Long before maps drew borders and nations claimed the seas, the Malabar Coast stood as one of the world's greatest maritime crossroads. Nestled between the towering mala (the Western Ghats) and the vast bar (the Arabian Sea), this narrow strip of land possessed a geography unlike any other. The fertile mountains yielded the world's most sought-after spices, while the sea carried them across oceans, connecting Malabar with civilizations thousands of kilometres away.
For over two thousand years, the rhythm of life on the Malabar Coast was governed not merely by kingdoms or rulers, but by the winds. The seasonal monsoon winds brought ships from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Arabia, East Africa, Persia, Southeast Asia, and China, and months later carried them home again. Until the winds changed, merchants remained on these shores, transforming bustling ports into vibrant centres of exchange where commerce, conversation, and culture flourished together.
But the ships that arrived in Malabar carried far more than gold, silver, silk, porcelain, and horses. They brought languages, faiths, ideas, technologies, and traditions. Many merchants settled here, married local women, established families, and became part of the social fabric of the region. In return, they carried home stories of Malabar's spices, craftsmanship, and remarkable hospitality. Through centuries of these encounters, the coast evolved into one of the Indian Ocean's most cosmopolitan societies—a land where diversity was not an exception but a way of life.
Behind this extraordinary maritime world stood another remarkable story—one that is often overlooked. It was not only the story of merchants and ports, but also of ships, sailors, navigators, naval commanders, and coastal kingdoms that protected these waters. The maritime prosperity of Malabar was sustained by indigenous shipbuilding traditions, remarkable knowledge of the monsoon winds, powerful naval forces, and communities whose lives were inseparable from the ocean.
The Arakkal Kingdom: Sovereigns of the Indian Ocean
Long before European empires arrived on the Malabar Coast, the Arakkal Kingdom of Kannur had already established itself as one of the greatest maritime powers of the Indian Ocean. While many kingdoms measured their strength by the lands they controlled, the Arakkal rulers measured theirs by the horizons they reached.
The story of the Arakkal Kingdom is unlike that of any other royal house in Kerala. Governed through a distinctive matrilineal tradition, the eldest member of the royal family inherited the throne irrespective of gender. Male rulers bore the title Ali Raja, while women ruled as the Arakkal Beevi, making the dynasty one of the few royal houses in South Asia where female sovereigns exercised political authority.
At the heart of this maritime power was Mappila Bay, the historic harbour of Kannur. Protected by the natural contours of the coast and positioned close to the Arakkal palace and the trading quarters of Kannur, the bay served as an important gateway for the kingdom’s maritime activities. It connected the Arakkal rulers with the wider Indian Ocean trading world and provided a harbour for vessels arriving from Arabia and other parts of the western Indian Ocean. The movement of ships, merchants and commodities through Mappila Bay helped transform Kannur into a vibrant centre of maritime commerce and political influence.
- Arakkal Royal Kingdom (Archival Image)
From this harbour, the Arakkal maritime network extended towards the Lakshadweep Islands and the Maldives, while its commercial connections reached Arabia, Persia, East Africa, Egypt and Southeast Asia. Pepper, cardamom, ivory, pearls, precious stones and fine handicrafts moved westward, while Arabian horses, luxury goods, ideas and cultures arrived on the Malabar Coast. The sea was therefore not simply a route of trade for the Arakkal rulers—it was the foundation of their political and economic power.
Their maritime influence was so closely associated with the sea that Arab sailors are traditionally said to have recognised the Arakkal rulers as “Mamlakathul Bahari” — the Kings of the Sea.
The Portuguese Arrival and the Arakkal’s Naval Resistance
By the close of the fifteenth century, however, a new power appeared on the horizon. Drawn by Malabar's legendary spice wealth, the Portuguese sought to bypass the long-established Arab trading networks and establish a direct sea route to India. In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached the Malabar Coast, marking the beginning of a new era in Indian Ocean history. What began as a commercial mission soon transformed into an ambitious project of military domination. The Portuguese established trading stations, constructed forts, and gradually attempted to monopolize maritime trade through armed force and restrictive permit systems, fundamentally challenging the centuries-old commercial order of the Indian Ocean.
For the Arakkal Kingdom, whose prosperity rested upon free navigation and overseas commerce, Portuguese expansion posed a direct threat. Their trading vessels became frequent targets of Portuguese attacks, resulting in the loss of ships, merchants, and even members of the Arakkal royal family. As Portuguese naval power expanded, fortified by advanced artillery and heavily armed warships, they tightened their grip over the Malabar Coast. The construction of St. Angelo's Fort at Kannur in 1505 symbolized this new order, enabling the Portuguese to monitor maritime traffic and enforce their authority over vessels sailing through Malabar's waters.
