Historic Alleys

The Malabaris of the Kalapani

The TSS Maharaja, a ship built in 1879 was on a slightly different route this time. It went south to Madras, with it usual load of Bengali and Punjabi convicts, together with inanimate provisions and mail loaded from the EIC and the P&T in Calcutta. At Madras, it loaded a motley group of confused souls, clothed in no more than dirty single dhotis and small bundles of belongings. They were mainly the Moplah convicts being moved out of Bellary. These convicts were consigned to the hot lower decks and the onboard jails, where they lounged for a day as the ship cut through the serene blue waters of the Bay of Bengal. The Moplahs were not sure where they were going, rumors were wild, some said Botany bay, some said Singapore, some felt it was Mauritius, many others were sure it was to the black waters – the Kala Pani, a place that had such a sinister reputation as a place of no return. Some of their lot were put in the prisoner cages, while others were asked to sit and lie on the floors or empty bunks. The Maharaja chugged along, the weather held good, heading to the destination - the port between the 92nd and 94th meridian E, and between 6th and 14th North – the penal colony of Port Blair - Andaman and Nicobar islands. Yes, they were headed to the Kala Pani.



TSS Maharaja

Lower deck accomodations

We are now at Andaman & Nicobar Islands, where in ancient epics, it is mentioned Hanumanji took a breather during his leap across to Lanka from the abode of Sugriva and his tribe. In fact the name Andaman, is associated with Handuman or hanuman… the Andamans – is a series of scenic tropical islands mentioned by early travelers and writers such as Sulaiman, Buzurg and Ptolemy, later by Marco Polo, an abode to naked man eaters in their mind, now a vast archipelago of 572 islands in the Bay of Bengal. It is a popular tourist destination these days, but once upon a time, it was also a home for political prisoners, for rebels and a place abhorred by the occupants, where many were wasted by disease. That was kalapani..a place from where there was no return…A penal colony established by the British late in the 18th century, briefly occupied by the Japanese, where Bose made a visit to unfurl an INA flag, before finally forming part of the Indian union. It hides many stories and mysteries, and is also home to a Moplah community who were displaced from Ernad and replaced there. These were the people who elected to remain in the Kalapani, people who still talk in the old Moplah dialect of Malayalam, somewhat frozen in time…



Moplah prisoners - Malabar

The story of the movement of people to Andaman is a sad and cruel one; especially the initial century of its existence, as Andaman was to serve as the English Penal colony for Indians who acted against them. The English had chosen isolation to be a part of incarceration and in early days many a white convict was transported to Australia. As far as the Indians were concerned, the Andaman islands and the Hijli camp (near Kharagpur) were particularly infamous and followed the earlier days when they were sent to Singapore and a few other places like Botany bay in Australia, where they were tasked with clean up as well as hard labor (some even say that ‘klings’ is a derogatory usage for Indians that came from that period due to the sound of the chains that Indian convicts wore). Interestingly, the aspect of isolation was arrived at as people abhorred the prospect of back breaking labor in faraway places from which there was no return (for lifers), especially in the case of Hindu middle class caste conscious political prisoners not used to work or doing things like crossing the black waters or Kala Pani, against the tenets of early religious texts (see my article on ocean crossing taboo).

The transfer of settlers started after the British established a colony to secure the eastern seaways in 1789, but due to the difficulties in maintaining it and curbing disease and death, it was closed in 1796. For the next 60 years, it was back to where it was - an isolated island. In 1857, after the sepoy mutiny, it was reopened due to the large numbers of political prisoners and jail overcrowding. After 1858, the events took a swift course, and a penal colony was built with prisoners being dealt with on a 3rd class category or lower and as self sufficient as possible without any drain on the state. Capt Walker and his successors set a stiff pace, which wore down even the strongest of convicts when it came to clearing land and forests and driving the Andamanese out of their meager settlements. But it was not too bad after the initial work, some of the reformed were promoted to 2nd class and allowed to settle outdoors as well, and news trickled back home that it was not too bad. When prisoners now started to opt to go to the Andamans, the administration got alarmed and decided to tighten things up and make it a tougher place to live. That was why the cellular jail was built for the non self supporters, for the worst criminals.

The star fish shaped cellular Jail at Port Blair when completed in 1910 included 698 cells designed based on the madras close prisons, for solitary confinement; each cell measured 4.5 m (15 ft) by 2.7 m (9 ft) with a single ventilation window 3 metres (10 ft) above the floor. The prisoners referred to the Island and its prison as "Kala Pani" (Black waters) mainly due to the remote possibility of return and because of the difficulties in survival. Even those who made it back were wasted by malaria and various other diseases and trauma of isolation and confinement. The tenure included 6 months of solitary confinement, next 4 ½ years of gang labor, five years of paid labor, and the last 10-15 years as a self supporter, setting up his own home (assisted by the state) after which he could return. Women convicts had a three year sentence, after which they could marry locally or return after 15 years or when their husband’s term was completed. The early years were tough for the convicts, mainly political prisoners, they were treated badly by a sadistic overseer named David Barry and their lives were pretty miserable, many regretted that they were born even.

All the convicts were made to carry out hard labor, mainly related to cleaning up the islands and creating new facilities. As you will note, a large number died in this effort, supposedly in the thousands, due to harsh treatment and diseases. It is said that the name, "cellular jail", was derived from solitary cells which prevented any prisoner from communicating with each other as they were all interred in solitary confinement. The lives of the prisoners were manly reconstructed from the letters they sent home, written by themselves or by scribes. I have not been able to access the Moplah letters, though Murali’s blog mentions details of their existence, but I have to make do for now without them.

By 1912, news got out into the newspapers of the inhuman treatment and the prisoners decided to revolt, by going on hunger strikes. Jail reformation started quickly and things started to look a little better. Many women prisoners were brought back, and clothing as well as permission to cook one’s own food was given by 1914-16. It was at this juncture that the Moplah rebellion started and by 1921 many thousands were interred at jails North of Malabar. Again overcrowding of jails meant that many had to be transported, where to but Andaman?

The Moplah rebellion or outbreaks is a long story but I had given a short summary earlier. So let us continue from the Conolly death which I wrote about in detail, and with a time stamp of Sept 15th 1955.


