the portuguese and the urban phenomena of...

The Portuguese and the Urban Phenomena of Cannanore

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Chapter 3

THE PORTUGUESE AND THE URBAN PHENOMENA OF CANNANORE

3.1 Introduction

The entry of the Portuguese into the maritime activities of

Cannanore paved the way for the urban development of the area. They

challenged the traditional commercial practices based on the principles

of trade. Commercial and political relations besides interactions with

the rulers of Kolathunad witnessed the emergence of a new urban

settlement at Cannanore. The strategic importance of the cape of

Cannanore where the Portuguese established their fortress led to the

development of the nearby areas and the localities from where the

people engaged in the day to day activities of the fortress. The advent

of the Portuguese ignited a new era of urbanisation in the history of

Cannanore.

3.2 Portuguese Voyage to India

The lure of spices was one of the impelling forces that motivated

the Europeans primarily the Portuguese to reach the Oriental countries

in the medieval period. It led to the lucrative commerce of spices

between east and west. Earlier Venice was the centre from where the

Europeans came to the Orient for the spice trade. The search for souls

was another motivating element for the medieval discoveries. Even

though Venice was a centre it had also certain restrictions. After the fall

of Constantinople in 1453, the oriental trade was mainly controlled by

the Arabs and the ports of Egypt and Syria became the means for trade.


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Hence the oriental trade became the monopoly of the Arabs and

Egyptians. To control the trade the Turks closed the Persian Gulf routes

of spice trade. The goods taken to the ports of Egypt and Syria were

transported to Venice for distribution throughout Europe. Hence the

Arabian ports could profit from taxes while Venice became richer from

the transaction of goods like spices, drugs, perfumes etc.1

3.3 Reasons for the Portuguese Voyages to the Orient 3.3.1 Geographical position

Geographically Portugal is a small country and the Portuguese

had an easy access to the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic remained the

one vast area open to the Portuguese. Throughout its existence Portugal

had lived by harvesting the sea. Its rocky coast had always been a

gateway to a wider world. The geography of mainland Portugal is split

by its main river, the Tagus that flows from Spain and disgorges in

Tagus Estuary, before escaping into the Atlantic.

3.3.2 Religious causes

The growth and development of Portuguese trade in the East and

especially in Malabar was paralleled by the development of religious

patronage known as padroado. The Portuguese were zealous in the

propagation of the faith where they were received in every place they

went. For that they obtained the permission from the king and Pope. King

Manuel I, called the Fortunate, assumed the title “Lord of the Conquest,

navigation, and commerce of India, Ethiopia, Arabia and Persia”.2

1 The Voyage of Pedro Alvares Cabral to Brazil and India (translated with

introduction by William Brooks Greenlee), Hakluyt Society, London, 1967, p.xi. 22 A.J. Grant, A History of Europe from 1494 to 1610, London, 1964, p.32.


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3.3.3 Economic causes

Portugal was economically poor compared to other countries in

Europe because they did not have any natural resources. So they were

inspired to search for trade and wealth from other countries.

3.3.4 Political causes

Portugal always kept herself away from wars in Europe. They

followed the policy of neutrality in all the battles among the European

powers. Hence they enjoyed political independence and they had good

political relations with neighbouring states.

3.3.5 Royal interest.

Fifteenth century kings had great interest in the navigational

activities and exploring new nations. They patronised the explorers and

sent them to find out new sea routes and nations. The Portuguese had a

very strong adventurous spirit. They were ready to face the struggles to

achieve their goal.3

3.3.6 Policy of Expansion.

By reaching India, the Portuguese wanted to establish an

extensive commercial empire in the east. The crown of Portugal was

powerful and immensely wealthy, for a great part of the Indian trade

belonged to it. Every part of Europe was mainly supplied by the

Portuguese with the productions of the East. The only exception was

the still continuing commercial intercourse of the Venetians, but it

was also scant. During the reign of Dom John III about 1548, the

prosperity of Portugal and the extent of her Indian empire attained

3 The Voyage of Pedro Alvares Cabral to Brazil and India (translated with

introduction by William Brooks Greenlee), Hakluyt Society, London, 1967, p.xii.


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their greatest eminence and Lisbon was considered the market of the

world.4

3.4 Portuguese Policy of Expansion

The Portuguese established factories at the beginning and built

the fortress in order to control the trade. Livro das Cidades… points out

that “in the places with more trade….the king ordered factory-houses to

be established …. And strongholds in the same manner as fortresses

with the name factory- house to store the merchandise and defend the

agents and people there….”5 The first Portuguese viceroy in India,

Dom Francisco de Almeida was interested only in the establishment of

factories in India for the purpose of smooth and sustained trade with

India. Dom Francisco de Almeida was against this policy of

establishing a powerbase in the state because he was well aware of the

situation in Portugal. He understood that, owing to the small population

in Portugal, it would be impossible to furnish enough people in

sufficient quantities to occupy so many governing positions in a state.

He stressed that it would be important to have adequate control over

the sea by establishing only factories and not fortresses to safeguard the

sea trade with the orient. He explained his views in his letter to the

Portuguese king Dom Manuel.6 But his successor, the governor

4 J.J. Aubertin, The Lusiadas of Camoes (translated into English), Vol.I, Kegan

Paul, London, 1884, p.xxiii. 5 Walter Rossa, Cidades Indo-Portuguesas, National Committee for the

Commemoration of the Portuguese Discoveries, Lisboa,1997,p.26. 6 Dom Francisco de Almeida wrote to King Dom Manuel: “The greater number

of fortresses you hold the weaker will be your power. Let all our forces will be on the sea, because if we should not be powerful at the sea, everything at once be against us…….Let it be known for certain that as long as you may be powerful at the sea you will hold India as yours, and if you do not possess this power, little will avail you a fortress on the shore….” Frederick Charles


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Afonso de Albuquerque planned to found a great Portuguese empire in

the east. He laid considerable stress on establishing forts with the

factories. He intended to protect trade on the shore and dominate the

native rulers.

3.5 Motives of expansion

There were various factors in the age of discovery during the

15th century for expansion. It was a mixture of religious, economic,

social, political and strategic factors. In Lusiadas de Luiz da Camões,

it is explained:

“And if thou travellest seeking merchandise,

Which in the gold-producing East is found,

Cinnamon, clove and ardent spiceries,

Or drug health-giving, excellent and sound;

Or searchest shining precious stones where lies

The ruby lucid, or hard diamond,

These so abundant shalt thou take with thee

Thy utmost wishes satisfied shall be.”7

Danvers, The Portuguese in India, Vol. I, frank Cass & Co. Ltd., London, 1894, p.xxix.

7 ‘’E, se buscando vás mercadoria Que produze o aurifero Levante, Canella,carvo,ardente especiaria, Ou droga salutifera e prestante; Ou se queres luzente pedraria, O rubi fino, o rigido diamante, Daqui levarás tudo tão sobejo, Com que faças o fim a teu desejo.’’ Luiz de Camões, Os Lusiadas, Canto II.iv;

The Lusiadas of Camoes, Kegan Paul, London,1884,p.59)


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The Portuguese were filled with the desire for Spices and Souls.