Yet the Arakkal rulers refused to surrender the sea without resistance. Recognising the growing danger, they forged alliances with the Kolathiris, the Zamorin of Kozhikode, and powerful Muslim maritime allies from Egypt and the Ottoman world. In 1506, one of the earliest and most remarkable anti-colonial coalitions in Malabar came together to challenge Portuguese supremacy. A combined naval force, supported by nearly two hundred ships, blockaded St. Angelo's Fort while allied armies launched attacks from land. For weeks, the Portuguese garrison struggled under siege, facing dwindling supplies and the real possibility of defeat. Although reinforcements from Portugal and Kochi eventually forced the coalition to withdraw, the siege demonstrated that the maritime powers of Malabar were capable of setting aside political differences to defend their seas against foreign domination.
Through trade, diplomacy, naval strength, and resistance against colonial expansion, the Arakkal rulers safeguarded Malabar's position as one of the world's greatest maritime crossroads.
Baliya Hassan: The Martyr Who Defied the Portuguese Empire
As Portuguese influence spread across the Malabar Coast, the struggle for control of the sea entered a new and decisive phase. At the forefront of this resistance stood one of the celebrated military leaders of the Arakkal Kingdom—Baliya Hassan. Remembered for his courage, military brilliance, and unwavering loyalty to the Arakkal Ali Raja, Baliya Hassan emerged as one of the greatest defenders of Malabar's maritime freedom during the early sixteenth century.
Commanding the formidable naval forces of the Arakkal Kingdom, Baliya Hassan fought alongside the legendary Kunjali Marakkars of Kozhikode in a united effort to challenge Portuguese domination over the Indian Ocean trade. Drawing together Mappila warriors from Purakkad, Ponnani, Tanur, and other coastal settlements, he transformed the resistance into a powerful maritime coalition. Their coordinated attacks on Portuguese fleets and trading posts along the coasts of Kozhikode, Kodungallur, Kochi, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives repeatedly disrupted Portuguese ambitions of establishing an uncontested monopoly over the spice trade. Despite possessing heavily armed ships and superior artillery, the Portuguese found themselves facing an enemy whose knowledge of the sea, swift naval tactics, and regional alliances proved exceptionally difficult to overcome.
The years 1522 and 1523 witnessed some of the most successful campaigns led by Baliya Hassan. Working closely with the Kunjali Marakkars, his forces launched daring attacks on Portuguese camps and captured several Portuguese vessels, significantly weakening their position along the Malabar Coast. These victories demonstrated that the Indian Ocean was far from being a Portuguese sea; it remained fiercely defended by the indigenous naval powers of Malabar.
Unable to defeat him on the battlefield, the Portuguese turned to diplomacy and deception. In 1524, during Vasco da Gama's final voyage to India, Baliya Hassan was reportedly invited to what appeared to be a ceremonial honour through an alliance with the Kolathiri ruler. Arriving unarmed, he was seized, handed over to the Portuguese, and imprisoned within the walls of St. Angelo's Fort at Kannur. The news sent shockwaves across the Arakkal Kingdom. The Ali Raja prepared a large-scale military campaign to storm the Portuguese stronghold, compelling Vasco da Gama to withdraw from Kannur and return to Kochi. There, shortly afterwards, the Portuguese admiral died on 24 December 1524, leaving behind an unfinished struggle for control of Malabar's seas.
The death of Vasco da Gama did not bring justice to Baliya Hassan. Under the new Portuguese administration, he was sentenced to death despite widespread opposition from the Arakkal rulers and the local population. On 7 January 1525, Baliya Hassan was executed at St. Angelo's Fort, becoming one of the earliest martyrs of Malabar's resistance against European colonial expansion. His execution dealt a heavy blow to the military leadership of the Arakkal Kingdom, but it did not extinguish the spirit of resistance.
- Kannur St. Angelo's Fort (Archival Image)
The struggle continued with renewed determination. Between 1526 and 1545, the Arakkal Kingdom remained one of the Portuguese Empire's most persistent adversaries on the Malabar Coast. Successive Portuguese campaigns were met with determined resistance from the Arakkal fleet, often strengthened through alliances with the Kunjali Marakkars and powerful rulers such as the Sultan of Bijapur. Although the Portuguese introduced new reinforcements and increasingly relied on fortified coastal bases, the Arakkal rulers refused to abandon their maritime networks.
Ramanthali: The Seventeen Martyrs Who Defended Malabar's Coast
As Portuguese power tightened its grip over the Malabar Coast, resistance was not confined to royal courts or naval commanders. It spread into fishing villages, coastal settlements, and ordinary communities whose lives had been shaped by the sea for centuries. One such chapter unfolded at Ramanthali in 1524, beneath the shadow of the historic Ezhimala hills, where a small band of local Muslims chose courage over surrender and etched their names into the maritime history of Malabar.
