincial rulers, they started by providing military assistance to one ruler against

the other. By and by, their inuence increased to such an extend that they began

running the administration with the rulers acting as puppets in their hands. Wars and

skirmishes still continued between various native rulers and this provided the

Europeans more and more opportunities to interfere into the administration. The

Portuguese were the rst Europeans to establish a stronghold in Kerala. This was later

followed by the Dutch and the British. A number of battles were fought between the

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provincial rulers against each other and against the Portuguese. In 1524 Vasco da

Gama was appointed the Portuguese Viceroy of Kerala. Kochi and Kozhikode were the

main provinces of the time. Zamorins, the rulers of Kozhikode, fought a number of

battles against the Portuguese.

Following the Portuguese, the Dutch reached Kerala. They began by the establishment

of the Dutch East India Company in the year 1592. In 1604, the Dutch army arrived at

the Malabar coast. They entered the arena of Kerala politics by making use of the

rivalry between Kochi and Kozhikode. Their arrival marked the beginning of another

phase of European domination. The Portuguese slowly began to loose control over to

the Dutch. Dutch established their base at various parts of Kerala and made a number

of treaties with local rulers. These treaties bestowed them with more powers. The

Dutch supremacy lasted only for a short period before the British entry into Kerala. In

1725, the French established their base at Mahe. But unlike in the African continent,

they were unable to make a move in on. Even while the Europeans emerged as great

powers, war continued between the provinces. Marthanda Varma (1706 - 1761),the

ruler of Travancore, was one of the strongest rulers of the time. With the arrival of the

British begins another chapter of Kerala history.

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British Rule in Kerala

Like any other Europeans, British also had great interest in Kerala. They too were

attracted by the spices and other natural treasures of the land. British supremacy in

Kerala started by the mid seventeenth century and lasted for the next 200 years until

independence. Though a number of wars and revolts were made against them, the

British were able to suppress them quickly. This was mainly because of the lack of

unity among the provinces. Kochi and Travancore were the prominent kingdoms. The

rule of the British saw many changes in the social and cultural life of Kerala. Slavery

was slowly abolished. English missionaries played an important role in improving the

living standard of the people. During this period a number of educational institutions

and hospitals were opened. Many railway lines , roads and bridges were constructed by

the British. In a way, Kerala is indebted to the British for its modernization.

This period also saw the emergence of a number of social reformation movements.

Many reformers like Chattambi Swamikal, Sree Narayana Guru and Ayyankali played a

vital role in the upliftment of the downtrodden and the emancipation of the women

folks.

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1. http://www.prokerala.com/kerala/history/mamankam.htm

2. http://www.prokerala.com/general/calendar/index.php

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Freedom Struggle and Independence

Though there were a number uprisings against the foreign rule right from the

beginning, its intensity and frequency increased by the early 1900's. The early revoltsand battles against the rule like the Pazhassi and Mappilai revolts were suppressed

with iron st by the British. The World Wars weakened the colonial powers and this

gave a boost to the nationalist movements in the colonies. In India, nationalist

movements gained momentum under the strong leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.

These movements had their effect on Kerala as well. Kerala division of Indian National

Congress was launched. The Khilafat Movement, organized under the leadership of

Indian National Congress had a huge inuence over the muslim community of the

Malabar region. Following the Khilafat Movement was the Malabar mutiny (1921). Themovement lasted for quite some time before it was suppressed. The lower castes were

denied permission to use the temple roads. Against this, in 1924 started the Vaikom

Satyagraha. This was totally a social movement. This movement was successfully

ended by the intervention of Mahatma Gandhi in 1925. In 1930, British levied tax on

salt and they imposed restrictions on production of salt. This aroused nation wide

agitation. In Kerala, under the leadership of K. Kelappan, this law was deed and salt

was produced. A number of big and small movements arouse until 1947, when nally

the land was free from the clutches of colonialism.

On July 1, 1949, the princely states of Travancore and Cochin were integrated to form

Travancore - Cochin (Thiru-Cochi) state. But it was on November 1, 1956, that Kerala

as a state came into existence. This was by the consolidation of Malabar province,

which was a part of the Madras Presidency and the Travancore - Cochin state.

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