According to C.R. Boxer the four main motives which inspired the

Portuguese leaders like kings, nobles and merchants were: i) Crusading

zeal against the Muslims, ii) the desire for Guinea gold, iii) The quest

for Prester John and iv) the search for Oriental spices8. The atmosphere

was very favourable to the Portuguese because in Europe other

countries were engaged in both civil and foreign wars like the Hundred

Years War, the Wars of the Roses etc. But the Portuguese virtually

enjoyed freedom from civil strife. They were blessed with ambitious

adventurers who were patronized by the royal powers. They also kept

the desire to find Prester John of whom they kept a story of powerful

ruler of Catholic community who was surrounded by twelve

archbishops on the right side and twenty bishops on the left. They had

the hope that he could be a saviour for them against the Morocco

Muslims. They were also inspired by the Papal bulls like Dum Diversas

(18th June 1452), Romanus Pontifex (8th January 1455) and Inter

Caetera (13th March 1456). In the first bull Pope authorizes the king to

attack, conquer and subdue pagans, Saracens and other unbelievers

who were inimical to Christ, to capture their goods and territories, to

reduce them to perpetual slavery and to transfer their wealth to the king

of Portugal and his successors.9

3.6 Colonized and Colonizer

Changes happened in the colonized because of the influence of

the colonizer. Imperial administrations, civilizing mission and colonial 8 C.R. Boxer, The Portuguese Seaborne Empire,1415-1825,Carcanet Press,

London, 1988,p.18. 9 C.R.Boxer, The Portuguese Seaborne Empire,1415-1825,Carcanet Press, London,

1988,p.20-21.


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cultures were formed by the cultural, political, social and economic

influences and interactions between the colonizer and the colonized. It

created colonial consciousness among the colonizer and the colonized.

The colonizer felt a sense of superiority while the colonizer kept a

sense of inferiority. It resulted in the internationalization and

acceptance of European superiority. 10 It also led to the cultural

imperialism which resulted in the cultural oppression also. Many of

the systems practiced among the colonized were not acceptable to the

colonizers. So it resulted in cultural oppression or a debasement and

negation of the values of the colonized that undermined their

cultures. Hence the cultural imperialism brought socio-economic

consequences for the colonized. But interaction between the

colonized and the colonizers produced new classes of the society.

There were rich classes of farmers, educated elites, traders and

middlemen. Meanwhile missionaries who became the centre of the

colonial project promoted Christian morality and values of

motherhood and marriage.

3.7 Monsoon Winds

The discovery of monsoon winds was an important event in the

history of Indian trade. In 45 A.D. Hippalus made an epoch making

discovery of monsoon winds11. Hippalus found that there was a current

of monsoon winds to the East and also towards the west from India and

10 Barbara Bush, Imperialism and Post Colonialism, Pearson Longman, London,

2006, p.121. 11 The Egyptians came to know about it from a ship wrecked mariner and a

navigator named Hippalus, who was with the Indian sailor on the return journey, recorded it and the Europeans came to know about it and called it as Hippalus Wind. K.M. Bahauddin, “Kerala’s Trade and Relationship with other Countries”, in Seminar on Maritime History, Cochin, 2002.


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it is seasonal. 12The traders began to come to India by following the

monsoon winds and since then there was a continuous flow of western

trade with India.

3.8 Urbanization in Malabar

Urbanization has been a central phenomenon in the history of

India since the urban revolution in the Indus Valley. India is an

agricultural country by its very nature. But there were urban centres

based on trade and commerce related to the agricultural sector. Because

of its peculiar geographical situation, all through in its history there

seems to have been two kinds of India which are mutually

supplementing and complementing:

3.8.1 Continental India

It is land oriented, conservative, more inward looking and less

aware of the economic advantages of international interaction.13

3.8.2 Maritime India

It is lively, flexible and looking beyond her frontiers to overseas

connection.

The trade was thriving and rigorous in maritime activities. It gave

rise to not only ports but also urban centres along the coast. The port cities

emerged and developed according to a pattern and logic and that was very

vibrant and unique in the Indian Ocean region. And Cannanore was the

best example of the urbanisation based on the maritime activities.

12 K.M. Panikkar, Malabar and the Portuguese, Bombay, Kitab Mahal, 1929, p.3. 13 K.V. Suji, Iron Age and the Beginning of Urbanization in Kerala, South Indian

History Congress XVIII, 1998, p.126.


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3.9 Formation of a Town

The town reflects the demands of material life and those of

territorial, social and cultural expansion and organizations such as the

port, the market, the warehouse, the street workshops of artisans, their

residences, the sources of water and aqueducts etc. Then the reality of

power can be observed in the urban space such as palaces, forts, walls,

military, prisons, and other works essential for power etc. The

environment, however, is sustainable history, but it is people and

communities who create images of the past resulting in today’s urban

universe. The growth of Cannanore into a Portuguese port town is of

great importance. The present topography along with remains, relics,

ruins and monuments of the past evoke enthusiastic excitement and

interest compelling us to delve into their memories and recreate the

past. There were no compact towns or villages in Cannanore except

along the coast, which were generally inhabited by Mappila merchants

and fishermen. With the arrival of the Portuguese Cannanore became a

principal town in Malabar like Calicut, Tellicherry and Ponnani.14

3.10 Beginning of Portuguese Presence in Cannanore

When Vasco de Gama’s fleet approached the port of Cannanore

in November 1498, the king of Cannanore sent him a vessel with a

Nair, inviting the Portuguese captain to enter his harbour. He then sent

him ships loaded with water, lumber, figs, poultry, coconuts dried fish,

coconut oil and butter. With these deeds the king wanted to show his

interest to make peace and friendship with the Portuguese.15 After an 14 Ward and Conner, A Descriptive Memoir of Malabar, edited by S. Raimon,

Government of Kerala, 1995, p.2. 15 Gaspar Correia, Lendas da Índia, Vol.I, Porto, 1975,pp.114-115.


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exchange of gifts the Portuguese sent Nicolau Coelho with a gift to the

king of Cannanore. The king insisted to talk to the Portuguese captains.

So he built a wooden narrow bridge where he assembled a wooden

house known as Serambi. He sat there with six or seven followers to

have a better view of the ships. He asked the captains to meet him on

their ships so that they did not disobey the orders given by their king.

Thus the captains met the king establishing with him a peace treaty and

a merchandise agreement as Cannanore was a good alternative to

Calicut in case there was no agreement.16 After exchanging more gifts

and receiving more supplies and establishing peace and friendship, the

fleet sailed to Melinde at the end of November 1498.17

3.11 Establishment of the Factory

In 1500, when Pedro Alvares Cabral sailed to Cannanore, the

Kolathiri Raja invited him to disembark and “to take rest from his

tasks at sea.” He then asked the king to get a suitable place on order to

settle his people, suggesting the tip of the bay as the suitable place to

shelter and protect his crew.18 The king took steps to clean the place

and the materials and gave the facilities to build the quarters for the

Portuguese. Within a few days the Portuguese erected the quarters for

the Portuguese crew and a stockade having a big door with a shutter

was built to protect the place from within. Beside the walled

enclosure, a little house with a porch to be used as a chapel for Our

Lady of Conception and another one to shelter the clergy were

erected.

16 João de Barros, Década I, book VI, pp.74-75. 17 Gaspar Correia, Lendas da Índia, Vol.I, Porto, 1975,p.342. 18 Gaspar Correia, Lendas da Índia, Vol.I, Porto, 1975,pp.167-168.


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Pedro Alvares Cabral left Gonçalo Gomes Ferreira at Cannanore

as the factor in 1501 and laid the foundation for a factory there19. Then

Pai Rodrigues the factor of Alvaro who came to Malabar in the fleet of

João da Nova in 1501 remained at Cannanore till the arrival of Vasco

da Gama in 1502.20 After having concluded peace with the king of

Cannanore, Vasco da Gama established the factory there in 1503 21 and

Gonçalo Gil Barbosa with Sebastião Alvares and Diogo Alvares as

copyists as well as a group of twenty men were put in charge.22

3.12 Establishment of the Fortress

The Portuguese king Manuel I hoped to consolidate the

Portuguese presence in Asia affirming the nation’s supremacy over the

sea and controlling the important commercial points in the Indian

Ocean region. Lopo Soares de Albergaria, the commander of the

armada in 1504, handed over a letter to Gonçalo Gil in which king

Manuel I proposed the construction of a fort in the port of Cannanore,

and ordered the factor to carefully examine its possibility after Lopo

Soares de Albergaria’s departure. The situation deteriorated with the

Muslim merchants pressuring the local king against the Portuguese, as

they foresaw that closer relations between the Europeans and the 19 Cronica da Descobrimento e Conquista da India pelos Portugueses, Coimbra,

1974, p.25 20 Thomé Lopes, “Navegação as Índias Orientaes” in Collecção de Noticias para a

Historia e Geografia das Nações Uitramarinas que vivem nos Dominos Portugueses, ou lhes são Visinhas, tom.II, No.1 & 2, Lisbon, 1812,p. 187.