Following the arrival of Vasco da Gama in 1498, the Portuguese sought not only to dominate the lucrative spice trade but also to dismantle the long-established Arab-Muslim commercial networks that had flourished on the Malabar Coast for centuries. Their expansion was accompanied by violence against merchant communities, attacks on trading vessels, and the destruction of mosques in several coastal centres, including Kozhikode, Ponnani, Chaliyam, Kochi, and Kannur. As their influence expanded northwards, the peaceful coastal settlement of Ramanthali also became a target.
Among the stories that continue to be passed down through generations is the tale of a young Muslim woman who was abducted by the Portuguese. Refusing to remain silent, seventeen courageous young men from the village set out to rescue her. Armed only with determination, they confronted the Portuguese soldiers, who possessed firearms and cannons far superior to their own weapons. The battle was fierce and unequal. According to local tradition, seventeen of the young men fell in combat while bravely defending their community. Local tradition further recounts that the Portuguese buried the bodies of the seventeen martyrs together in a well in an attempt to erase their memory.
Instead, their sacrifice became immortal. Today, the names of ten of these brave martyrs continue to be remembered: Pokkar Moopan, believed to have been their commander, Pari, Kalandar, Kunhipari, Pari, Qamber, Abubacker, Ahmed, Bakiri Hassan and Cherikkakka. The names of the remaining seven heroes have gradually faded from memory, yet their sacrifice continues to live on in the collective consciousness of the people of Ramanthali. Their resting place, situated before the Ramanthali Juma Masjid, remains a place of remembrance, and many families in the region trace their ancestry to these courageous defenders of the coast.
The Zamorin of Calicut: Guardian of the Spice Coast
Calicut (Kozhikode) had already earned a reputation as one of the greatest ports of the Indian Ocean. Its bustling harbour welcomed merchants from Arabia, Persia, East Africa, China, and Southeast Asia, making it the heart of the global spice trade. At the centre of this thriving maritime world stood the Zamorin of Calicut (Samoothiri), a ruler whose strength was measured not merely by the territory he governed, but by the vast network of commerce that flowed through his port. Pepper, ginger, cardamom, and other precious commodities reached distant markets through Calicut, making the Zamorin one of the most influential maritime rulers of medieval India.
- Zamorin of Calicut (Image: Wikimedia - between 1816 - 1900)
Unlike many contemporary kingdoms that relied primarily on land-based warfare, the Zamorin understood that the prosperity of Calicut depended upon the freedom of the sea. Protecting merchant ships, maintaining secure sea routes, and preserving the confidence of international traders became essential pillars of his administration. Arab merchants, who had traded peacefully on the Malabar Coast for centuries, found in Calicut a ruler who respected commercial freedom and ensured the safety of overseas trade. This policy transformed the city into an open port where merchants of different cultures, languages, and faiths conducted business under royal protection.
The arrival of the Portuguese in 1498 fundamentally challenged this maritime order. Rather than participating in the existing trading system, they sought to monopolise the spice trade through military force, fortified ports, and armed control of shipping. Their attempts to dominate the Arabian Sea threatened not only the Zamorin's commercial prosperity but also the centuries-old freedom of navigation that had made Calicut the leading port of the Indian Ocean.
- Calicut Sea Bridge (Archival Image)
Recognising that the battle for Malabar would be decided as much at sea as on land, the Zamorin entrusted the defence of his maritime interests to a remarkable family of naval commanders—the Kunjali Marakkars. Masters of coastal navigation and naval warfare, the Marakkars transformed the struggle against the Portuguese by introducing swift, highly mobile naval tactics that utilized the geography of the Malabar Coast. Instead of confronting heavily armed Portuguese warships in open waters, they launched surprise attacks from narrow estuaries, river mouths, and coastal inlets, disrupting Portuguese supply lines and weakening their control over maritime trade.
Yet the Zamorin's greatest strength lay not only in his navy but also in his ability to unite diverse communities in defence of the coast. His Nayar militia, renowned for discipline and battlefield courage, fought alongside Muslim sailors, merchants, and naval commanders in a rare alliance forged through a shared determination to protect Malabar's maritime independence. This cooperation became one of the defining features of the resistance against Portuguese expansion, demonstrating that the defence of the sea transcended religious and social divisions.
The finest expression of this unity came during the Siege and Capture of Chaliyam Fort in 1571. Constructed by the Portuguese at one of the most strategically important maritime gateways to Kozhikode, the fort enabled them to monitor shipping, interfere with trade, and threaten the Zamorin's authority over the coast. After years of determined resistance, the combined forces of the Zamorin's Nayar army and the Muslim naval contingents led by the Kunjali Marakkars laid siege to the fortress. Their victory marked one of the greatest defeats suffered by the Portuguese on the Malabar Coast. The destruction of Chaliyam Fort reopened vital maritime routes, restored confidence among merchants, and reaffirmed that the Arabian Sea could not be controlled by foreign powers alone.