Maharaja - Lower deck prison cells

The British reaction was forceful and with a firm intent to stop the Moplah problem. Collector Clarke was clear about taking strong handed action. The emergency act was applied and many prisoners were taken, many died, many were sent to other prison camps like Cannanore and Bellary. Some were released, some languished and a few were transported to Andamans and places like Botany Bay – Australia. Heavy fines were imposed on them and their villages as well. Slowly the land tried a return to the pre Mysorean situation. Finally things boiled over, post Khilafat movement in 1921 (a subject that is better explained in many books on the subject) and major outbreaks, also classified as rebellions, took place in Malabar. The British retaliation was severe. Some 252 were executed; many lost their lives in the rioting and close to 4500 were imprisoned at Bellary. But there were facilities for only 1500 in that camp and as a result, a decision was taken (Hitchcock seems to have promoted the idea) to transfer a good number to Andamans. In addition a final solution or the Mappila scheme was planned to transport even more Moplahs to Andaman, but due to fierce resistance by the Indian national congress, the plan was dropped in 1925.

The TSS Maharajah docked at Port Blair and discharged the passengers. It was April 1922. At first sight, it was no different from the weather of Malabar, hot humid and full of greenery. The convicts were not taken aback, but they were yet to see the Cellular jail. Initially the cellular jail housed many convicts from the North and a few Moplahs from earlier Moplah outbreaks as they are termed, but the larger Moplah transfer started after the 1921 riots in Malabar. The stories from the cellular jail are many, but we will concentrate on the people from Malabar who ended up in Andaman and their life thereafter. This article mainly concerns the Moplah convicts sent to Andamans and not really about the others, who have been covered in detail in a few books.

This was a period when a few different types of rebels were transferred to Andaman, there were the Wahabi movement convicts, those convicted of the Rumpa revolt of Andhra and those from the Tharawady rebellion of Burma. The first batch of prisoners consisting of 160 convicts disembarked at Port Blair on 22 April 1922. A very interesting fact is that the very first batch of Moplah prisoners included a Nambudri and four Nairs as well!!

Richards replying Simpson in the British parliament during 1924 stated thus - In July last there were in all 1,235 Moplahs in the Andamans—all in Port Blair. Seventy-two were in the cellular jail, 12 in the adolescent gang, 40 agriculturists and self-supporters, and the rest in convict barracks. There were no special arrangements for segrating Moplahs from association with other convicts. They were treated like others, except that the initial period of cellular confinement was frequently shortened. The Government are willing to settle any who desire to stay, with or without their families; with this object agricultural and other tickets are issued freely, and the families of all who ask for them are sent to the islands at Government expense. Up to July, one family—a wife and four children—had been settled, and the settlement of three more was expected shortly.

In reality, except for the first few lots of Malabar prisoners who had to spend little time at the cellular jail, the others were luckier and had shorter solitary terms. In all about 1133 prisoners were transported from Malabar to Port Blair. By 1926 out of 1,133 Moplah convicts in the Andamans, 379 had been given the status of self- supporters. The British government had meanwhile abolished the penal colony and renamed it as a voluntary settlement. Wives and relatives were provided fares to travel; self supporters were allowed not to wear uniforms. They were also allowed to celebrate festivals, build places for worship etc.

In the first official report, there were 1302 out of which 90 had died, 79 had returned to the mainland, resulting in the 1133 out of which 754 were laboring convicts and 379 self supporters. The figures of Moplahs transported were thus 1133, which increased to 1885 by 1932.

Another report summarized the situation in 1932, thus - The Moplah were a group of 1885 Muslims from Kerala, who had fought in the Malabar rebellion against the colonial regime and Hindu landlords (Dhingra, 2005:161). They were brought to the Andamans for rehabilitation between 1921-6 and settled on agricultural land (Mukhopadhyay, C., 2002: 29). Under the circumstances of their settlement, they were given the possibility to practice their religion and to reconstruct a certain part of cultural traits from their homelands. They still speak a dialect of Malayalam, which, according to some interlocutors, is clearly reminiscent of their region in the 1920s. The Moplah are today the biggest Muslim community in the islands. The deportation began in February 1922 and continued till 1926. According to the census of 1931, there were 1885 Moplahs, of whom 1171 were males and 714 female. According to varying reports, around 2500 persons were deported here. Moplahs, who started as prisoners, planned to stay back even after the expiry of their sentences and brought their families from Kerala. They built villages and contributed their might for the development of these Islands.

The Mappila convicts on the whole are contended and most of them have resigned themselves to their fate, but I think they preferred life in Andamans considering the situation in Malabar then. A prisoner’s letters to his mother reveals that on June 20 1925 twenty-five Moplahs had been sent to Malabar to search for convicts' families which resulted in some 300 family members traveling to Andamans. After all, they were given land and buffaloes to start a new life with as well as occupancy rights, fish and meat rations, and tax relief. Two months later he was writing again to say that four hundred convicts from Bellary, north of Bangalore, had actually applied to be transferred to the Andamans with their families. Thus they settled in villages west of Mount Harrit, creating place names that we started to look at during the start of this article.

Abrahams visit to Port Blair and its impact on Moplah resettlement - Mr EH Abrahams who was appointed as a colonization officer was tasked in 1922 to submit a report on the situation of the Moplahs which he did after his return in Jan 1923. The details of his report can be read in Zubair’s article cited under references. It explains how he managed to get them work under the forest department and how allowances and promotions were arranged for hard workers. I have not been able to access the full report myself.

By 1926, over 468 had become self settlers, but the conditions were not really conducive for their well being and subsidies were not sufficifinet for growth. A fact finding mission as sent in 1925 to investigate. The first three were in agreement with the original assessment. However the second comprised a leading doctor from Calicut, the Parsi doctor KK Mugaseth. He was in favor of the system as existing and his contention was accepted by the British. However more Moplah convicts from the mainland jails did not move to Andaman in search of better living prospects

The southern part of the South Andaman was thus colonized, mainly by settling self-supporting convicts there. Soon many more Moplah convicts were directly classified into the 2nd class category and termed self supporters. However things took a turn for the worse in the cellular jails where strikes were resorted to, but things stabilized by 1939. But the whole structure and situation changed with the start of the 2nd world war and the entry of Japan by 1941 into it. Port Blair was bombed in 1942 and the British evacuated themselves in March 1942. By now there were a total of 6,000 convicts and about 12,000 local born population. The Japanese were good at the start, releasing all prisoners and stating that nobody had anything to fear. Things changed during the next few years and many Indians were tortured and butchered by the Japanese (to reduce headcount and maintain food reserves for themselves), a story that I will cover in a later day, for Operation Baldhead is an interesting story. In 1943 NSC Bose came to Port Blair, went to the cellular jail, but did not meet the local populace. Despite all that the killing of Indians suspected of supporting the British continued in large numbers.