21 Cartas de Afonso de Albuquerque, tom. II, p.400; Simão Botelho, “Tombo do Estado da India” in Subsidios para a Historia de India Portugueze, Lisbon, 1868, p.28. The three orders and one receipt, written in Cannanore on 22 and 23 February, signed by Vasco da Gama, are the more ancient documents written by the Portuguese in India. Carlos Alexandre de Morais, Cronológia Geral da Índia Portuguesa, Sociedade de Geografia, Lisboa, 1997, p23.

22 João de Barros, Ásia,Vol.I -VI, Lisbon,1988-1992, pp.74-75.


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kingdom of Vijayanagara in the interior would deprive them of their

lucrative trade in horses and diamonds.23 When D. Francisco de Almeida

arrived in Cannanore, the factor apprised him of the need to fortify the

port as soon as possible. He had already built a stone house for the

factory and laid the foundation of the fortress by raising a wall and part

of a trench.24 D. Francisco de Almeida had spoken to the Kolathiri Raja

requesting permission to construct a fortress near the fort. He presented

the reasons in this regard as the need to defend the Portuguese who were

staying there and also his desire to appoint a noble man in charge as

captain.25 The king of Cannanore accepted the request.

Subsequently D. Francisco de Almeida, the viceroy secured the

permission from the king to construct a fortress and the work was

started in 1505 and on completion it was named St. Angelo26. On the

day of the arrival of the armada the construction began and D.

Francisco assumed the title of Viceroy. The general participation of all

members of the armada, including the captains, who became overseers

of the construction and headed various groups of the workers, greatly

contributed towards this endeavour. The local ruler supported it by

providing materials and specialized workmen. The fishermen huts were

evacuated and the palm groves that existed on the site were cut down at

the time. For the local ruler the site had the great advantage of being 23 Jorge Santos Alves, “ A Cruz, os Diamantes e os Cavalos: frei Luís do

Salvador, primeiro missionário e embaixador de Portugal em Vijayanagar (1500-1510)”, in Mare Liberum, No.5, Lisbon, 1993, p.9-21.

24 Fernão Lopes de Castenheda, História do descobrimento e da Conquista da Índia pelos Portugueses, Vol.II,Porto, 1979,p.17; Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.II, Porto, 1975,p.582; João de Barros, Ásia,Vol.I, Lisbon,1988-1992, p.4.

25 Cartas de Afonso de Albuquerque, tomo. II, P.400-402 (Letter from the King of Cannanore to King Manuel I, dated 6 December 1507.

26 Cartas de Afonso de Albuquerque, tom. II, p.401; tom.III,p.306.


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relatively away from his residence. For the Portuguese, the most

important considerations were military ones, and the site had been

widely praised by all as being a “very fine spot of land”.27 The viceroy

himself acknowledged that its geographical situation ensured that it

was “indestructible”.28 It was a long tip of land jutting out into the sea,

flat and low, with enough space to install a small settlement,

completely dominating the bay of Cannanore. A siege from the sea

would be extremely difficult as the site was almost totally surrounded

by rugged cliffs, which produced strong surf and made any approach

by sea unfeasible. Its strategic protection was high and any attack was

possible only via this narrow strip of land in this elongated triangle.

The construction of a wall that stretched in the north-south direction,

from one end to the other and from the sea side to the bay, could

prevent any attack on the fort. On the outside of the wall, parallel to it

and at a distance of about two fathoms, a moat had been dug, thus

linking the waters on both sides, ensuring a great protection of the site

and creating yet another barrier that would hinder the progress of land

based attacks.29 The earth and stones collected in the process of the

excavation of this moat were utilized to build the wall, which was

constructed with the combination of wood and other perishable

materials along with stone and lime.30

27 Cartas de Afonso de Albuquerque, tomo. II, pp.335-341 ( Letter from Pedro

Fernandes Tinoco dated 18 November 1505). 28 Joaquim Candeias da Silva, O Fundador do Estado “Estado Português da

Índia...”, doc. 18, p.312 (Letter from D. Francisco de Almeida to King Manuel I dated 16 December 1505).

29 Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.I, Porto, 1975,p.702. 30 Fernão Lopes de Castenheda, História do descobrimento e da Conquista da Índia

pelos Portugueses, Vol.II,Porto, 1979,p.17; Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.II, Porto, 1975,pp.582-583; João de Barros, Ásia,Vol.I, Lisbon,1988-1992, p.4.


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Fig.

3.1

The

For

tres

s of C

anna

nore


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The greater part of the work was done in masonry of laterite

stone and lime produced locally, while the rare and expensive pieces of

square stones were used for the angles, the linings at the water level

and for the frames of doors and windows. Big stone houses were

erected to store the merchandises and the defensive system was

reinforced by double trenches and fences.31

The central element of the fortress was the castle stay, the main

tower. Gasper Correia provides the most complete description of the

castle. The keep, with forty fathoms of internal space in a square room,

had a ground floor and two upper stories, built on wooden palisades, all of

which had ample light provided by balcony windows, whose utilization

by bombardiers appeared unlikely. It was covered by a four sided roof.

On the side facing the west, as well as on the respective vertices, one

could find a balcony supported by corbel work, at the height of the first

floor, which was also covered by tiles.32 Access to the interior of the

fortress was by way of a wooden drawbridge over the trough, worked by

iron chains.33

The second phase was completely dominated by the enormous

keep, behind which were to be found the apartments of the captain, which

were apparently also attached to the southern wall, profusely illuminated

and with a high entrance, reached by a flight of stairs. Alongside these

there were other small single-storied houses that, according to Gasper

Correia, lodged eighty men. The keep was installed in the south east

31 João de Barros, Ásia,Vol.IX -IX, Lisbon,1988-1992, pp.339-340; Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.I, Porto, 1975,pp.582-583.

32 Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.I, Porto, 1975,pp.727-729. 33 Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.II, Porto, 1975,pp.713-714, 729.


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corner of a sub rectangular enclosure, consisting of not very thick walls,

covered with roofs with balconies. During the government of D.

Francisco de Almeida, construction of the fortress’ mother church was

begun, with invocation of San Tiago.34

Along the aforementioned door of the quay and continuing the

closure of the internal area towards the bay, the two storied factory house

was raised, built in stone and lime. On the opposite side, along the sea,

were to be found the warehouse for supplies and munitions and the

hospital, both of which were stone edifices built during the time of D.

Francisco de Almeida. At the extreme end of this tip of land was the chapel

dedicated to Our Lady of Victory, built after the naval victory achieved by

the Portuguese off the coast of Cannanore on 18 March 1506. D. Lourenco

ordered the construction of a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Victory.35

Construction work of the fortress continued during the

subsequent years in order to strengthen its defensive position. In

1512 under the mandate of Afonso de Albuquerque works were

being carried out in Cannanore and all necessary materials were

supplied to the masons and carpenters who were working there.36

Eight years later improvements were made to the structure entrusted

by Pedro Alvares.37

34 Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.II, Porto, 1975,p.728. 35 Fernão Lopes de Castenheda, História do descobrimento e da Conquista da Índia

pelos Portugueses, Vol.II,Porto, 1979,p.16; Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.I, Porto, 1975,p.729; João de Barros, Ásia,Vol.I, Lisbon,1988-1992, p.4.