Zamorin’s vision transformed Calicut into one of the world's greatest trading ports, while his partnership with the Kunjali Marakkars created one of the earliest and most effective indigenous naval resistance movements against European colonial expansion. Together, the Zamorin's Nayar warriors and the Muslim seafarers of Malabar defended not merely a kingdom, but an entire maritime civilisation built upon trade, cooperation, and the freedom of the sea.
Kunjali Marakkars: Architects of Malabar's Naval Resistance
When the Portuguese sought to transform the Arabian Sea into their private empire, Malabar answered with a navy unlike any the Indian Ocean had ever witnessed. At its heart stood four generations of extraordinary commanders, remembered not by their family names but by a single title that became synonymous with courage—the Kunjali Marakkars. For nearly a century, from the arrival of Vasco da Gama in 1498 until the dawn of the seventeenth century, the Kunjali Marakkars stood as the foremost guardians of Malabar's maritime freedom, challenging one of the most powerful naval empires of the age.
The rise of the Marakkars was born from necessity. The Zamorin of Calicut possessed one of the wealthiest trading kingdoms in the Indian Ocean, but his military strength rested largely on the famous Nayar militia, a formidable land force with little experience in naval warfare. The Portuguese, however, attacked from the sea, bombarding ports, seizing merchant vessels, disrupting the spice trade, and attempting to monopolise maritime commerce. Protecting Malabar's coastline demanded a new kind of military leadership. From among the Muslim merchant-seafarers of Ponnani emerged Kutty Ahmed Ali Marakkar, who was appointed as the Zamorin's naval commander and honoured with the title Kunjali Marakkar. Thus began one of the greatest chapters in India's indigenous naval history.
Unlike the Portuguese, whose strength lay in heavily armed ocean-going carracks and powerful cannons, the Kunjali Marakkars mastered the geography of the Malabar Coast. They built fleets of small, swift vessels capable of navigating narrow estuaries, backwaters, and shallow coastal waters where large European ships could not guide. Their strategy depended on speed, surprise, intelligence, and intimate knowledge of tides, currents, and seasonal monsoon winds. Rather than seeking grand naval engagements in the open sea, they launched sudden attacks on Portuguese convoys, disrupted supply routes, captured merchant ships, and disappeared into the maze of rivers and lagoons before the enemy could retaliate. This innovative style of naval warfare transformed the Malabar coastline into hostile waters for the Portuguese.
The Kunjali Marakkars never fought alone. Their naval campaigns were inseparable from the military vision of the Zamorin of Calicut. While the Marakkars dominated the sea, the Zamorin's disciplined Nayar army controlled the land. Together, they forged one of the earliest examples of coordinated land-and-sea warfare in South Asia. This partnership reached its greatest triumph during the siege of Chaliyam Fort in 1571, where the combined assault of the Zamorin's Nayar forces and the Marakkar navy destroyed one of the Portuguese's strongest maritime fortifications.
- Hand-made drawing of the Portuguese Fort of Chaliyam, Calicut. (Image: Wikipedia)
Successive generations of the Marakkars expanded this naval legacy. Kunjali Marakkar II carried the struggle beyond Malabar, attacking Portuguese fleets along the Konkan Coast and the waters around Sri Lanka while protecting merchant shipping across the Arabian Sea. Kunjali Marakkar III strengthened the Zamorin's navy with larger vessels and artillery, making it a formidable maritime force capable of challenging European fleets more directly. Under his leadership, Portuguese naval supremacy along the Malabar Coast was repeatedly contested, proving that indigenous naval power could match European ambitions through tactical brilliance and local knowledge.
The final and perhaps most celebrated commander, Kunjali Marakkar IV, transformed the naval base at Kottakkal (Marakkar Kotta) into one of the strongest maritime headquarters in Malabar. Situated near the estuary of the Kuttiadi River, the fort enabled his fleet to monitor passing vessels and launch devastating surprise attacks before retreating into protected inland waters. Portuguese commanders came to fear these relentless raids, referring to the Marakkars as the "Pirates of Malabar," though in reality they were defenders of their homeland's maritime sovereignty against foreign colonial aggression.
- The Kunjali Marakkar Memorial erected by the Indian Navy at Kottakkal, Vadakara. (Image: Wikipedia)
Unable to overpower the Marakkars at sea, the Portuguese turned to diplomacy, intrigue, and political manipulation. Exploiting tensions within the Zamorin's court, they succeeded in isolating Kunjali Marakkar IV from his long-standing allies. In 1600, after a prolonged siege of Marakkar Kotta, he surrendered to the Zamorin under assurances of safety. Those assurances were betrayed. Handed over to the Portuguese, he was taken to Goa, where he was executed after refusing to abandon his principles. His death marked the end of the Marakkar naval command, but not the end of the legacy they had created.