Nevertheless, over time, the Moplahs settled down and form a major part of the Andaman populace, some remembering their legacy, others choosing not to. Perhaps they are right for it was a chapter to forget, a time when religion and agrarian struggles came together to foment a revolt, a rebellion of sorts that killed a lot of innocent people and resulted in the loss of homes for many, and their transfer to new homes so far away…


Strictly speaking Andamans is still talked about as a penal settlement extending the anti imperialistic struggles of the Indians, but as Strange puts it, those were only about 500 such political convicts. Many of them returned to India subsequently. The many thousand ordinary convicts which included the Moplah convicts were later settlers, and they were those who toiled through difficult conditions to later created these beautiful islands we know today. They have all been forgotten in the nationalistic fervor and are hardly mentioned except in passing, in history texts.

References

Isolation: Places and Practices of Exclusion - C. Strange
Mappila mulsims of Lkerala – Roland E Miller
Kalapani – LP Mathur
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands Gazateer – Kiran Dhingra

Further reading – Zubair Ahmed’s articles

A man frozen in time
Moplahs in 1922
The complete story - For those who want to know it all

The TSS Maharaja

The story of the TSS Maharaja that took the convicts is equally interesting. Studying the records of the owners Asiatic Steam navigation, it states that in 1925 the company returned to its pre war strength when they took delivery of other ships and two years later another Maharaja -II relieved her namesake on the Andaman mail run, the original ship was first renamed Maharani in 1926, then was sold to Japanese owners Machidi Shokai in 1927, renamed as Zuisho Maru, later the ship again changed hands, passing through Macao and Hong Kong owners, before being owned by the Japanese government and was eventually sunk by a US submarine USS Ray SS271 in August 1944 off the Borneo Ryuku Islands.

Ironic isn’t it?

Pics - from the net, many thanks to the uploaders..... TSS maharaja pics from merchant navy officers site - Source: Acknowledgement: W. Laxon & World Ship Society

The reign of the Porlathiris at Calicut is one of the complicated periods in Malabar history, not well documented but mainly covered under legends and myths. It was therefore difficult to get more information than the oft mentioned takeover of Calicut by the Zamorin. I had to dig around quite a bit to get a wee bit more and thought it would add some balance to many of the Malabar accounts posted thus far.


Malabar History discussions these days tend to cover the period after the Chera rule and the Cherman Perumal’s retirement. A look at the two maps (sourced from C Radhakrishnan’s site with many thanks) provides an idea of the area the Zamorins or the Nediyirippu Swaroopam of Eralnad annexed, to form their vast reach over medieval Malabar. While each of the old dynasties or swaroopams has their stories, let us try to glean over what we know about Polanad.

As we understand, the city of Calicut and its suburbs formed part of the Polanad Kingdom ruled by the Porlatiri, sometime around the end of the 13th century, the period when a number of things were changing, such as the floods of Periyar, the rise of Cochin and so on. But the overriding aspect was the move of coastal trade from Quilon and Muziris to more Northerly ports and the movement of the various wealthy Arabs - Pardesi Muslim traders and Moplah community towards the coastal ports in the Malabar Coast line North of Ponnani. I will cover the reasoning behind the emergence of Calicut as a port in a separate post, and its connections to events in the Arab Middle east, such as the drop in Gulf trade after the fall of Baghdad, and the emergence of stronger links in the longer and perhaps richer Red sea trade with Mamluk Egypt. One could question when the Porlathiri’s were dispossessed by the Zamorin. Well we have no dates but can only assume that it was some time between 900-1200AD.

Were the Muslim traders behind the decision of the Eranad (Nediyirippu or Kunnala) Thamburans to seek a location near the coast for economic reasons? Were they the reason behind the Eradis forsaking the norms of war and accessing the land of another? The Eradis did have an empire building strategy, so the desire to form coalitions with the wealthy Muslim traders was important, so also the financing by way of export trade. It is conjecture that this strategy was behind amalgamation of a mercantile state around Calicut. One could also summarize, the Eradis of Nediyirippu in Ernad (somewhere around present Kondotty) were land-locked and sought an outlet to the sea to initiate trade and commerce with the distant lands. Perhaps a determination was made that an appropriate port or combination of ports existed around Calicut between Ponnani and Pantalayani Kollam. The location that came into the crosshairs of the Zamroin juggernaut was of course Polanad, many times bigger than Eranad, but not well utilized or developed. As we know from the legends, two Eradis brothers known as Manikkan and Vikraman established the ruling family at Nediyirippu. Who led the efforts to take over Polanad is not clear, but we do know that the Nediyirippu Thamburans led the attack of Polanad. As they say, to accomplish their aims, the Eradis marched with their Nairs towards Panniankara and besieged the Porlatiri in his headquarters, resulting in a 50-year long war called Samoothiri - Polarthiri Wars (the reasoning as to why it stretched so long is interesting and deals with the way a war was fought in those days, we will cover it in another article). While we will try and cover a little bit of the highlights in succeeding paragraphs, the result was that the Eradis subsequently moved their capital to the coastal marshy lands and established the city of Kozhikode, then also called 'Thrivikramapuram'. It is also interesting that the original Calicut palace at that time was not the Vikramapuram palace that we described in the earlier article, but a palace near the beach. Perhaps that was where the Zamorin lived and met the Vasco Da Gama. Perhaps that is the palace attacked by Coutinho and covered in an earlier article.

We will get to all that presently, but let us start with the division of the Chera Empire by the Cheraman Perumal. According to The Keralolpatti KUP version translated by Gundert, the kingdom of Polanad had the following specialties, after its formation.

To the Porlathiri king was granted the good land of Polanadu and 10,000 nairs born to the ‘Human’ classification in 3 groups and 76 Tharas or settlements along with 5 guardians to oversee 3 kathams ( 30 miles) of land. (This is roughly from kallayi to Ealttur according to Krishna Iyer). From the Malur Kovilakom, 18 acharams (activities) had to be followed. They were Skins (?) I would assume war attires, Legs – I would assume marches, Kana – Institutions, karimbadam – right to wear a blanket, Ankham – Duels ( I wrote about this earlier…SEE…), Viruthi , Chungam, Ezha, Kozha – Taxes, tolls, duties and bribes, Ana, Vaal – Elephants and swords, Veerachangala – Hero’s chains, Viruthu – titles, vadyam – music, Niyamavedi, Nettipattam- ceremonial fireworks, forehead ornaments ( for elephants), Pata pidam, pata vidu – battle seats and homesteads, Para, Koothu – measuring vessel and folk dances, Munnil thali, Chirutha vili – sprinkling of cleansing water in front, announcements….these were the mandated customs of Polanad.