36 ANTT, Corpo Cronologico, II, 34-197 (Order by which the masons and carpenters were to be given everything they required for the works of the fortress of Cannanore, dated 15 October 1512).

37 ANTT, Corpo Cronologico, II, 91-151 (Order by D.Aires da Gama dated 27 September 1520).


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Fig. 3.2 Cannanore. Ref. La Cosmographie Universelle

Fig. 3.3 Cannanore. Ref. Marechal Gomes da Cost, Descobrimentos e Conquistas,

Vol.III, Lisboa, 1929, p.314.


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The most important additional construction done in the first half

of the sixteenth century was the building of two more bulwarks on the

external wall and the repairing of the respective moat, ordered in

September 1526 by Lopo Vaz de Sampaio. It is worth noting that of all

the fortresses established on the Malabar Coast in the early sixteenth

century, only Cannanore St. Angelo fort remains to date almost intact.

3.13 The Ecclesiastical Institutions

Along the merchant community many religious orders came to

Malabar and the most important among them were the Franciscans, the

Jesuits, the Dominicans the Augustinians and the Carmelites. All of

them belonged to the different countries in Europe like Portugal,

France, Italy and Spain. Nobody was admitted from the locals to these

orders the claim was that Indians were inclined to wrong-doing and

they were animated by base instincts.38

3.13.1 Churches

It is very clear from the documents written during the Portuguese

period that there were mainly three churches built for the spiritual

needs of the Portuguese people in the fort. It was also used as the place

for the devotional needs of the local converts. These churches were the

centres of missionary activities of the Portuguese. They reached

Cannanore also with intention of finding souls for the Almighty.

In 1500, Pedro Alvares Cabral, during his visit in Cannanore built

the first place of worship in the name of the Immaculate Conception .It

was only provisional. Near the chapel there was the residence for the

38 Pius Malekandathil, Portuguese Cochin and the Maritime Trade of India 1500-

1663, Manohar, Delhi, p.95.


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fathers, brothers and ministers.39 On the day of departure of the fleet of

Pedro Alvares Cabral to Lisbon, Fr. Henrique Soares da Coimbra

celebrated solemn Mass in this chapel. And in 1504, four Persian bishops

celebrated the Holy Mass in the East-Syrian rite in this chapel.

This chapel was only temporary. It fell into ruins or became

abandoned. During the period of Dom Francisco da Almeida, he built

another church with stone for the divine liturgy. But he changed the name

of the church from Immaculate Conception into St. James, because he was

a devotee of St. James. The Portuguese and the Spanish believed that they

were saved from the attacks of Arabs by the mediation and intervention of

St. James and they built the basilica of St. James with his relics in Santiago

da Compostela which is near to the northern border of Portugal.40

In 1506 there was a war between the Portuguese and the Arabs in

Cannanore. Dom Lorenço de Almeida, the son of the Viceroy Dom

Francisco da Almeida, was the Portuguese captain who fought against the

Moors heroically from the extreme end of St. Angelo’s fort. A canon was

used to shell continuously to the Moors. The Portuguese became

victorious in the war. In gratitude towards Nossa Senhora (Our Lady) and

to commemorate this great victory over the Moors, the Portuguese built a

chapel in the end of the fort where the canon is fixed to shell the enemies

and this shrine is named as the Chapel of Our Lady of Victory. 41

39 A.M.Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, Vol. I, Bangalore, 1989, p.384. 40 Santiago means St. James. Compostela is a place in the North West region of

Spain which is near to the northern border of Portugal. It is believed that in the Basilica of Compostela the remains of the body of St.James is kept and it is a great pilgrim centre in Spain.

41 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I (1499-1522),Lisboa,1947,p.321.


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sss

Fig.

3.4

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Later the church of St. James was found to be very inconvenient

for all the faithful to participate in the Holy Mass. It could not

accommodate the increasing number of Christians. Hence there was a

need for constructing a new church in the fortress. In 1523 the vicar Fr.

Afonso Fernandes wrote to the king the necessity of reconstructing the

church.42 He planned either reconstruct St. James Church or to extend

it. He started to collect donations to reconstruct it. Antonio Carvalho

donated a good amount before his death for this purpose43. He got

permission from the king to construct it. When the Captain General,

Dom Duarte arrived in Cannanore he issued an order to spend the

Church collections for the construction of the church and to select a

suitable place within the fort.44 For this purpose he demolished a few

houses and the owners were given the compensation. He collected

more funds and started to construct a new church in 1523. It was a

good size and beautifully planned with all the necessary adjuncts. He

did ask any money from the royal exchequer.45 In 1533, when the Vicar

General came to visit Cannanore he found the church almost complete

and beautifully constructed.46

42 Captain Aires da Gama had a good appreciation of the activities and spiritual

life of Fr. Afonso Fernandez, Vicar of Cannanore. Carta de Ayres da Gama a El-Rei de Portugal on 2nd January 1519; Gaveta 15, 9-11, ANTT.

43 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I (1499-1522),Lisboa,1947,pp.14-15: Letter of Afonso Fernandes to the king of Portugal dated Cannanore, 10th October 1523.

44 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I (1499-1522),Lisboa,1947,pp.14-15: Letter of Afonso Fernandes to the king of Portugal dated Cannanore, 10th October 1523.

45 A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, Vol. I, Bangalore, 1989 ,p.385.

46 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I (1499-1522),Lisboa,1947, p.337.


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Fig. 3.5. Cannanore. Ref. Livro das Plantas das Fortalezas, Cidades e Povoaçoes do

Estado da India Oriental.

Fig. 3.6. Bazar of Cannanore. Ref. Portugiesische Manuskriptatlanten, Berlim 1953

Fig. 3.7. Fortress of Cannanore. Ref. Faria e Sousa, Ásia Portuguesa, Vol.I, 1666, p.85.


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3.13.2 Monasteries.

Different religious congregations and monastic orders landed on

the Malabar Coast with the Portuguese navigators and traders. They

belonged to Dominicans, Jesuits, Franciscans, Augustinians, Carmelites

and many other religious and charitable communities. The first

missionaries who reached Cannanore in the Portuguese fleet were

Franciscans. They came with Pedro Alvares Cabral in 1500.47 In

Cannanore there was a residence for the ministers, fathers and brothers

near the church of the Immaculate Conception.48 In Cannanore they did

not construct a monastery in the beginning. In 1504, Kind Dom Manuel

decreed a start to a residence for the Franciscan missionaries in

Cannanore. In 1505, the Franciscans again came to Cannanore with the

fleet of Almeida.49 The Franciscans expressed to the king in 1518 their

desire to construct a monastery in Cannanore. Franciscan commissary

wrote to the King of Portugal their desire to start a convent in Cannanore

on 4th November 1518.50 The first reference regarding the construction

of the monastery of the Franciscans was the letter of Governor Martim

Afonso de Sousa wrote in 1542 to the king of Portugal. When he

reached Cannanore he saw that the construction of the monastery was

going on which he did not expect. From his letter it is evident that the 47 William Brooks Greenlee, The Voyage of Pedro Alvares Cabral to Brazil and

India, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1995,p.xxx. 48 A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, Vol. I, Bangalore, 1989,p.384. 49 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do

Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I (1499-1522),Lisboa,1947, p.337. In this letter Livro para os Franciscanos, Pero Coresma, feitor de Cochim, gives the details of the spiritual books he is sending to the Franciscan friars for their spiritual activities. It is a letter to Friar Antonio dated 31 December 1517.

50 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I (1499-1522),Lisboa,1947, p.351: Carta de Fr.Antonio a El-Rei de Portugal ( dated 4th November 1518).