Tuhfat al-Mujahidin: The Book that Armed Malabar's Maritime Resistance
Not every battle for the sea was fought with swords, cannons, or ships. Some were fought with ideas. At a time when Portuguese fleets dominated the Arabian Sea and sought to dismantle the centuries-old maritime order of Malabar, one scholar chose the pen as his weapon. That scholar was Sheikh Zainuddin Makhdum II, and his masterpiece, Tuhfat al-Mujahidin fi Ba'd Akhbar al-Burtughaliyyin ("A Gift to the Warriors concerning the Deeds of the Portuguese"), became one of the most influential works ever written on the naval resistance of the Malabar Coast.
The story of the Makhdum family itself was closely connected to Malabar's maritime world. Believed to have originated in Yemen, the family crossed the Arabian Sea and settled first in the Kannur region, where some of the earliest Portuguese attacks and resistance unfolded. Sheikh Zainuddin was born at his maternal home in Chempola (Mahe), received his early education in Ponnani, and later travelled across the Arabian Sea to Mecca for higher studies. On his return, he became a teacher at the Ponnani Juma Masjid, transforming the historic port town into one of the leading centres of Islamic scholarship and intellectual resistance in the Indian Ocean world. During the reign of Ali Adil Shah of Bijapur, to whom the work was dedicated, Sheikh Zainuddin completed Tuhfat al-Mujahidin in 1583.
- Tuhfat al-Mujahidin fi Ba'd Akhbar al-Burtughaliyyin (Image: Internet Archive)
Unlike many chronicles of its age, Tuhfat al-Mujahidin was written by a scholar who lived through the Portuguese expansion and witnessed its impact on the people of Malabar. Covering the period from 1498 to 1583, it provides one of the earliest indigenous accounts of Portuguese activities on the Malabar Coast while also presenting a vivid picture of Kerala's maritime society, its ports, merchants, rulers, and the cultural coexistence that had flourished through centuries of Indian Ocean trade.
It describes the principal harbours of Malabar, the arrival of Arab merchants, the flourishing spice trade, and the maritime policies of rulers such as the Zamorin and the Ali Rajas of Kannur. It vividly narrates the emergence of the Kunjali Marakkars, whose swift naval tactics transformed the struggle against the Portuguese into one of the earliest examples of organised naval resistance in the Indian Ocean. Among the most dramatic episodes recorded in the work is the capture of Chaliyam Portuguese Fort in 1571, where the combined Nair and Muslim forces of the Zamorin overran the Portuguese stronghold. The fall and demolition of this strategically important fort dealt a severe blow to Portuguese naval dominance and restored control over one of the most vital maritime gateways of Malabar.
Yet Tuhfat al-Mujahidin was more than a historical record—it was a call to defend the sea. Sheikh Zainuddin believed that the struggle against the Portuguese was not simply about commerce, but about protecting the freedom of navigation, the security of coastal communities, and the maritime traditions that had connected Malabar with Arabia, Africa, and Asia for centuries. Through his writings, he inspired rulers, merchants, and seafaring communities to unite in safeguarding the Indian Ocean from colonial domination. His words strengthened the ideological foundations of the resistance that inspired the Kunjali Marakkars, supported the Zamorin's naval campaigns, and reinforced the maritime alliances that defined sixteenth-century Malabar.
Centuries later, it is one of the earliest indigenous histories of Kerala's maritime world, preserving the voices of those who defended Malabar's ports, protected its shipping lanes, and challenged one of the greatest naval empires of the early modern world.
Fath-ul Mubeen: The Poem that Celebrated Malabar's Naval Triumph
“Al Fath-ul Mubeen li-Samiri al-ladhi Yuhibbul Muslimin” (‘The Victory of the Zamorin of Calicut, Benevolent of Muslims’) is the celebrated Arabic war poem composed by Qazi Muhammad I ibn Abdul Azeez. Written towards the end of the sixteenth century, this masterpiece of 537 verses is one of the earliest literary works in India to commemorate organised resistance against European colonial expansion. More than a poem, it is an eyewitness tribute to one of the greatest naval victories in the history of the Malabar Coast—the capture of the Portuguese fort at Chaliyam.
For the Portuguese, Chaliyam was far more than a military outpost. Standing at the entrance to the waterways of Kozhikode, it occupied one of the most strategic maritime locations on the Malabar Coast. Recognising its immense commercial and naval importance, the Portuguese secured permission to construct a fort there, hoping to tighten their control over Malabar's sea routes and strengthen their monopoly over Indian Ocean commerce.
Yet the sea had always belonged to those who understood its rhythms. Under the leadership of the Zamorin of Kozhikode, a united force of Nair and Muslim warriors, supported by Malabar's maritime communities, laid siege to the Portuguese stronghold. After years of determined resistance, the fort finally fell in 1571. The destruction of Chaliyam Fort marked a decisive turning point in the struggle for control of the Arabian Sea, reopening one of the most important maritime gateways of Malabar and dealing a severe blow to Portuguese naval ambitions.