Now we come to the next chapter of the KUP – The times of the Thamburans…

A careful study of the old Malayalam text reveals many plots and subplots in the Nediyirippu attempt to annex Calicut. It starts with an explanation that the forerunner among the Nediyirippu is the Kunnala Konathiri or the lord of the hills and the seas. Interesting is the fact that the preceding section uses the phrase 10,000 Nairs but the next section mentions the Nediyirippu befriending of the Lokars of Polanad. So is it correct to assume as some historian’s state, that Lokars are the same as Nairs?

As it happened, the Zamorin met the local chiefs of Chavara and Puthukot at the Panniankara gate where he was encamped and obtained their oath of agreement by a handshake that they will support him in his attempt to annex Polanad. The purpose of course was to marshal their forces in battle (The KUP text lists the various chieftains and their forces). From then a battle of 48 years was fought against the Polanad 10,000 and the 5 closely knit (as though blood related) groups of the Polanad bodyguards. The battles continued, but the Nediyirippu was not victorious and so he decided to pray to the Porkalli Bhagavathy. The long prayer lasted six months (some say 41 days) after which the goddess appeared before the Zamorin, who requested that she accompany him. The goddess did, as an apparition behind a ceremonial door that was carried by the Nediyirippu since then into all battles (Now – that brings up a very interesting conjecture. Was this the door that Continuo tried to carry away – in order to nullify the power of the Nediyirippu in battle? Perhaps – unless he was misled to pick up the heavy main palace door, for the Nediyirippu was already away at battle and must have had the door with him). Another corollary states that as soon as the Nediyirippu saw the goddess he tried to touch her and so she disappeared. Hence he carried around the door of the temple. Yet another version states that the Nediyirippu (which one?) was the door keeper of the Cheraman Perumal, and so had an affinity to the old palace door which he carried around (kind of silly – right?).

The next plan was to win over the Polanad 10,000. Accordingly Unnikumaran Menon and Para Chankaran Nambi were sent to invite them for a meeting under the Perumplavil tree near the Ganapati idol. The Nediyirippu (note here that we are talking about both the Manikkan and Vikraman) vowed to support them in the future if they moved with him and would treat them as their own.

But that still did not provide the Nediyirippu the clinching hold. For that the favorite Menokki (Menon) of the Porlathiri chief was won over with promises of lordship over two regions and many other inducements. While all these discussions took care of the outside staff, a victory could be claimed only after the Nediyirippu entered the Nalukettu , palace or Kovilakom of the Porlathiri and fired three (kathanas) rounds of fireworks. How could the Porlathiri enter the fortified palace without any bloodshed?

The strategy was an interesting one. The Chalappuram Kovilakom senior mother or Chalappurathamma of the Porlathiri place who was aligned to the Nediyirippu met the senior lady of the Porlathiri household and offered her 4 elephants and 40,000 gold panams for advice. If she also helped in keeping the doors open at the opportune time, she would be made head of four lineages and made the 4th in line for the succession to the throne as part of the Zamorin family.
Soon an opportune event presented itself. The Porlathiri sent his nephews and other members of his family to the Kolathiris area while remaining at the Polur palace (Now I am confused, we hear of the Malur and the Polur kovilakoms – which is right? Some books also mention that the Porlathiri was ensconced at Kuttichira, but will get to clarifying it later). The Nediyirippu people had in the meantime set out to Calicut. Anyway the Porlathiri was at his pond, having his bath when the doors were opened and the Nediyirippu people got inside and set the three rounds or fireworks signifying the takeover of the Polur palace.

Again books differ in their storytelling after this event; they say he ran to the Kolathiri sanctuary from the pond. However the KUP provides the following detail. The Porlathiri did not complete his bath, but went indoors and had a leisurely indoor bath, and had his usual ample breakfast after which he summoned people from Kizhalur and Kurumbatur and cursed the traitors of Polur and Cherupatta (all this while the Zamorins forces were around the kovilakom??). Then he slunk away to Talassery with the Kizhalur nairs. Here again there is a conflict of words. The text mentions that the Porlathiri had asked his nephews and relatives to come to Kolathunad to meet his brother, and not to Calicut. So was he planning to abscond to Talassery himself even before all this happened? Perhaps….


The Porlathiri was pacified by the Kolathiri and granted a 30 mile square area to live and govern at Kadathanadu with 3,000 Nairs. At Calicut the Kizhineer Menokki was allowed to live in the Porlathiri palace and titled an Earand Menon. Later friction cropped up in the ranks and the Mangat achan was responsible for reconciling two factions within the defected.

I feel this stuff about the Chalappurathamma confusing to say the least. First of all it is not clear if she was the previous Portlathirs wife or the new Thamburan’s, it could very well have been the previous Thamburan’s wife. If the 10,000 and the chief minister had been won over, and the Nediyirippu men plus his Muslim help was ringed around the palace, what was the problem in getting into the house? Probably to end it all peacefully, but even that contradicts the issue for they had anyway been fighting a war for 48 years, so there had been ample bloodshed already. As it is, we know that the Porlathiri had sent his family off to Tellicherry in anticipation of what was to come. So he was prepared for the event. The door opening was perhaps symbolic. We also see that the Porlathiri did not even skip his breakfast, instead had an ample one at that. So when other historians talk of betrayal by the women of the house, take it with not a small but a big pinch of salt. It is just playing to the gallery as they say.

But do all other historians concur with the KUP? Logan and Innes do, in the Malabar Manual. Sreedhara Menon mentions that the Kottayam King and the Kolathiri sided with the Eradis. KVK Iyer confirms that it was the disadvantaged position of being cooped up in Eranad and being cut off from the profitable trade with the Arabs and Chinese that made the Zamorin want more from his landlocked interior position. He also provides an aside that the Porlathiri and the Kolathiri had marriage connections cementing their families whereas the Eradis the Kottayam family and Kurumbranad families were in alliance.

Krishna Iyer explains that after setting up base in Panniyankara, the Nediyirippu crossed the Kallayi River to Invade Polanad. It was eventually based on the advice of the Kottayam king that the Zamorin prayed to the Kottayam tutelary goddess at Porkali. About then that the Mangat Achan a feudatory of the Kottayam raja joined the Zamorin. He however does not mention the return after praying, with a door, but states instead that it was with a sword. Iyer then explains that the turnaround came when the new Porlathiri who had succeeded the older one at that time was unpopular and thus did not get help from the Kolathiri at the time of danger. All that the Zamroin wanted was a small space near the Kallayi port which the Porlathiri would not provide. The Zamorin threatened bloodshed, and the Mangat achan negotiated for a peaceful settlement. This was when the Porlathiri send his nephews and family to Kolathunad and remained by himself in the Kuttichira (or Polur?) palace. Once he found that he had no respite, he too fled to Tellicherry or Chirakkal. The Porlathiri 10,000 became the Zamorin’s personal guard and received many privileges. Iyer also clarifies that the Zamorin subsequently moved to Calicut, and brought along with him the door panel (Pallimaradi) from Eranad. Iyer now states that the palace or Siva temple at Kuttichira was then handed over to the Muslims by the Zamorin for they had supported him during all these endeavors. This became the Kuttichira mosque. If that was the case, that perhaps would be the oldest building of Calicut.

