Padmanabhapuram, now Trivandrum, is believed to have beendesignated as the capital of Kerala by Parasurama himself. King Bhanu Vikrama, the first King established the supremacy of Brahmins throughout the state. Of the later days kings, King Keralan ruled for 12 years and there is a belief that the state gets its name from him. However, Kerala means ''''land of coconut trees'''' which undoubtedly it is.
The golden era of Kerala was under the rule of Kulasekhara Perumal, who initiated technological advances. All his successors were elected and they mainly came from outside the Kingdom.
It appears that the trading with Kerala, known as Malabar for most of its history, began in the 1st century BC. Greek an Roman traders first made the trips to Kerala via Africa, looking for its exotic spices. During this period, Jainism and Buddism were the prominent religions in Kerala. But by the 3rd century BC, Hindism had regained its streangth. Even before the 3rd century BC, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Chineese and Babylonians had trade relations with Kerala.
The legend has it that St.Thomas, the appostle landed in kodungalloor in AD 52 to spraed the gospel. Upper caste Hindus were converted and they were known as Syrian Christians as St.Thomas came from Syria. Malik-Ibn-Dinar, disciple of prophet Mohammed brought Islam to India. Incidentally the first mosque in India was built in Kerala by Malik-Ibn-Dinar. His visit was during AD 643.
When the Chera Empire, which ruled Kerala from AD 800 till AD 1102 disintegrated, the local Kings divided the state amongst themselves. They were, the Zamorins of Calicut, the Raja of Cochin, the Kolathiris of cannanore and the King of Travancore. By the end of the 15th century, the Zamorin had half of Malabar under his rule.
European Rediscovery
In the 15th century, when the semitic monopoly of the spice trade became too expensive for the European markets to bear, Portugal financed Vasco da Gama to discover the sea route to the spice lands of Kerala. He landed at Kappad near Calicut in 1498. Vasco da Gama found a direct thogh length route from Europe to India, by sailing round the Southern tip of Kerala. Vasco da Gama''''s journey was followed by a compatriot, Pedro Cabral, who was more commercially inclined than Gama. However his demands to the Zamorin, the ruler of Calicut. He found a better ally in the Raja of Cochin, who was looking for prospective partner against his rival, the Zamorin.
Portuguese Trading
The second visit of Vasco da Gama in 1502 was more aggressive, Arab merchant ships were sunk enroute. But again the Portuguese were were enable to strike a trade agreement with the Zamorin because the Zamorin did not concede to the Portuguese demand of expelling the Malabar Muslims from the area. After a fierce attack on Calicut, the Portuguese moved to Cochin, where they were welcomed by the Raja of Cochin. In return to the gifts, the Cochin Raja granted exclusive trading agreement to the portuguese. An infuriated Zamorin on hearing about the the treaty attacked Cochin and established his garrison. But once the zamorin returned to Calicut with his strike force, Portuguese squadron led by Albuquerque reistated the Raja of Cochin. The Zamorin was defeated in 1509 by the portuguese. Thus the Portuguese supremacy on the Malabar thus established continued for 150 years. Later the Portuguese base was shifted to Goa. However their interest in India receded after Philip II of Spain conqured Portugal. The Portuguese never won popularity in India.
The Dutch Invasion
The Dutch formed an alliance with the Zamorin in 1604, with a view of expelling the Portuguese from Kerala. By 1663, the Dutch were in control of Cochin and Cannanore and had established a trading monopoly assisted by the kolathiri.
Their dislike far the Roman Catholics was very open and all catholic priests were expelled from their areas of control and Jesuit buildings demolished. However the Dutch were weakened by the wars with England and eventually they abandoned India, but not before returning to the Portuguese, with whom a rapproachement was reached, all their pssessions in the Malabar coast, except Cochin. The Dutch were less corrupt and had better and fairer administration than Portuguese. They had introduced advanced techniques in agriculture, salt farming & dyeing.