Qazi Muhammad himself had direct connections with the conflict, and his poem carries the vividness of an eyewitness account. Through eloquent verses, he praised the courage of the Zamorin, who, despite not being a Muslim ruler, stood firmly beside the Muslim merchant communities in defending Malabar's maritime freedom. He also honoured the bravery of the Nair and Muslim soldiers who fought together against the Portuguese, presenting the victory at Chaliyam as a triumph born from unity rather than division.
- New printing of 'Fath-ul Mubeen' (Image: Amazon)
The poem goes beyond the battlefield to reveal the larger struggle unfolding across the Indian Ocean. It recounts how the Portuguese arrived as traders but gradually sought to dominate the spice trade, destroy established Arab merchant networks, impose their authority over maritime commerce, and use fortified ports to control the movement of ships along the Malabar Coast. Against this expanding naval empire, Fath-ul Mubeen proclaimed that the defence of the sea was inseparable from the defence of Malabar's ports, merchants, and centuries-old traditions of maritime exchange.
Qazi Muhammad deliberately composed the work in Arabic. He hoped that rulers, scholars, merchants, and sailors across the Indian Ocean world would learn of the courage shown on the Malabar Coast and recognise the importance of resisting Portuguese domination. His poem was therefore not merely a celebration of victory; it was a message carried across the sea, seeking solidarity among the wider maritime world.
Today, Fath-ul Mubeen remains one of the finest literary witnesses to Malabar's naval heritage.
New Empires: The Dutch, the British, and the Last Maritime Stand of Arakkal
By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Portuguese monopoly over the Indian Ocean was beginning to weaken. Sensing an opportunity, another European power appeared on the horizon—the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Unlike the Portuguese, who arrived with a strong religious and military agenda, the Dutch were driven primarily by commerce. They first reached Kannur in 1604 and soon entered into diplomatic relations with the rulers of Malabar, including the Zamorin of Kozhikode. As their influence expanded across the Indian Ocean, they captured Portuguese strongholds one after another, and with the fall of Kochi in 1663, the Portuguese era on the Malabar Coast effectively came to an end.
The Arakkal Kingdom initially welcomed the Dutch as potential trading partners. The 33rd Arakkal Adiraja entered into a treaty with them, hoping to preserve the flourishing maritime commerce of Kannur. Yet commercial friendship soon gave way to conflict. When Dutch ambitions threatened Arakkal's control over regional trade, the alliance collapsed. The Arakkal navy confronted the Dutch in battle, defeating their forces and reportedly inflicting heavy casualties. The victory reaffirmed that the seas around Kannur were still defended by a kingdom that had mastered maritime warfare over centuries.
Even before the Dutch had consolidated their influence, another European power had begun its journey toward India. The English East India Company arrived on the western coast in the early seventeenth century and gradually extended its interests southwards to Malabar. Establishing trading centres at Valapattanam and later at Thalassery, the English sought to strengthen their commercial presence along the spice coast. Relations with the Arakkal Kingdom soon became strained. A dispute over taxes developed into military confrontation, resulting in the temporary loss of Dharmmadom Island. Yet the setback was short-lived. Under the leadership of the 34th Arakkal Adiraja, the island was recaptured in 1683, once again demonstrating the kingdom's determination to defend its territorial and maritime interests.
A remarkable turning point came in 1772 when St. Angelo's Fort, originally built by the Portuguese and later occupied by the Dutch, passed into the hands of the Arakkal Kingdom. Despite financial challenges in completing the purchase, the acquisition represented far more than the ownership of a fort. It symbolized the return of one of Malabar's most strategic naval strongholds to indigenous rule. The Arakkal Beevi strengthened the kingdom's military establishment, reorganised its administrative system, and transformed the fort into the centre of her maritime power.
The closing decades of the eighteenth century witnessed the remarkable leadership of Junuma Beebi II, one of the most determined rulers in the history of the Arakkal dynasty. Rejecting Dutch demands for additional payment for the fort, she argued that they possessed no legitimate claim over a fortress originally built by the Portuguese. At the same time, she forged a close alliance with the Kingdom of Mysore under Hyder Ali, recognising that the growing ambitions of the English East India Company posed the greatest threat to Malabar's independence.
The alliance soon moved beyond diplomacy. During one naval expedition towards Valapattanam, the Arakkal fleet encountered the English warship ‘Superb’. In a striking demonstration of naval skill, the Arakkal forces overwhelmed the vessel, captured its officers and crew, and destroyed the ship—an episode remembered as one of the kingdom's greatest victories against the English at sea. After the death of Hyder Ali, the Arakkal rulers continued to stand beside Tipu Sultan, providing military and naval support during the Anglo-Mysore Wars in defence of Malabar's sovereignty.