PCM Raja’s accounts are pretty interesting. He opines that the Porlathiri was requested to provide some land near the beach (perhaps for the Moplah traders). The Porlathiri scoffed – “you who profess antagonism with us will not even be given space equivalent to a needle hole. Thooshi kuthanulla idampolum vashiyil kazhiyunna ningalkku kittilla”. So he had a fight with the Zamorin’s forces who were lined up behind the Durga temple of Panninyankara. Porlathiri himself was based at the Kuttichira Siva temple. The war was lost and the Nambuthiri’s and Brahmins deserted the defiled temple. Subsequently the temple became a mosque. However even though the Polathiri ran away, his wife – the Chalapurathamma remained and she was treated honorably by the Zamorin and resettled. The Zamorin’s forces increased thus to 30,000. The Kallayi harbor was reinforced with a stone lining (Kallu Azhi thus became Kallayi). All this happened during 900-1000AD. The date of 948-950 is a possibility due to the fact that the Bhageerathi-Kolathiri wedding and the Nileswaram creation came about in that year.

A good amount of text detailing the Tali temple problems from the Nambis after the departure of the Porlathiri is provided in some of the texts, but it would be more appropriate to cover it separately. This episode also covers the relationship between the girl from the Zamorins house (Nilakeshini or Bhageerathi) and the boy from Kolathiri living at Kannivakay. A brief introduction to this episode had already been provided in the Revathi pattathanam article.

Balakrishna Kurup provides a slightly different explanation. According to his opinion, the Zamorin first entrenched himself at Beypore and Chalium and built forts there with the help of the Arab traders and Moplahs. Then he settled near the chullikad allocated to him, near Calicut. Next he incited the Moplahs of Kuttichira to harass the Porlathiri at his residence there. The Kuruthedathu Nambuthiris left the Porlathiri due to this (Kurup cites Padmanabha Menon’s writings in support). Kurup continues with the comments that many of them converted to Islam (Were they the Koyas of Malabar?) at that time and were aligned under the Shabander koya. The Porlathiri palace became the Juma’ath mosque. The Zamorin built a palace close to it and this was where he met the Vasco Da Gama and this was the palace that Coutinho tried to destroy. This Zamorin’s palace became the Muchundi mosque later. Later the fine Mishqual mosque was built in the same lines.

Perhaps with all this background, if you look at the pictures of these mosques and the picture of the Zamorin’s palace at Vikramapuram (you can notice the similarity), you can get a good idea how the major buildings of that time looked like.

Well, according to Kurup, the Porlathiri was on the run, first moving to his house in Panniyankara and then to Polur where the Chalapurathamma betrayal supposedly took place. Now the Porlathiri has two choices, either to live under the suzerainty of the Zamorin or leave in exile. He chose the latter.

PCM Raja now explains that the chullikad we talked about earlier was actually granted to the Nediyirippu Thamburan by the Perumal, so the war actually started when the Porlathiri tried to destroy it to spite the Eranad family. Even though the Polatiri was dispossessed, the 10,000 nairs of the Polathiri later formed the Zamorin’s own elite bodyguard.

Now a quick update on where the Porlathiri resettled. They went to Kadattanad. Quoting here from the various treaties listed by Logan….

The "Bavnor (lit. Valunnavar, ruler) of Badagara" herein mentioned was the hereditary governor of Kadattanad. The family is traditionally descended from the Porlattiri family of Polanad, the country lying round Calicut. It is said that when the Zamorin dispossessed them of Polanad they fled northwards into the Kolattiri domains. The Kolattiri Tekkalankur (Southern Regent of Kolattanad), who resided at Putuppattanam nearly opposite Kottakkal on the Kottai river, espoused one of the women and gave to his son by her the governorship of Kadattanad, i.e., the southern portion of the Kolattiri dominions lying between the Mahe river on the north and the kotta river on the south. The family thus founded has two kovilagams, viz., Ayyanjeri and Edavalatta and the eldest female of the two branches is still theoretically the head of the house. The two eldest males also hold athanam rank. The fact that Kadattanad belonged to the Kolattiri dominions is specifically alluded to in I—LXVI, and the family is therein mentioned as being of the Adiyodi caste. The eldest male certainly still assumes the title of Porlattiri, and at one time he claimed the high sounding title of "Lord of the sea."

References

Kerala Ulpatti – Gundert version
Zamorins of Calicut – KV Krishna Iyer
Malabar Manual – Logan, Innes
Samoothirnaad – NM Nampoothiri
Samoothirimaar – PCM raja
History of Kerala – KV Krishna Iyer
Kozhikodinte charithram – Balakrishna Kurup
Chronological history of Kerala – C Ramachandran http://c-radhakrishnan.info/malabar.htm
Collection of Treaties – Logan


Some explanations on the Symbolic Door

1. NM Nampoothiri explains -
Ancestors of Zamorins conquered the Calicut port and occupied the Valayanattu kaavu and established a planned port city. It is proven that there existed an irregular port at Calicut .It belonged to the Porlathiri according to tradition. Zamorins were Eralanattu Taiyavar during Kulasekhara period. Their ancestral village was Nediyiruppu in Kondotty, a remote internal area of Malappuram District. They moved to Valayanattu Kaavu area for improving maritime trade. They adopted the deity of Valayanatu kaavu as their principal deity. During their royal visits it was customary to take a wooden door by name Palli maaraati in front of the Royal procession .This piece of wooden door is believed to be the abode of the deity.( Palli is a honorific prefix to maaraati. MaaRaatuka in this context seems to mean ‘make abode or hide’. It means that there was a sacred grove as a nodal point).

2. Chespeak however provides yet another ‘door’ explanation..
Quoting Chespeak - For example, the arrival of Samuthiri to the north from his original seat of Nediyirippu near Kondotty is described in the chronicle. It says the conspiracy to open the local ruler Porlathiri's gates from within to allow entry for the intruder Samuthiri was hatched at the vathilmatom, the door place, of this temple which was the only public place available in the region at that time. And of course the conspirators lost no time to put their plans into practice, thus helping the inauguration of the long reign of Zamorins in Kozhikode…As the Samuthiri shifted his seat to Kozhikode and launched forth his rule, one of the key officials in his establishment was known as Pallimaradi, or the Eradi -official- in charge of guarding royal doors. Who could say the Samuthiri did not learn his lessons from history?

