Tema: Portuguese India

THE PORTUGUESE IN COCHIN

Written by Marco Ramerini
The city of Cochin (today: Ernakulam) was, from the 24 December 1500 when the first Portuguese fleet called on its port, a firm ally of the Portuguese. The admiral of this fleet was Pedro Alvares Cabral (the discoverer of Brasil). The Rajah (king) of Cochin allowed that a "feitoria" (factory) be allocated to the Portuguese and upon Cabral’s departure he allowed that thirty Portuguese and four Franciscan friars stayed in Cochin.
In 1502 a new expedition under the command of Vasco da Gama arrived at Cochin, and the friendship with the Rajah of Cochin was renewed. After the departure of Vasco da Gama, the Zamorin of Calicut, enemy of the Portuguese, attacked Cochin and destroyed the Portuguese "feitoria".
The Rajah of Cochin and his Portuguese allies were forced to withdraw to the island of Vypin. Here, they were reinforced by three ships under Francisco de Albuquerque’s leadership and, some days later by Duarte Pacheco Pereira (the author of "Esmeraldo de situ orbis") an the Calicut troops immediately abandoned the siege.
In 27 September of 1503 the foundations of a timber fortress were laid. This was the first fortress erected by the Portuguese in India.
At the departure of the Portuguese fleet to Portugal, Duarte Pacheco Pereira with three ships and 100 men were left in Cochin for assistance to the Rajah. Meanwhile, the Zamorin of Calicut formed a force of 50.000 men and 280 ships to drive the Portuguese out of Cochin. Duarte Pacheco Pereira was in command of only 100 Portuguese, 300 Malabar troops and about 5.000 soldiers of the King of Cochin (and the majority of these deserted).



Pereira was a formidable commander. For five months, he and his men were able to sustain and drive back all the Zamorin’s assaults. He saved Portugal from being driven out of India. After this victory, Pereira returned to Portugal, and the King paid him the highest honours. However, subsequently he was to be imprisoned on charges, which were afterwards proven to be false. Later, he became Governor of the castle of São Jorge da Mina (1519-1522) in the Gold Coast. He ended his days in obscure poverty.
In 1505, a stone fortress replaced the wooden fortress of Cochin. The first church of Cochin was that of São Bartolomeu built in 1504. In 1506, the construction of Santa Cruz church (which gave its name to the Portuguese town) was initiated. A parish church called Madre de Deus was laid in 1510. In 1550, the Jesuits added a large three storied college to the church.
For a better defence of the town, a fort called "Castelo de Cima" was built on Vypeen island at Paliport. In 1510, Afonso de Albuquerque started a school (a Portuguese "casado" Afonso Alvares was the teacher) but after his death it closed down. However, the Franciscans started a new school in 1520. They built a friary (Santo Antonio) (1518-1520), a seminary and the beautiful church dedicated to São Francisco de Assis (1516-1522). Vasco da Gama was originally buried in it on Christmas eve of 1524. The floor of this church was paved with tombstones, which, in 1887, were removed and fixed in its walls, where there are still today. This church is a living historical monument of today’s Cochin.
At the beginning of XVI century, Cochin was the seat of the Portuguese in India. Including during the capture of Goa in 1510. The transfer of the capital of Portuguese India to Goa finally took place in 1530. In 1557, the palace of the King at Mattancheri was built. This palace after the VOC (Dutch East India Company) conquest of Cochin (1663) was enlarged by the Dutch and is known today as the "Dutch Palace". In 1558 the diocese of Cochin was erected and the Santa Cruz church became the cathedral. The old city of Cochin was called "Cochin de Cima" (today Mattancherry) and was situated on an island of a canal. The Portuguese town was called "Cochin de Baixo" or "Santa Cruz".
In the 1630s its population was of 500 "casados" (of these 300 were Portuguese or Eurasians, the other being Christian Indians). The town had a city council ("câmara"), a cathedral, a custom-house, a "Confraria da Misericordia" (1527), a Jewish synagogue (1568), five parish churches and several convents. The town was partly encircled by walls with several ramparts. Right after Goa, the city of Cochin situated in the center of East Indies, was the best place Portugal had in India. From there the Portuguese exported large volumes of spices, particularly pepper.
Therefore the Dutch set their eyes on Cochin and after the occupation of Ceylon in 1658, they tried to conquer Malabar. They took Quilon on 29 December 1658, but the Portuguese reconquered it on 14 April 1659. However, in 1661, the Dutch began a new expedition against the Portuguese settlements in Malabar, on 16 February they captured the fort of Pallipuram (near Cochin).
Another Dutch expedition under Ryckloff Van Goens conquered Quilon on 24 December 1661 and on 15 January 1662 Cranganore was also taken. Soon after, on 5 February 1662, the Dutch began their assault on Cochin but encountering heroic Portuguese resistance, after one month, abandoned the siege.
They came back on November 1662 and surrounded Cochin by all sides. For three months, the Portuguese resisted but, finally, on 7 January 1663, they surrendered the city. The terms of the capitulation were that all the unmarried Portuguese residents were returned to Europe, and all married Portuguese and Mestiços were transferred to Goa. On the morning of 8 January 1663, the soldiers and citizens came out of the fort and laid down their arms and the Dutch took possession thereof. The last governor of Portuguese Cochin was Inácio Sarmento. About four thousand people, so was said, were the banished.

The Portuguese church of Sao Francisco de Asis, here was originally buried Vasco da Gama

Original grave of Vasco da Gama, St. Francis in Old Cochin, Kochi, India

Interior of the church of St. Francis in Old Cochin, Kochi, India

Another Portuguese church in Cochin

Another Portuguese church in Cochin

Old print of Cochin

Portuguese forts and settlements in South-India

Portuguese Cochin and environs

Portuguese in Cochin (Kochi), India