Yet history was turning against the maritime kingdoms of the coast. The Treaty of 1784 between Tipu Sultan and the English East India Company brought a temporary end to Mysore's campaigns, leaving the Arakkal Kingdom increasingly isolated. With Travancore and Kochi already under British influence, Kannur emerged as one of the last significant centres of resistance on the Malabar Coast. Recognising the strategic importance of the Arakkal Kingdom, the English launched a major military campaign from the Madras and Bombay Presidencies to capture Kannur. The struggle that followed marked the beginning of the decline of one of the greatest naval powers in the history of the Indian Ocean. Even in its final years, the Arakkal Kingdom remained true to the legacy that had earned its rulers the title "Kings of the Sea."
The Uru: The Vessel that Shaped Malabar's Maritime Legacy
The Uru, the magnificent wooden vessel that became the backbone of Malabar's overseas trade and one of the finest examples of indigenous shipbuilding in the Indian Ocean. Among the many maritime traditions that define the history of Malabar, none survives today with the same continuity and authenticity as the making of the Uru—the magnificent handcrafted wooden vessel of Beypore. Here, one of the world's oldest living shipbuilding traditions continues much as it did centuries ago.
The story of the Uru is inseparable from Beypore, the ancient estuarine port at the mouth of the Chaliyar River in present-day Kozhikode district. From the early centuries of the Common Era, Beypore welcomed Roman, Arab, Chinese, and later European traders, evolving into one of the busiest maritime centres on the Malabar Coast.
Nature itself favoured Beypore's rise. Situated where the Chaliyar River meets the Arabian Sea, the port provided a naturally sheltered harbour ideal for constructing large ocean-going ships. Even more importantly, the river connected the coast to the rich forests of Nilambur in the Western Ghats. Massive logs of teak and other hardwoods were floated downstream on timber rafts, supplying the shipyards with some of the world's finest construction material. Few maritime centres possessed such a perfect combination of forests, rivers, skilled craftsmen, and direct access to the sea.
Among these resources, Malabar teak became legendary. Strong, durable, naturally resistant to seawater, and capable of enduring long voyages, it was highly prized throughout the Indian Ocean. Arab merchants, whose homeland lacked large forests suitable for shipbuilding, recognised the superiority of Kerala's timber and increasingly commissioned their vessels from the craftsmen of Beypore. This decision transformed Beypore into one of the most important traditional shipbuilding centres in the eastern world.
For generations, merchants from Hadhramaut in Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and other Gulf regions travelled to Beypore to commission their vessels. The Urus they ordered became trusted carriers of spices, timber, textiles, rice, and pilgrims across the Indian Ocean. The fourteenth-century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta described the thriving ports and commercial activity of the region, while the Italian traveller Ludovico di Varthema admired the remarkable skills of Malabar's shipbuilders during the early sixteenth century. Even the Portuguese, despite their military conflicts with the Zamorins, recognised the expertise of local shipwrights and established shipbuilding activities at nearby Chaliyam during the early sixteenth century.
- Arabs commissioned dhows from the Chaliyam Uru Shipyard (Image: Dhow Museum, Kozhikode)
Although Beypore eventually became synonymous with the Uru, it was not the only shipbuilding centre on the Malabar Coast. Ports such as Ponnani and Kannur also produced large wooden trading vessels. Beypore alone continued the craft uninterrupted, preserving one of the world's oldest living shipbuilding traditions.
The knowledge is transmitted entirely through apprenticeship, observation, and practical experience, making the Uru one of the world's finest surviving examples of intangible maritime heritage. The craftsmen of Beypore continue to build several traditional varieties of wooden dhow, including the Boom, Sambook, Bagala, and Jalbooth. While these ships once carried the wealth of Malabar across the Indian Ocean, today's commissions largely serve as luxury yachts, heritage vessels, and tourism projects.
Yet the centuries-old relationship with the Arab world continues. Most modern commissions still come from Gulf countries, demonstrating that Beypore's reputation remains undiminished. The vessel presently under construction has been commissioned by the distinguished Al-Kuwari family of Qatar, following earlier projects completed for the Al-Sada family. Although their purpose has changed, these vessels continue to symbolize the enduring maritime friendship between Malabar and the Arabian Peninsula.
Ezhimala Naval Academy: The Continuing Naval and Maritime Legacy of Malabar
The story of the Indian Navy is rooted in India's long relationship with the sea. Long before the emergence of the modern naval force, Indian kingdoms, coastal communities, merchants and sailors were deeply connected to the Indian Ocean. From the maritime traditions of the Cholas in the east to the naval power of the Zamorins and the resistance of the Kunjali Marakkars on the Malabar Coast, the sea has always been an important arena of commerce, diplomacy and conflict.
The modern Indian Navy emerged through a much longer institutional journey. Its origins can be traced to the maritime forces of the East India Company, established in the early seventeenth century to protect maritime commerce. This force evolved through several stages under British rule before becoming the Royal Indian Navy in 1934. Following Independence in 1947, it became the foundation of India's independent naval service, and on 26 January 1950, with India becoming a Republic, it formally became the Indian Navy.