3. BM John in his thesis on Aliraja of cannanore, section The Rajas of Kolathunadu however explains
The Zamorin’s, rulers of the nearby Calicut, carried pallimaradi (door panel draped in silk) in front of their army marching against Vellattiri, the rival ruler, because it visualized the presence of goddess ‘Tirumandhamkunnu Bhagavati’, which assured their victory over the enemy.

Maps – Courtesy C Ramachandran

The original Calicut Vikramapuram palace is no more to be seen, nor are the palace grounds or other structures. The Zamorin’s family after the destruction of the palace post Hyder’s arrival and the then Zamorin’s immolation, moved to distant Southerly parts of Kerala, and the land has since then been sold off to house businesses and other institutions such as the commonwealth Trust after they came back. I had written about the story of the Zamorin’s death some months ago.

But then I have always wondered about the main palace, the kovilakom or the fortress as writers chose to term it. Of course there were many other related structures around it or close to it like the other major kovilakoms, the treasury, the horse stables, the tank (which still remains) and so on, but let us for now start with the palace, a.k.a. Vikramapuram palace at Kottapuram.

Where would it have been? Many of you would jump to the answer; it was adjoining the Mananchira area of Calicut. Well, that is correct. But how many of you know what it looked like and how big it was? I provided some clues in earlier articles, especially in the ones covering the Portuguese visits such as Vasco Da Gama’s audience with the Zamorin, the sketches of the visit and so on. Nevertheless, let us take a look. Calicut’s skyline was dotted with some fine houses with tiled roofs but mostly homesteads with hay thatched roofs as you can see in the early sketches (1572).

Coming to the place where the Zamorin lived, you reach to the Manachira area. Of course we all know that the Manavan chira was the pond used by the palace for water and for various other purposes. In front of the pond, if you draw a square of 40 acres which would correspond to 1320’x1320’, you would cover the four walls of the palace grounds. It is not known when the palace was built, but mentions from the 15th century indicate a royal palace existed in those environs. The Eastern corner is roughly the GH road; the western side adjoins the KP Kesava Menon Rd, the Southern side somewhat beyond the Court road (close to the Palayam stand) and the Northern side just adjacent to the Manachira pond. The royal procession street stretched from the court road westwards. Adjoining the palace were the various Kovilakoms (denoted by their situation with respect to the Tali temple) such as the Padinjare, Kizkahkke, Ambadi, etc and also the minister’s homestead. After the establishment of supremacy by the Zamorin over the Polathiri, the first of the buildings constructed near the Tali temple was the Ambadi Kovilakom. Later the Kizhake and Puthiya kovilakom were built and also the Poonthanam palace. Somewhere in the 15th century the main Vikramapuram palace and its fortifications with low walls were built as the riches came in.
According to Krishna Iyer, the Vikramapuram palace stood a furlong North of Ambadi kovilakom, at Kottapuram, separated from it by an extensive garden, registered in the revenue records as Punthottam. The Kizhakke kovilakom came up at Chintavilappu, North of Zamorin’s college, then came the Puthiya kovilakom (replacing the old Polathiri palace), west of the Tali tank. Then came the Chalappuram (Erampiri) kovilakom and later after the much talked about liaison of the Zamorin princess with the Kolathiri prince (see STORY ) occurred the establishment of the Nileswaram Kovilakom. Around 11704, there were no heirs, the planned adoption from Tekkankur south of Cochin did not happen and the Nileswaram adoptions took place. The girls came to the Kizhakke and Putiya kovilakom. However a third sister chose not to remain in Neeleswaram and came down to Calicut, on her own. The Padinjare kovilakom was created for her. After the Mysore invasions and the accession of the British, the exiles came back, the Padinjare kovilakom was resituated at Mankavu, the Putiya kovilakom at Tiruvannur and the Kizhakke kovilakom at Kottakkal or Venkatakotta ( see the Vencaticota ola story) .

The palace was finally consigned to flames after close to three centuries by a desperate Zamorin who had no way of standing up to the Mysore Sultan. The later Zamorins never rebuilt the Vikramapuram palace, perhaps for financial reasons, perhaps due to the ill luck resulting from an untimely and ill-fated death in the location. Instead they lived in the Tiruvacchira (Meenchanda) residence or their respective maternal kovilakoms. What we can thus summarize is that the palace built in the 15th century lasted for roughly three centuries, till Hyder Ali chose to mess around with Malabar and the palace was burnt down in April 1766. Let us read extracts from what certain important visitors stated about the area.

Abdur Razak 1442
When I obtained my audience of this prince, the hall was filled with two or three thousand Hindus, who wore the costume above described; the principal personages amongst the Mussulmauns were also present. After they had made me take a seat, the letter of his majesty, the happy Khakan, was read, and they caused to pass in procession before the throne, the horse, the pelisse, the garment of cloth of gold, and the cap to be worn at the ceremony of Nauruz.

Vasco Da Gama 1498
Vasco de Gama and his retinue were conducted to the palace of the Zamorin. It was built of mud, but was pleasantly situated amidst trees and gardens…..

Joseph the Indian 1501
The Zamorin had a huge palace which housed 7000 men. 300 of them guarded the palace at night by taking rounds as it was not fortified. In the Zamorin’s palace there are four halls, one each for Hindus, Mohammedans, Jews & Christians.

Varthema 1505
The palace of the king is about a mile in circumference. The walls are low, as I have mentioned above, with very beautiful divisions of wood, with devils carved in relief. The floor of the house is all adorned with cow dung. The said house is worth two hundred ducats or thereabouts. I now saw the reason why they could not dig foundations, on account of the water, which is close to them.

Francois Pyrard of Laval 1607
His principal seat is at Calecut, where he hath a very handsome and well-built palace, all enclosed with good walls and moats, with drawbridge to the gates, and water all around in the moats. A large number of soldiers day and night guard the gates, which are four in number. They admit no one unless he is well known, nor such a one without questioning him, and conducting him or having him conducted to the part of the interior whither he desires to proceed. If he wishes to speak with the king, he is passed from one guard to another until he arrives at the door of the apartments where is stationed what you might call the bodyguard, and these gain him speech of the king. I have said there are four gates at the four great entrances; but before reaching the apartments of the king you have to pass three gates on each avenue, and at all points soldiers are on guard, without counting those at the doors of the king's apartments. Besides all these guards, there is a strong body in the middle of the palace, in a covered place built expressly for the purpose, and all the other guards take their orders from this one. Overhead is a great bell, which only sounds for the assembling of men-at-arms at the palace, and about the king when he hath need of them. At all the gates of the palace there are spaces with closed barriers and palisades round about, for fear lest the crowd should approach the gates. Outside these barriers, and near the gates, are men whose only duty it is to give fresh water to all the thirsty that ask it; and when anyone wants a drink, whatever his quality or religion, they give it him in the manner described.

