During Neolithic times, humans largely avoided Kerala's malarial rainforests and wetlands; though, earliest specific mention of the Kerala is in Sanskrit epic Aitareya Aranyaka. Katayana (4th cent. BC) & Patanjali (2nd cent. BC) also show; thus, the first evidence of habitation—potsherds and dolmens—dates to the 10th century BC.[2] These were produced by speakers of the Tamil language from north-western India, suggesting that ancient Kerala and Tamil Nadu (part of Tamilakam) once shared a common language, ethnicity, and culture. By the early 14th century, Kerala had become a linguistically distinct region. The first major recorded kingdom, the Chera, ruled Kerala from Vanchi. Allied with the Pallavas, they warred against the Chola and Pandya kingdoms. A Keralite identity—distinct from the Tamils and associated with the second Chera empire and the development of Malayalam—evolved during the 8th–14th centuries. In written records, Kerala was first mentioned in the Sanskrit epic Aitareya Aranyaka. Later, figures such as Katyayana, Patanjali, Pliny the Elder,[3] and the unknown author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea displayed familiarity with Kerala.
The Chera kings' dependence on trade meant that merchants from West Asia established coastal posts and settlements in Kerala.[4] Many—especially Jews and Christians—also escaped persecution, establishing the Nasrani Mappila[5] and Muslim Mappila communities. According to several scholars, the Jews first arrived in Kerala in 573 BC.[6][7] The works of scholars and Eastern Christian writings states that Thomas the Apostle visited Muziris in Kerala in 52 CE to proselytize amongst Kerala's Jewish settlements.[8] However, the first verifiable migration of Jewish-Nasrani families to Kerala is of the arrival of Knai Thoma in 345 CE. Muslim merchants settled in Kerala by the 8th century CE. After Vasco Da Gama's arrival in 1498, the Portuguese sought to control the lucrative pepper trade by subduing Keralite communities and commerce.
Conflicts between the cities of Kozhikode (Calicut) and Kochi (Cochin) allowed the Dutch to oust the Portuguese. In turn, the Dutch were ousted at the 1741 Battle of Colachel by Marthanda Varma of Travancore (Thiruvathaamkoor). Meanwhile, Mysore’s Hyder Ali conquered northern Kerala, capturing Kozhikode in 1766. In the late 18th century, Tipu Sultan—Ali’s son and successor—launched campaigns against the expanding British East India Company; these resulted in two of the four Anglo-Mysore Wars. He ultimately ceded Malabar District and South Kanara to the Company in the 1790s. The Company then forged tributary alliances with Kochi (1791) and Travancore (1795). Meanwhile, Malabar and South Kanara became part of the Madras Presidency.
Kerala saw comparatively little defiance of the British Raj—nevertheless, several rebellions occurred, including the 1946 Punnapra-Vayalar revolt.[9] Many actions, spurred by such leaders as Sree Narayana Guru and Chattampi Swamikal, instead protested such conditions as untouchability; notable was the 1924 Vaikom Satyagraham. In 1936, Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma of Travancore issued the Temple Entry Proclamation that opened Hindu temples to all castes; Cochin and Malabar soon did likewise. In 1921, sectarian violence erupted in Kerala, with conflicts between militant Muslims on one hand and Hindus and the British Raj government on the other. The conflict became known as the Moplah Rebellion.
After India's independence in 1947, Travancore and Cochin were merged to form Travancore-Cochin on July 1, 1949. On January 1, 1950 (Republic Day), Travancore-Cochin was recognised as a state. Meanwhile, the Madras Presidency became Madras State in 1947. Finally, the Government of India's November 1, 1956 States Reorganisation Act inaugurated a new state—Kerala—incorporating Malabar District, Travancore-Cochin (excluding 4 southern Taluks which were merged with Tamil Nadu), and the taluk of Kasargod, South Kanara.[10] A new Legislative Assembly was also created, for which elections were held in 1957. These resulted in a communist-led government[10]—one of the world's earliest[11]—headed by E.M.S. Namboodiripad. Subsequent social reforms favoured tenants and labourers.[12][13] This facilitated, among other things, improvements in living standards, education, and life expectancy. |