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king did not want to have a Franciscan monastery in Cannanore and we

did not know the reason. The Franciscans started to build a monastery in

Cannanore in the year 1541 or 1542.51

3.14 Religious and Social Institutions

The Portuguese introduced a number of institutions of their

social assistance in their city Cannanore, in keeping with the Christian

spirit of charity. The city of Cannanore offered institutionalized urban

social assistance.

3.14.1 Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa da Misericordia)

Santa Casa da Misericordia is an important charitable institution

of the Portuguese. They established this institution in almost all the

places where they had settled. It was founded in Portugal in 1498 to

assist the old, the sick, the disabled and the weaker sections in the

society among those involved in the overseas expansion.52 The various

functions of the Santa Casa da Misericordia included regular visits to

the hospital, absolution for the dying, help to the orphans, the sick and

the poor, giving dowries to the girls for their marriages, visiting the poor

in prisons, supporting the destitute and the abandoned children. 53 There

were fourteen duties of the Misericordia that were necessary for its

members to observe. They were defined as being seven spiritual and 51 A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, Vol. I, Bangalore, 1989,

p.386. Governor Martin Afonso de Sousa wrote to the king of Portugal in 1542: “Your Highness ordered me not to allow the Friars of Franciscans to erect the friary which they were bent on founding in Cannanore. I found friars there already, whom I was powerless to expel…” Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.II (1499-1522),Lisboa,1947, p.309.

52 K.S. Mathew, Portuguese Trade with India in the Sixteenth Century, Delhi, 1983, p.222. 53 Pius Malekandathil, Portuguese Cochin and the Maritime Trade of India 1500-

1663, Manohar, Delhi, p.88


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seven corporal works. The spiritual ones were: giving good advice;

teaching the ignorant; consoling the sorrowful; punishing evildoers;

pardoning injuries received; suffering our neighbours’ shortcomings;

praying to God for the living and the dead. The corporal works consisted

of – giving food to the hungry; giving drink to the thirsty; clothing the

naked; visiting the sick and the prisoners; giving shelter to the weary;

ransoming captives and burying the dead.54

The first Santa Casa da Misericordia in India was established in

Cochin in 152755. Later the Santa Casa da Misericordias appeared in

Cannanore, Cranganore and Quilon. All of them functioned in

conjunction with the local hospitals. In Cannanore the hospital was run by

the help of Santa Casa da Misericordia. Pietro della Valle who visited

Cannanore has given a detailed account of the Santa Casa da

Misericordia: “La Misericordia is a confraternity and a pious

institution.”56 He explains the services of this institution: “keeping things

deposited; transmitting bills of exchange safely, relieving the poor, the

sick and the imprisoned; maintaining exposed children; marrying young

maids; looking after women of ill repute when converted; redeeming

slaves; in short, all works of mercy whereof a city, or a country, can have

need. This pious institution is governed by secular confriers, to which

confraternity none are admitted but worthy persons, upon certain decent

conditions and to a set number.”57 It was an institution for the needy.

54 C.R .Boxer, Fidalgos in the Far East, Martinus Nijhoff, Hague, 1948, pp.217-218. 55 Pius Malekandathil, Portuguese Cochin and the Maritime Trade of India 1500-

1663, Manohar, Delhi, p.87. 56 Edward Grey (ed.), The Travels of Pietro della Valle in India, Hakluyt Society,

London, 1862, p.382. 57 Edward Grey (ed.), The Travels of Pietro della Valle in India, Hakluyt Society,

London, 1862, pp.382, 383.


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Fig. 3.8. Fortress of Cannanore: Ref. Portugiesische Manuskriptatlanten, Berlim 1953

Fig. 3.9. The urban city of Cannanore. Ref. P.F. Joseph François Lafitau, Histoire des Decouvertes et

Conquestes des Portugais dans le Nouveau Monde, Paris, 1733.


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There are many references to the Misericordia in Cannanore.

In a letter written by Gasper Rabello, Vaz, Ruy Guomez, Gasper,

Duarte Vazz, Joam Barbosa, Fernando Vas and Amtonio Pyres from

Cannanore on 15 December 1554, there is mention about the

Misericordia in Cannanore.58 They say that it was an inevitable

institution in Cannanore as there are a lot of suffering people in and

around there.59 There was a well-established Misericordia in

Cannanore. But we do not have any reference as to the date of its

foundation. However, it is evident that the Misericordia of

Cannanore was there in 1541. It is clear from a letter written on 15th

December 1554 to Dom Joao III in which the provedor (purveyor)60

of the Misericordia of Cannanore referred to a letter that he wrote

thirteen years ago requesting the king for an altarpiece.61

There was another reference to the Misericordia of Cannanore in

the Tombo do Estado da India in 1545. According to the document the

Misericordia of Cannanore used to have an offering of ten pardaos

every month.62 But the Misericordia of Cannanore seems to be smaller

58 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do

Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I , Document 72 (Misericordia de Cananor) ,Lisboa,1947,p.375-377.

59 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I , Document 72 (Misericordia de Cananor) ,Lisboa,1947,p.375.

60 The provedor was the responsible person of the Misericordias. He was the superintendent of the affairs. It was an honour for any Portuguese citizen to be a provedor of a Misericordia. Verbo Encyclopedia Luso-Brasileira de Cultura, Vol. XII, Lisboa, 1972, pp.313-314.

61 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I , Document 72 (Misericordia de Cananor) ,Lisboa,1947,p.375-377. That is in the year 1541.

62 Simão Botelho, “Tombo do Estado da India”, in Subsidios para a História da Índia Portugueza Publicados de Ordem de Classe de Sciencias Moraes.


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than that of Cochin because the offering the Misericordia of Cochin

received was thirty pardaos per month where as that of Cannanore

received only ten pardaos par month.63

In many Portuguese centres in Malabar the hospitals were

attached to the Misericordias. It might be for the sake of treating the

sick that it was established close to the hospitals. The brothers of the

Misericordia used to do service in such hospitals. Hospitals and

Misericordias were two similar institutions.64 The brothers of the

Misericordia of Cannanore reminded the King of Portugal in 1554

about the lack of a hospital in Cannanore and that the building which

existed there was quite small that it was not very useful. The existing

facilities were not sufficient to cater to the needs of the time. For

example, there were no sufficient beds as the number of the sick was

high, nor were there enough blankets to cover them. There were a lot

of sick and wounded people in Cannanore due to the large military

presence and frequent wars in those areas.65 In the year 1549 the ship

Sao Bento reached there with more than 80 sick and in the same year

54 sick and wounded arrived in Cannanore in the ship Santa Cruz

from the outer sea. There were a lot of sick in this fort. But by the

grace of God none died except one. The credit of the same went to the

Politicas e Bellas-Lettras da Acadamia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa e sob a Direcção de Rodrigo José de Lima Felner, Lisboa,1868,p.30

63 Simão Botelho, “Tombo do Estado da India”, in Subsidios para a História da Índia Portugueza Publicados de Ordem de Classe de Sciencias Moraes. Politicas e Bellas-Lettras da Acadamia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa e sob a Direcção de Rodrigo José de Lima Felner, Lisboa,1868,pp.22-23.

64 Jose Manuel Correia, Os Portugeses no Malabar,(1498-1580), Lisboa,1997, p.196. 65 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do

Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I , Document 72 (Misericordia de Cananor) ,Lisboa,1947,p.375.


