When the Arabs began to establish themselves in In dia, during the 8th century, Chermnan Permal, the sove reign of Malabar, not only their religion, but resolved to end his days at the holy city of Nleeca. Ca licut, froin which lie departed, was endeared to the Moors ; and, in spite of the inconvenieocc and danger of its port, it became the mart of their commorce. Pre cious stones, pearls, amber, ivory, porcelain, gold, silver, silk and cotton stuffs, indigo, sugars, spiceries, precious woods, aromatics, and line varnish, were brought to Ca licut from every part of the East, both in ships arid by land-carriage on the backs of elephants.
When Vasco de Gann touched at the city of Melinda, he was astonished at the information he received re specting the commerce of Calicut ; and, frith the assis tance of a skilful pilot, lie stretched across the Indian ocean, and reached Calicut on the 22d of May 1498. Here he accidentally met with a Moor of Tunis, called Menzaide, who understood ti.e Poi tu:tuesc language, and who had admired the enterprising deeds of the Por tuguese, which he had witnessed on tune coast of Barba ry. This Moor obtained an audience of the Sarnorin for Gaeta, who proposed an alliance and a treaty of com merce with the king of Portugal. Before the treaty teas concluded, the Mussulinans succeeded in throwing sus picion on the views of Gama ; and the Samorin dreading the effects which might remilt frmn such a connection, formed the resolution of cutting off Gam-a and his fol lowers. The Samorin, however, had not the courage to execute his purpose: and lie permitted the admiral to return to his snip. In consequence of making some re prisals, Gana compelled the Samorin to give him hos tages, and to restore to him the merchandise which he had left in Calicut ; and he returned to Portugal loaded with the rich spoils of the East.
Some time thirteen Portuguese vessels, under the orders of Alvarez Cabral, arrived before Cali cut, and brought back to the Samorin some of his sub jects who had been carried off by Gana. These Indians spoke highly of the treatment they had received from the Portuguese, and induced the Samorin to treat them as friendly allies. The jealousy of the Moors, however, was again roused, and the people of Calicut. seduced by their schemes, massacred fifty of the Pertuguese. Ca bral, however, soon revenged their barbarous treatment He burned all the Arabian vessels that were in the har bour, battered the city, and repaired to Cochin and Ca nanore. The kings of these two cities gave him spices., gold, and silver, and proposed to enter into an alliance with him against the Samorin, to whom they were tri butary. The kings of Oiler and Coulan, and several other princes, joined in this proposal, with the Lopes of freeing themselves from their tribute, and drawing to their harbours a portion of the commerce of Asia. Blind ed by these views, the infatu:.ted sovereigns of the East surrendered themselves, in a great measure, into the hands of the Portuguese. In every part of Malabar, the Portuguese obtained such influence, that they built a fort in every city, and compelled every sovereign to ac knowledge himself a vassal of the court of Lisbon. The
other nations of Europe, imitating the adventurous spirit of the Portuguese, sent out vessels to bring home the merchandise of the East ; and such was the contempt and obscurity into which the Portuguese had fallen, that scarcely one of their ships was to be seen in the ports of the Samorin, where the English, Dutch, French, and Danes, had considerable factories. The Dutch esta blished themselves here in 1604 ; the English followed them soon after ; but the French did not establish their trade till about sixty years after the Dutch.
When fell into the hands of Tippoo, in 1789, he destroyed Calicut, and removed the inhabitants to Nelluru, the name of which he changed to Furruckabad. He razed the city to the ground, destroyed its trade, banished the merchants and factors of the foreign com mercial houses. He cut down all the cocoa-nut and sandal trees, and ordered the pepper plants in the sur rounding district to be torn up by the roots, and cut to pieces. His cruelty to the inhabitants of Calicut, was marked by the most dreadful barbarity. Great numbers of them, both male and female, were put to death. The mothers were first tied up, and then the children suspend ed from their necks. Several Christians and heathens, were brought out naked, and tied to the feet of elephants, which dragged them about, till they were torn limb from limb. All the churches and temples were burned or pulled down. Christian and Pagan women were com pelled to marry Mahometans, and Mahometan women to marry heathens and Christians. The Pagans were de prived of the token of their nobility, which is a lock of hair named cudumi, and every Christian who was seen on the streets was either circumcised or hanged on the spot. About fifteen months after the inhabitants were removed to Furruekabad, the province was conquered by the English ; and the inhabitants returned with transport to their old place of residence. Before the town was destroyed by Tippoo, it contained about six or seven thousand houses. It now contains about five thousand houses, and is rapidly recovering its importance. The inhabitants are principally Moplays, a stout and indus trious, but nous race of men, who settled in this country about 400 years ago, and are nearly as numer ous as tile Nairs, whose authority over them they dis pute. East Long. 75° 52', North Lat. 11° 12'. See .Vou?,lle Relation dun Voyage fait any Indes Orientates contenant la Description des Iles de Bourbon, et de gascar de •urafe dc la Cote de Malabar, de Calicut, par M. Dclion. Amst. 1699. p. 178. This work was into English under the title of Dellon's Voyage • o the East Indies. Lond. 1699 ; Bartolomeo's Voyage to the Bast Indies, Chap. vi. p. 139 ; Dalryniple's Oriental Repository, vol. i. P. 238, vol. ii. 165-168 ; and Dr Fran cis Bucicanan's Journey from Madras through the Coun tries if Cunara, and Malabar, vol. ii. p. 474, and vol. iii. Appendix. (o)