There are plenty of wells in the country districts, and even at the king's palace; but it is not permitted to drink at them, for they are guarded, and only certain priests may draw water there for their superstitious observances. All the avenues of the palace are marvelously beautiful and delightful. All the roads are straight, like pall-mall alleys, and relieved on both sides by high terraces and palisades covered with trees of all sorts, among others, many of the trees they call tristes, of which they make saffron. Throughout all the country their roads are of this fashion, or nearly so.

The prisons are all at the king's palace; and the Malabars and all manner of foreigners are subject to the jurisdiction of the Nair kings, albeit one hears of but few lawsuits among them.

Between the town and the palace is about a quarter of a league, the road being as described, with fine mansions on either side; in front of the gate of the palace is a great square, where the market is held every day in the morning of all kinds of merchandise of the country, but not foreign. It is opened at seven o'clock, and one of the king's officers has the duty of sounding a bell to warn the king's servants and purveyors to go buy what is necessary for his house, for none would dare buy anything ere the king's household was supplied. That done, the bell is sounded a second time to call the merchants; but before the merchants enter, the tax farmers take their dues off even the smallest of the goods. Before the king's officers have taken what is due to them, no one would dare to go near or touch any goods, least of all anything eatable. Even after that, unless they be Bramenis or Nairs, they would not dare so much as touch any goods that are for sale ere a price has been made, and then they are obliged to take them. Care has to be taken also in going through the market, where all those that sell are seated, not to touch either their persons or their goods, unless they be of the same caste and religion. This market lasts only about three hours or more, and they come from all parts of the town and elsewhere to buy, in order afterwards to sell at the great market or Bajar, which is held every day and all day. After ten o'clock you see no one in the market near the palace, and everyone goes about freely. At that place, too, besides the shops and warehouses of particular trades, there are three or four large spaces for the people, wherein to bargain and sell their goods. All these houses and shops are used solely to hold the merchandise, yet throughout all the rest of the town there are great and rich merchants, who never come to this Bajar, having their own warehouses full of goods, which they sell not by retail, but wholesale.

Near this large square where the market is held is a large building where the king's money is struck, which is current on all the Malabar Coast. This consists of gold pieces with his effigy on one side and a pagoda or idol on the other.

But to return to the king's palace: it is a very large enclosure, and contains many blocks of houses, all detached and well built, of many stories and galleries, with flower-beds, and orchards, tanks, fish-ponds, and canals, all fitted and paved with stone, and constructed on all sides of stone steps leading to the bottom. Add to these many springs and fountains, whose water is cold and excellent to drink. In the palace, too, is a magazine or arsenal, full of arms, cannon, powder, and munitions of war. But the great and chief arsenal of the king is at Panany, for that is his chief war town.

Hard by there is a block of buildings allotted to the secretary and clerk to the king, for keeping all the registers. The order and system is most admirable herein, and I have oft-times wondered to see the great number of men with no other duty or work all day but writing and registering. These posts are of much honour; the clerks all reside in the palace, but in different apartments, and they have different duties. Some make entry of all goods arriving for the king; others, the dues and taxes paid day by day; others, the expenditure of the king's household; others, the most notable incidents of each day, both what happens at court and in the rest of the kingdom; in short, all news, for he has everything registered; and each clerk has his separate room. They keep also a register of all strangers who come there, taking their names and nationalities, the time of their arrival, and the business that has brought them, and so they did with us. It is a wondrous thing to observe their number and the perfect order that exists among them, and how fast they write on their palm-leaves, as described: these are of the length and breadth of the leaves of coco-trees, but thicker and stiffer. They make of them a kind of book, by means of holes in the thicker ends of the leaves, through which they pass a fillet, and thus bind together as many as are required.

The king hath the like writers in all towns, ports, harbours, and frontier passages of his kingdom, who render account to those of the palace, all being well organised and in obedience one to another, each having his proper superior. Throughout the whole Malabar coast there is the same manner of writing and the same ordering thereof.

Pond - After that he straightway rubs his body all over with odoriferous oil; this lasts about an hour, and then he goes to bathe in one of the ponds within the palace closeless he be of their religion, caste, and quality. When he comes forth of his bath he most often goes to the temple, and thence to his food in another palace within the same enclosure, which is a part of the grand palace, devoted entirely to that purpose. While he takes his repast he sits upon a piece of well-polished wood, and eats off balsam leaves, like the other Bramenis. After his dinner he despatches his business, and then changes his apartment, going to another prepared for him to receive all comers; and it is not that wherein he sleeps, takes his leisure, or eats. Here he is, as it were, exposed to public view, and if any would speak with him he may; if no affairs present themselves, he passes the time with his lords, and is much amused with buffoons and mountebanks, whereof he has always a goodly number. The Nair kings and lords often play a game of chance, which is a kind of chess, played with dice. He takes pleasure also in seeing the Nairs fence with one another with sword and buckler, whereat they sometimes get wounded; others, again, use pikes.

As for the queen, she lives in a separate palace, yet within the same enclosure as the great palace. She never eats with the king, and is seen but rarely, and then only at the windows and galleries of her palace or of the king's, whither she frequently proceeds by a gallery which communicates between the two, and there they see each other in private. She bathes in the same manner and with the same ceremony as the king, and in the same pond; but they cannot see each other, for they each have their own end of the pond with a space covered in. She has ordinarily her ladies about her, who pass the time for her. The pond where they bathe is well enclosed and locked, and none but the king and queen do bathe there; there is a gallery whereby the queen descends on her side, and another for the king on his side. The ladies who are present to wash the queen do not enter the water, but remain in the closets and pavilions that are upon the pond, where the oiling, drying, and perfuming is done; and these ladies use all the same artifice and ceremony towards her as the lords use towards the king. The queen is of the Brameny race as well as he. She has her own Pagode, where she betakes herself with her ladies, then to her own apartments to take her food, and so on, as with the king. Only great ladies are about her person, and she has the pavements or boards, and the walls and passages where she goes, cleaned with this cow-dung of which I have spoken. I must not forget to mention, in passing, and as the opportunity arises, the great honour rendered by these people to cows, however low-bred, filthy, and all covered with dirt and dung they may be. They are allowed to enter the king's palace, and whithersoever their way leads, without anyone disputing their passage; even the king himself………….

