Kodungallur

Kodungallur stands near the Periyar estuary on the Malabar coast, a region associated with the ancient port of Muziris. Ships from the Roman world once reached this coast in search of pepper and other goods. In later centuries the port, known to Europeans as Cranganore, was home to Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities as well as Hindu rulers and merchants. Its waterways joined the sea to the settlements and spice-producing country inland.

When the Portuguese arrived, the Zamorin of Calicut and the ruler of Cochin disputed control of the area. The Portuguese allied with Cochin and established themselves at Cranganore from 1502, seeking a share of the pepper trade. A fortified house guarded their position, and a larger fort was built near the river mouth in the 1520s. The estuary became a scene of repeated fighting between Portuguese forces and the Zamorin’s allies. In 1662 the Dutch captured Cranganore, ending Portuguese rule there. The changing fortunes of the fort reflect the wider struggle for Malabar’s ports, while the older trading communities remained part of the coast’s rich religious and commercial history.