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Misericordia of Cannanore. There was also a request for the tiles so that

the house may not be burnt. 66

In Cannanore there were a lot of poor people and windows whom

this Misericordia protected. They supplied money for the marriage of

orphan girls. They had the responsibility of arranging suitable husbands

for the orphan girls among the Portuguese men in the Estado da India.67

Husbands of the orphan girls were given jobs and land. The original

intentions behind the foundation of the Misericordia were to teach the

simple people, to look after the formation and education of the

abandoned children, punish the erring and the evil doers, console the sad

through the visit of the hospitals, forgive the sinners, pray for the

widows and the dead., redeem and free the prisoners and slaves, cure the

sick and help them, cover the naked, give food and drink to the needy,

supply lodging facilities to the pilgrims, and to bury the dead.68 But in

course of time when it was implanted in the Portuguese overseas

possessions, some modifications were brought about in the objective.

3.14.2 Confraternity of the Chagas (Confraria das Chagas)

Confraria das Chagas was a religious community of men doing

religious and charitable services. It is a typical Portuguese institution.69

The Portuguese word chaga means stigmas of Christ. It shows that they


Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I , Document 72 (Misericordia de Cananor) ,Lisboa,1947,p.376.

67 Fatima da Silva Gracias, Kaleidoscope of Women in Goa, 1501-1961, New Delhi, 1996, p.32.

68 Verbo Enciclopedia Luso-Brasileira de Cultura, Vol. XII, Lisboa, 1972, pp.892-893.

69 A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, Vol. I, Bangalore, 1989,p.383.


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were a religious group established in the name of the stigmas or chagas of

Christ. There are some references to them in the Corpo Cronologico. On

an order written on 6th July 1509, João Vaz de Almada, the military

major (alcaide mor) of Cannanore fort is asked to collect one cruzado

from Gonçalo Mendes, the feitor of the Cannanore factory in order to give

it to the Confraria das Chagas as a charity. The same day João de Vaz de

Almada collected it from the feitor and informed the work to Laurenço de

Brito.70 There is another letter of the same cause of giving money is

written on 17th June 1510. It shows that Confraria das Chagas were the

religious community who were supported by the Portuguese king and

they were in India to do the religious service of the king for God.71

3.14.3 Hospital

The hospital in the fort of Cannanore was very popular and it

was the best maintained. It is believed the hospital was constructed by

the Viceroy Almeida in 1504.72 There is a reference of the hospital of

Cannanore in the document signed by the Capitão-mor, Lopo Soares

on 5 January 1505 in which he states that he set the ships on fire in

Capocate (Kappad) near Calicut.73 It places on record the origin of the

hospital of Cannanore.74 Hence it is found that there was a hospital in

Cannanore before 1505. 70 ANTT, Corpo Cronologico, II, 1.8-10. 71 ANTT, Corpo Cronologico, II, 22-73. 72 A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, Vol. I, Bangalore, 1989,

p.384. 73 “....na pelaja que ouve em Capocatejumto de Callecut em que queymey as

naos....” ANTT, Corpo Cronologico, II, 9-38. Lopo Soares recommended to his feitor that nothing should be spared those who had been wounded in this battle whom he was leaving in his capable hands.

74 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I ,Lisboa,1947,pp.332-335.


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Fig. 3.10. City of Cannanore Ref. Johannes Janssonius van Waasbergs, Naauwkeurige

Beschryvinge van Malabar en Chromandel, Amsterdam, 1672.

Fig. 3.11. The moat of Cannanore, Ref. Histoire Generale de Voyages, Vol. XVII; 1749, p.542.


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In the beginning it might be only room for treatment. But after

the siege in 1507 the Portuguese felt the need for a good hospital in

Cannanore. The infirmary was not big enough to accommodate the

large number of wounded and sick. Hence there was a reconstruction

of the hospital in 1509 together with the gun powder factory.75 Beside

the botica of Cannanore and near the church of Nossa Senhora da

Vitória stood the hospital among the coconut palms. In the map of

Gasper Correia the hospital building was in between the Casa dos

Mandamentos and the church of Nossa Senhora da Esperança in the

fortress. 76 It was erected parallel to the Arabian Sea. It is found that

the water and climate in Cannanore hospital had better curing effects

and could heal certain tropical fevers.77 Since Cannanore had

salubrious atmosphere and water for curing diseases contracted in the

course of the voyage from Lisbon, the hospital attracted several sick

people especially those who were suffering from scurvy. The Viceroy

instructed the physicians at Cochin to send the sick to Cannanore for

getting cured.78

Since it was on the route from Goa to Cochin, it was

considered a centre for getting treatment during the journey. The air

and water are very good in the fort of Cannanore. It was considered

healthy. Even though the fort was on the sea shore the water in the

wells of the fort was not salty.

75 According to Correia the fortress was then rebuilt in stone. The Viceroy

probably carried out some repairs and rearrangements after the siege. Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.I, Porto, 1975,pp.714-715; Vol.II,727-731.

76 Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.III, Lisboa, 1862, p.16. 77 Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.I, Porto, 1975,p.729. 78 Gaspar Correia, Lendas da India, Vol.I, Porto, 1975,pp.729-730.


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Fig 3.12. Cannanore Ref.Enchelle de 50 Verges, Mesure de Rhynland.(in Ensaio de

Iconografia das Cidades Portugueses do Ultramar, Vol.3, p.408.

Fig 3.13. Cannanore Ref. Antonio Maris Carneiro Descripçam da Fortaleza de Sofala e das mais da Índia com huma Rellaçam das Religioes todas Q ha no Mesmo Estado, Carta no.34, 1639.


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The hospital of Cannanore was famous in India though it was

mainly for treating the Portuguese soldiers and officials. On 26 August

1510 Afonso de Albuquerque returned with his men to Cannanore after

the attack on Goa and found that the hospital of Cannanore was

overflowing with patients, some of whom had been there for three or

four years and in addition had to treat the wounded from Goa.79

The administration of the hospital was reputed to be best in

Malabar80 and it was entrusted to provedores. A provedor, a

secretary and a surgeon – who was also an apothecary - treated and

fed not only the sick and wounded from the fortress but also those

sent from Cochin and Goa.81 The factors gave them necessary

equipments and medicines. The brothers of Santa Casa da

Misericordia assisted in the hospital. The hospital was provided with

bed and other necessary items.

3.14.4 Alms Giving

The Portuguese spent a lot of money giving alms to the poor. In

Cannanore the vicars distributed alms on Saturdays.82 Vicar Dom Aires

da Gama promoted alms giving because he found a direct relationship

between alms and conversion. His successor João da Silveira was also

very generous and he knew well the misery of the people. But he was

forced to cut down the alms because of the lack of money in the

79 Fernão Lopes de Castenheda, História do descobrimento e da Conquista da

Índia pelos Portugueses, Vol.II,Porto, 1979,p.86. 80 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do

Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I ,Lisboa,1947,p.333. 81 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do

Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.I ,Lisboa,1947,p.333-334. 82 A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, Vol. I, Bangalore, 1989, p.383.


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Portuguese exchequer83. The Portuguese exchequer had the responsibility

of maintaining the children of Portuguese casados and the new Christians.

But often the exchequer was empty due to lack of enough trade and many

of the commodities imported by the Portuguese were unsold because

there was no demand for them in the Indian market. Hence there was a

difficulty in distributing alms to the poor. In 1514, Fr. Afonso Velho

wrote about the cases of many women resorting to abortions due to their

inability to feed the children if born. So he pleaded with the Portuguese

king for the continuation and enhancement of the alms to the poor in

Cannanore. 84Dom Aires da Gama wrote to the king about the good

habit of Fr. Afonso Fernandez, the vicar of Cannanore in 1519, of

giving alms to the poor people.85

3.14.5 Botique de Cannanore

Botica signifies a shop of medicines. It would be called a

pharmacy in the modern terms. It is a shop of medicines, medicinal

plants, drugs etc. From there the Portuguese collected the drugs and

medicines for those who were in the ship and their people. There are

many documents written about the transactions of the boticas. In one of

the document written on the16th of July 1510 Rodrigo Rabello, captain


Padroado Português do Oriente, Índia, Vol.II, Lisboa, 1947, p.13. Cfr. The letter of Fr. Sebastião Dias to the king of Portugal dated Cannanore, 10th October 1523.