From these beginnings, the Indian Navy developed into a modern maritime force, taking part in major national operations and assuming an expanding role in India's maritime security and interests.
And few places express this continuity as powerfully as Ezhimala. On the northern coast of Kerala, overlooking the Arabian Sea, rises the historic landscape of Ezhimala. Long before the arrival of the modern Indian Navy, these hills and their surrounding coastline were part of the maritime world of northern Malabar. Associated with the ancient Mooshika kingdom, Ezhimala stood within a region connected to the wider networks of trade and navigation that made the Malabar Coast one of the important maritime regions of the Indian Ocean. Centuries later, this same landscape would become home to one of India's most important institutions of naval education—the Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala.
- Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala (Image: Alpaha Lead)
The choice of Ezhimala was not accidental. Its location on the Arabian Sea, its extensive coastal landscape and its proximity to the historic maritime centres of northern Kerala provided an ideal setting for a national institution dedicated to preparing the next generation of naval officers.
The story of the academy began in the late twentieth century, when the Government of India sought a permanent and suitably equipped location for naval training. In 1979, the Government approved the development of a new Naval Academy campus, and Ezhimala was selected as the site. The Government of Kerala extended support for the development of the project, including land and essential infrastructure.
The foundation stone was laid in 1987. The transformation of Ezhimala was gradually taking shape—not merely as a military campus, but as a vast institution designed to prepare young men and women for the demanding responsibilities of naval service.
In 2005, INS Zamorin was commissioned. The name itself carries an important historical resonance. The Zamorins of Calicut were among the most powerful maritime rulers of medieval Malabar, and their history is inseparable from the sea.
Then, on 8 January 2009, a new chapter formally began. The Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala was inaugurated, establishing the academy as a major centre for the training of future officers of the Indian Navy.
City Heritage’s Three-Year Journey with the Cadets of Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala
Today, the Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala stands in one of the most remarkable maritime landscapes of Kerala—between the historic Ezhimala hills and the Kavvayi backwaters, overlooking the Arabian Sea. It is a place where young men and women prepare to become officers of the Indian Navy, carrying forward India’s maritime responsibilities into the future.
Yet outside the academy's gates lies another kind of classroom—the maritime landscape of Malabar. The Arabian Sea that forms the western boundary of the academy is the same sea across which Arab merchants sailed for centuries. The monsoon winds that once guided merchant vessels continue to define the character of the region. The ports, shipyards and coastal settlements of Malabar preserve memories of the people who built, navigated and defended vessels long before modern naval technology transformed maritime warfare. This makes Ezhimala uniquely placed within India's naval heritage.
It is within this historic landscape that City Heritage has developed a three-year association with the cadets of the Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala. For the past three years, City Heritage has been leading heritage explorations for INA cadets, taking them beyond the conventional boundaries of classroom-based learning and introducing them to the naval and maritime heritage of Malabar.
- Cadets of the Indian Naval Academy visit the historic Mishkal Mosque in Calicut with City Heritage
These explorations are not designed simply as sightseeing programmes. They are journeys of interpretation—an opportunity for future naval officers to encounter the sea through the stories of the people, places and communities that have shaped Malabar's maritime history.
A historic port becomes more than an old settlement. It becomes evidence of the commercial networks that once connected the Malabar Coast with the wider Indian Ocean. A traditional Uru at Beypore becomes more than a wooden vessel. It reveals generations of indigenous knowledge, craftsmanship, navigation and maritime technology. An old mosque, trading quarter or coastal settlement becomes a window into the communities of merchants and sailors who crossed the Arabian Sea and made Malabar part of a wider world. And the stories of the Zamorins and the Kunjali Marakkars bring the cadets closer to the region's own traditions of naval power, maritime resistance and defence of the coast.
Through storytelling, observation and direct engagement with heritage sites, the landscape itself becomes an extended classroom. The cadets encounter maritime history not as a collection of dates and events, but as something embedded in streets, ports, workshops, buildings, rivers and the living traditions of coastal communities.
- Cadets of the Indian Naval Academy visit the historic St. Angelo Fort in Kannur with City Heritage
For the cadets, this creates a meaningful connection between the Navy they are preparing to serve and the maritime heritage of the land in which they are being trained. For City Heritage, the association represents something equally important. It reflects a core belief that heritage becomes more meaningful when it is experienced, interpreted and connected to the present.
From the ancient maritime traditions of the Indian subcontinent to the naval power of the Zamorins; from the resistance of the Kunjali Marakkars to the colonial maritime forces; from the Royal Indian Navy to the modern Indian Navy—the story has never truly ended. It has continued to evolve.
City Heritage’s role is to make that continuity visible—to connect the cadets with the maritime history of the land, and to show how the heritage of Malabar continues to speak to those preparing to shape India's maritime future.
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