Arrival of the English
The first trading agreement between the East India company & Zamorin of Calicut was made in 1625. This was in return to the help the English rendered to the Zamorin in expelling the Portuguese from cannanore & Cochin. In 1662, the English made up with the Portuguese with the Royal wedding of Charles II to the Portuguese Princes Catherine of Braganza.
The Disputes
The Kerala 17th century lacked a central authority and the governance was degenerated by feudalism. The main rivalry was between the Zamorin of Calicut and the Raja of Cochin spanning over a period of 500 years. A brief period of Moghule rule in Kerala ended with the assassination of Aurangabad, the last Great Moghul. The Travancore royality expanded its domain northward to the Periyar river during the rule of Raja Marthanda Varma(1729-''''58). Many great developments were initated including construction of waterways for transportation. The Raja then dedicated his Kingdom to Lord Sree Padmanabha Swami and became the ''''servant'''' of the Lord. His successors were also to follow the system.
Muslim Invasion
The first invasion came from the adjoining state of Mysore by Hyder Ali, who was encouraged by Ali raja of Cannanore to take over Kerala. Hyder Ali''''s supremacy was established in 1766 and Ali Raja was appointed governor of all conquests as a reward to his assistance to Hyder Ali. The English found this an opprtunity to help the Zamorin to get rid of Hyder Ali''''s forces. But the muslims supremacy continued till the English defeated Tipu Sultan, son and successor to Hyder Ali, and killed him in the Battle of Srirangapatnam.
During the reign of Tipu, Kerala had a general improvement in the administrative system and technology. However, the economy took a nose-dive since trading came to stand still. The gold and silver reserves were cartid away to the Mysore coffers.
British stronghold
By 1793 Malabar was already in contrl of the East India Company. The adminstration was shifted from Bombay to Madras Presidency in 1800. The english gained control of the country in the early 19th century, by entering into trade agreements with rulers of various territories on the pretext of providing protection and administrative assistance. Infact, the Rajas and their prime ministers remained in controll nominally, while all the major decisions were to be approved by the East India Company. The company could effectively exploit the chaotic situation in the country, especially after the decline of Moghul empire. The Maharajas were satisfied with delegating the administration to the English, who they thought, could protect them from further invasions by the neighbours. The only resistance the East India Company faced was from Maharashtra. However those who were willing to co-operate with the British administration had been treated with respect. In Kerala, revolts against the English came only from a few Quarters. Prominent among them were Paliyath Achan of Cochin, Raja of Kottayam, Veluthampi of Travancore and Kurichya of Wynad. But their resistance was eassily put down since the English were better equipped and could mobilise more force thanks to the improved communication system. But mid-19the century, barring Goa and Pondicherry, which were administered by the Portuguese(they continued till 1961), rest of India was controlled by the East India Company.
The English rule gave birth to an industrial revolution and many technological advances. They had founded Universities at Bombay, Madras and Calcutta withb an aim to create a middle class who could help the British in administration and remain loyal to British ideology. The british were far better than the portuguese in religious matters. They never took interest in religious conversion, nor did they interfere with the Hindus and Muslims. Social evils such as ''''sati''''(self imotion by a Hindu widow-prevalent in north India) and salvery were eradicated. But creating a middle class had an unexpected result. The educated Indian middle class founded Indian National Congress in 1855, which eventually triggered the freedom movement.
The Rebellion
The freedom movement was strong in kerala too. The ''''Mappila Lahala'''' (revolt by the Muslims) in 1921 was one of the many aggressions. Inspired by Mahatma Gadhi''''s non-violent agitation campaigns were mounted against the British. India supported Britain in both the World Wars, on the condition that India be granted independence once the war over.
Independence
Arrangements were made for the independence of India in 1945. After decades of struggle India was pronounced independent in August 1947. The present state of Kerala was established on November 1956. Till then Malabar comprising of three states- Malabar, Cochin and Travancore- remained under the administration of Malabar. Trivandrum was designated as the capital of the newly formed state Kerala.