84 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.II ,Lisboa,1947,p.343. Carta de Padre Sebastião Pires, Vicar of Cannanore,dated Cannanore,8th January,1518; Corpo Cronologico I 23-25, ANTT.

85 Antónia da Silva Rêgo, Documentação para Historia das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente,Índia, Vol.II ,Lisboa,1947,p.372: Carta de Dom Ayres da Gama a El-Rei de Portugal ( dated Cannanore, 2nd January 1519)., Gaveta 15,9-11 of ANTT.


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of the St. Angelo’s fort in Cannanore orders the feitor of the fortress to

pay a bill of drugs and other things brought from the botica.86 And it is

mentioned that the person in charge, may be the owner of the botica was

a Valanciano and his name was Francisco Savantes.87 The captains also

asked him to verify whether the amount is paid at once. If not so it

should be paid and noted down in the account book. And in a reply,

another writer Antonio de Foyos informs Captain Goncalo Mendez that

he had verified the account and had that day (16th July 1510) paid the

amount for him and it was 78.5 fanams. They paid it in Indian currency.

3.15 Education in the Portuguese Settlement of Cannanore

At the beginning the Portuguese paid no attention into the

education of the people because they did not have any plan to colonise

the country. But as the Portuguese settlers as well as the native

Christians increased in number, the Portuguese started schools for the

education of the children in the fortress and town, run by the church

authorities and subsidised by the government. The education thus

imparted was obviously religion oriented and west oriented.

3.16 Cannanore as seen by the Travellers

3.16.1 Tomé Pires

The land of Malabar consisted of a number of kingdoms

including the kingdom of Cannanore. According to Tome Pires the

86 ANTT, Corpo Cronologico, II, 90-119, written on 16 July 1510. 87 Valencia is a province in Spain. Francisco Sevantes was from Valencia and he

was running the botica there. It also refers that people from neighbouring countries also reached Malabar for trade and business there. Francisco Sevantes was one among them. Carlos Alexandre de Morais, Cronológia Geral da Índia Portuguesa, Sociedade de Geografia, Lisboa, 1997, p.34: “Começa a funcionar em Cananor uma botica dirigida por Francisco Sevantes”


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kingdom of Cannanore is the second in land and population to the

kingdom of Quilon which was first.88 The kingdom of Cannanore

consisted of the ports of Kumbla, Kattakulam, Nileswaram, Hyeri,

Madayi, Balipatanam, Cannanore and Dharmapatan.89 He asserted the

importance of the port of Cannanore as first among them. It is also noble

and had much trade. He had a good appreciation of the kingdom of

Cannanore as a land of good air and water. The kingdom and the town of

Cannanore were very large and had much trade.90 But he was afraid of

the kingdom coming under the control of Moorish merchants. So he

expressed his anxiety to the king of Portugal: “If Your Highness had not

taken this kingdom under your rule, it would be a Moorish by now”.91

He was also afraid that the Moorish merchant Mamalle Marakkar would

become very influential at that time. Even the Brahmin king also looked

like a Moor with a long beard, so he feared that he could be converted to

Islam with the influence of the Moors thus affecting their priorities that

of earning souls and then spices.

3.16.2 Letter of Giovanni Francesco de Affaitadi

The letter written by Giovanni Francesco de Affaitadi written on

26th June 1501, from Lisbon addressed to Sier Domenego Pixani, in

Spain, also mentions about Cannanore and the king: 88 The Suma Oriental of Tomé Pires and the book of Francisco Rodrigues, vol.I, p.74. 89 Kattakulam is place in modern South Canara. Hyeri is situated in the bay south of

Mount Dely. Neeleswaram is in the north of the Cannanore kingdom but before Kattakulam. Madayi was a very important trade centre and port before Valapattanam and Cannanore. After Madayi, Valapattanam became an important trade centre. It is five kilometres of north of Cannanore but before Madayi. Durmapatan, today known as Dharmadam, was also a very important trade port including the British period. It is in the south of Cannanore and before Thalassery. Cannanore became an important centre of trade with the influence of Portuguese.

90 The Book of Duarte Barbosa, Vol.II, p.81. 91 The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires and the book of Francisco Rodrigues, vol.I, p.77.


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“After they had left Chuchi (Cochin), as has been said before,

when a distance from the said place of two hundred leagues, they found

another land called Lichinocho (Cannanore), and there lived a very rich

King, who sent presents to the captain and sent him two ambassadors

who came to the King of Portugal.”92

3.16.3 Cannanore in the letter of King Dom Manuel

King Dom Manuel in his letter written in Santarem to King

Ferdinand and Isabella on 29th July 1501 “Concerning the News of India”

explains the meeting between the Captain Pedro Alvares Cabral and the

king of Cannanore:93

“While he (Cabral) was in the kingdom of Cochin, there came to

him the messages from the King of Cannanore, requesting him to come

to them because they would make more profitable trade with him…

From there he went his way, which was to the kingdom of Cannanore,

ruled by one of those kings who invited him. And as he was passing, as

soon as those on land caught sight of him, they sent him another

message, asking him to stop there, because the king wanted to send a

messenger to me by him, whom he brought me. And in the single day

that he was there, he ordered so much spicery to be brought to the ships

that he might have entirely filled them, had they been empty; and they

gave what they might carry free, as a present to win my friendship. And

all his chief men came also to my captain, telling him on behalf of the

king that they would see to it that he was treated there in a different

92 William Brooks Greenlee, The Voyage of Pedro Alvares Cabral to Brazil and

India, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1995,p.128. 93 Queen Isabella of Castile was the first cousin of Dom Manuel. Her husband

King Ferdinand was the father-in-law of King Dom Henry. He married their daughter Isabel and after her death their another daughter, Maria.


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manner than in Calicut, assuring him that if he wanted to make war on

Calicut they would help him, and that he in person would go on land,

and all his fleet on the sea. And after thanking him greatly in my name,

he took leave of him, saying to him that in the other fleet which I was

to send soon, I would send him my answer regarding everything.” 94

3.16.4 Visit of Cabral by an Anonymous Narrative.

It is believed that it is one of the earliest and most complete

contemporary accounts of the voyage of Pedro Alvares Cabral written

by a member of his fleet. The author is an intelligent Portuguese but he

is unknown. It looks like an official record meant for the publication of

the narrative. In this narrative he has narrated the visit of Cabral in

Cannanore:

“On the 15th of January we reached a kingdom on this side of

Calichut (Calicut), which is called Chanonon (Cannanore). It belongs

to the Caferis,95 whose language is like that of Calichut. As we are

passing by the aforesaid kingdom the king sent word to tell the captain

that he was greatly displeased that he had not come to his kingdom, and

he begged him to cast anchor, and said that if our ships were not

loaded, he would load them. When the captain learned this, he

anchored and sent a Guzerate on shore to tell the king that the ships

were already loaded and that they needed only a hundred barchara of

cinnamon, which is four hundred chantaras. And immediately the king

sent the said cinnamon to the ships with great diligence, trusting greatly

in us, and the captain sent to pay for it in so many cruzados. And then


India, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1995,p.50. 95 Caferis means the infidels or those who does not believe in Allah (Islam).


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much cinnamon came to the ship and there was no place in which to

put it. The king sent word to the captain that, if it were for lack of

money, we should not fail to load on as much as we wished on this

account that we could pay him on the return voyage, for he had well

learned how the king of calichut had robbed us and what good and

truthful people we were. The captain thanked him very much, and

showed the messenger, that is the ambassador, the three or four

thousand cruzados which remained, and then the king sent to inquire

whether he wished anything more. The captain told him no, except that

His Highness might send a man to visit Portugal. The king immediately

sent a gentleman who was to come to Portugal with us….In this place

we did not remain longer than a day.”96

3.16.5 François Pyrard de Laval

François Pyrard de Laval was a French traveller who visited

Goa, Cochin, Cannanore, Ormuz, Bengal and other borders of Indian

Ocean from 1601 to 1610.He leisurely observed men, their way of life,

their social organization, their customs, their food, the rhythms and

gestures of their daily life. He was easily gifted with foreign languages,

so he quickly learned how to express himself and understand others. He

left St. Malo of north-west France on May 18, 1601 in a ship called

Corbin.97


India, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1995,pp.88-89.. 97 Genevieve Bouchon, A French Traveller in Portuguese India (1601-1610)-

Francis Pyrard de Laval, a paper presented in the IV International Seminar on Indo-Portuguese History,Lisbon,1985,P.4. She gives the detailed study of the voyage of Pyrard basing on the works of The Voyage of François Pyrard de Laval to the East Indies, the Maldives, the Moluccas and Brasil translated in to English by A. Grey and H.C.P. Bell and Viagem de Francisco Pyrard de Laval translated by J.H. da Cunha Rivara.


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3.16.6 Pietro della Valle

Pietro della Valle visited Cannanore on the Christmas day of 1624.

He landed Cannanore from Calicut. He has given a detailed description of

the port of Cannanore while he travelled to Calicut from Mangalore. On

the way he saw the Mount Elly and he explained it as mark of finding the

Malabar coast. He describes: ‘Cannanore is a little place upon the shore,

but near a Promontory which makes a kind of Haven. The city is

surrounded with walls, not very strong, or well made in some places”98.

He continued about the institutions in Cannanore also: “It has four

churches, to wit La Sede, or the Cathedral. La Misericordia, which is a

Confraternity, and a pious institution.”99 According to him the third

church of Cannanore was that of San Francesco, where the friars of that

order reside and the fourth was that of Santa Maria della Vittoria .He

described the market of Cannanore: “It is a great open space, which they

call Bazar, where all sorts of provisions and other merchandize are sold. It

is like that of Calicut, and perhaps better. It is governed by a famous

Malabar Moor Agà Begel.”100

3.16.7 Description of Cannanore by Van Linschotten

Van Linschotten in his book on Voyage to India explains in

detail about Cannanore in chapter 11. He describes that the distance

from Mangalore to Cannanore is about 15 miles and from Cannanore to

Calicut, it is around 8 miles, and the city of Cannanore lies under 11

98 Edward Grey (ed.), The Travels of Pietro della Valle in India, Hakluyt Society,

London, 1892, p.382. 99 Edward Grey (ed.), The Travels of Pietro della Valle in India, Hakluyt Society,

London, 1892, p.382. 100 Edward Grey (ed.), The Travels of Pietro della Valle in India, Hakluyt

Society, London, 1892, p.383.


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degrees and a half.101 He continues that the fort of Cannanore is the

best fortress of the Portuguese in the whole Malabar. Van Linschotten

testifies that the fort of Cannanore is rich with much pepper. And

Malabar is only a village with a lot of small houses built in their own

particular manner and there is also a daily market. Van Linschotten had

a nostalgic feeling of Hollandese markets when he found the Malabar

markets in Cannanore. He felt wonderful that he could see all items of

daily life in the market. He gives examples of some items in the market

for truthful testimony like eggs, hens, butter, honey, Indian oil, Indian

figs etc. He describes that the Indian figs are brought from Cannanore

itself and he was sure these are the best in the whole India and they are

very great also. They are also abundant in quantity and very fair. He

accepts that no one can find such a better quality item in all Norway.102

Van Linschotten is also great admirer of nature. He becomes a

lover of nature while explaining the beauty of Cannanore. According to

him the whole coast of Malabar, especially Cannanore, is very green

and a pleasant land, full of fairy tall trees and a land filled with fruitful

things. He becomes Wordsworth while explaining the beauty of the

nature of Cannanore.103

Van Linschotten gives then an account of another existing

merchant community in Cannanore. They are, he termed, the “Mores”.

They are followers of prophet Mahomet (Mohamed) and they had trade in

101 The distance given by Van Linschotten is of the sea route and not the land

route. It is an average calculation of the distance of his time. 102 Arthur Coke Burnell (ed.), The Voyage of John Huyghen Van Linschotten to

the East Indies, Vol. I, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1988, p.67. 103 Arthur Coke Burnell (ed.), The Voyage of John Huyghen Van Linschotten to

the East Indies, Vol. I, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1988, p.67.


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the Red sea. But they are controlled by the Portuguese. They need a

passport to do trade in the Indian Ocean from the Portuguese. Otherwise

the Portuguese army would take them to prison. No country was allowed

to trade in the Indian Ocean region without a passport from the

Portuguese. This was a safety precaution for the merchants too, because

this safeguarded them from the attack of pirates. The Mores had trade

with Sumatra, Cambaia and Malabar and they used the Indian Ocean as a

route to Red Sea with prior permission from the Portuguese.104

Even though the Mores were in good contact with the Portuguese,

they collected money from Arabia, as Van Linschotten describes, and

distributed secretly great sum of money among the people of Malabar to

hold connection with the people there. Apparently they respected the

Portuguese because of their fortress in Cannanore. He says actually for the

Mores the Portuguese were their deadly enemies and they wanted to

“trouble the Portuguese by all the means they can devise”.105

3.17 Conclusion

The commercial history of Cannanore begins with the advent of

the Portuguese in Cannanore. The nearby towns of Cannanore were the

centres of commerce from the early period. But Cannanore did not

have a flourishing trade before the arrival of the Portuguese. There

were centres like Madayi, Pazhayangadi and Valapattanam which had

trade relations with the Arabs and it is believed that there was a

104 Arthur Coke Burnell (ed.), The Voyage of John Huyghen Van Linschotten to

the East Indies, Vol. I, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1988, p.67. 105 Arthur Coke Burnell (ed.), The Voyage of John Huyghen Van Linschotten to

the East Indies, Vol. I, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1988, p.68.


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settlement of the Jews in Madayipara. The area was quite suitable for

trade and traders saw Mount Eli (Ezhimala) as a landmark on the

Malabar coast. The land was also rich with spices. All these favourable

situations attracted the traders to this Malabar region.

The town of Cannanore developed with the advent of the

Portuguese for trade. The development of the area is closely related to

their relation with the Portuguese. The arrival of the Portuguese created

a mercantile community there. Some of them were appointed as the

middlemen of trade. The foreigners had difficulty in communication

and they needed the support of responsible persons to trade with the

local people. This situation created a class of middlemen and local

merchants in the society.

In the religious level the Portuguese were a zealous community.

They had inherited a strong zeal for propagating their religious faith.

They witness their well known dual motives in trading for spices and

for the saving of souls. From a commercial point of view they searched

for the spices and trade goods while from a religious aspect they were

in search of souls. Hence we find that wherever they went they went

with missionaries and religious. It led to the birth and growth of

Christian community in Cannanore.

Another community which originated there, was the descendents

of the Portuguese and the mixed community. The Portuguese started to

marry the local women who became Catholic and their children

became part and parcel of the society. It was a new group of the

Portuguese who began their life as the indigenous group of the society.


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There were not only the traders, but for the everyday work many

groups within society emerged in Cannanore. There was the presence

of masons, carpenters, khalasis, bakers, fishermen, cobblers, painters,

cook, rope makers, cleaners, shipwrights, seamen, gunners, guards etc.

Apart from trade the urbanization and prosperity of Cannanore in the

beginning of sixteenth century was the result of the effort of the

Portuguese traders.

….. …..

the portuguese and the urban phenomena of...

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