Delle Valle 1624
The first and principal gate of the Palace opens upon a little Piazza, which is beset with certain very great trees affording a delightful shade. I saw no Guard before it; it was great and open ; but before it was a row of Balusters, about four or five palms from the ground, which served to keep out not only Horses and other Animals (this contradicts the comment of Pyrard Laval) but also Men upon occasion. In the middle was a little flight of Stairs, outside the Gate, leading into it and another within on the other side. Yet, I believe, both the Stairs and the Balusters are movable, because 'tis likely that when the King comes forth the Gate is quite open; otherwise it would not be handsome, but this is only my conjecture. We enter'd this Gate, ascending the Stairs above the Rails, where we were met by the Messenger whom the above-said person had sent to the King and who again invited us into the Palace by the King's Order. Within the Gate we found a great Court, of a long form, without any just and proportionate figure of Architecture; on the sides were many lodgings in several places, and in the middle were planted divers great Trees for shade. The King's chief apartment, and (as I believe by what I shall mention hereafter) where his Women were, was at the end of the Court, opposite to the left side of the Entrance. The Edifice, in comparison of ours, was of little consideration; but, according to their mode, both for greatness and appearance capable of a Royal Family. It had a covered porch, as all their structures have, and within that was a door of no great largeness leading into the House…………….

Nor was it long before an Order came from the King for us to enter, and accordingly we were introduced into that second Gate ; and passing by a close room like a chamber, (in which I saw the Image of Brahma on his Peacock and other Idolets) we enter'd into a little open Court, surrounded with two rows of narrow and low Cloysters, to wit one level with the ground and the other somewhat higher. The pavement of the porch was also something raised above the plane of the Court, so much as might serve for a man to sit after our manner.

The second thing that made me laugh was that, when the King enter'd into the little Court, the door, whereat he and we had enter'd before, was immediately made fast with an Iron Bar, people also standing continually to guard it; and so likewise when anyone came in, or was sent out by the King, it was 'presently shut with diligence.

Many others made passing mentions of the palace, but after 1766 it was no more to be seen. Hamilton – Sea captain 1607 states that the palace is built of stone and there is some faint resemblance of Grandeur to be seen about his Court. K Balakrishna Kururp opines that the Gama perhaps met the Zamorin at the Kuttichira palace ( which later became a mosque) . The details of the dismantling and sale of the property were covered by Prof Raghava Varier and some details can be gleaned from this article.

PCM Raja in his book also provides an interesting insight to the Mananchira tank. He comments that the seashore some 1000 years ago was closer to the locale. The Zamorin later had the tank called Manavedan chira dug and finished with eight sides. This later became Mananchira or Manavancheri chira. He also clarifies that there were many kovilakoms in the area, a major palace at Ponnai, another at Kottakkal and of course many more around Malabar where the Zamorin lived during his field trips.

And with all that background, let us summarize how the palace would have looked.

The palace grounds were enclosed by low walls with wooden inlays, there were perhaps some moats around the walls (I doubt it), that the walls had four gates and were well guarded. The palace was in the middle and the courtyard housed other buildings such as the women’s quarters, the main meeting halls etc. the roads within were lined with tress, ponds and so on, and some of the buildings were multistoried with tiled roofs. There were bathing ponds within the palace and outside, the Manachira tank provided water supply to the large numbers of people employed. The manachira grounds hosted competitions and bazaars often. Close by was the Tali temple, the mint and the stables.

Now you may want to look at a plan of the grounds as they existed. Well, we do have one, thanks to Pietro Delle Valle. See images below.
And finally – how would the palace have looked like? It took me a lot of effort to get my hands on this image dated 1604, courtesy the VOC & Steven Van der Hagen, Atlas of Mutual Heritage. The complete woodcut shows a ridiculous picture of a very muscular Zamorin in a grass skirt.


References

The travels of Ibn Batuta – HAR Gibb
Zamorins of Calicut – KV Krishna Iyer
Malabar studies – NM Nampoothiri
Calicut History – K Balakrishna Kurup
Samoothirmaar- PCM Raja
India In the eyes of Europe – Donald F lach
The voyage of Francois Pyrard of Laval
The travels of Pietro Della Valle
Durate Barbosa travels – ML Dames

Pics – Various web sources, acknowledged with thanks. Google for Google maps and Atlas of mutual heritage for the palace picture.

And his role in the Anglo Scottish Union 1705-07

Many a year ago, in 1705 to be precise, Scotland joined the British union, after an acrimonious period of four or five years, to create Great Britain. What if I told you that the incident which hastened it and that one of the persons who was key to the incident was a person of Malabar origin? Well, it is so and you can now read that story, a story that has been under wraps for ages. In fact the whole story went out of circulation after the turn of the 18th century. Why such an important event never got more attention is queer, though a few books have covered the subject in passing and one somewhat rare to find book covers much of the details. But the event and the write-ups focused on the Englishmen involved and the Scotsmen who precipitated the issue, but not really on the person who was the scapegoat. I will cover his story not because he was innocent, but because I felt the poor man was set up and coerced into doing what he did. Then again, it could be so that he was not wrong after all. So we will get deeper into this story, but first a few paragraphs detailing the background and the times.

For that, we will hover around Scotland and then zoom down to Panama. Later we will move quickly to the Malabar Coast line and then head back to Scotland. We will learn about the Darien scheme, learn a little bit more about some piratical adventures, the financial misfortunes of the Scots, the opportunistic maneuvering of the EIC and debacle at Firth of Forth and Leith sands. In passing we will also learn a little of the part played by the small port town of Kayamkulam or Caliquilon and the EIC factory at Calicut in this misadventure. So let us quickly head to those port towns and the waters. Wear your oilskins, lest you get drenched, listen carefully, but don’t get too close to the action, and stay well away from the danger.

If you recall my previous article, Capn Kidd was around in Calicut during 1698. By May 1701 he had been tried and hanged and pirates (as defined by the EIC) had a bad name in press and with the public. This story is set close to that period and around 1703 again around the same Malabar coastline. But before we set the heading to Malabar, we will go to Scotland.

Around 1690, Scotland, still a kingdom, desired to enter the realm of profitable trade like their powerful British neighbors. Though under the British crown, Scotland had it own parliament and treasury. But the coffers were empty; the harvest had proved a disaster. What else to do than focus on trade? The wise or the not so wise, decided that colonization was perhaps a quicker scheme. Soon a colony was planned in New Caledonia or the Isthmus of Panama. The money required for this venture , as high as a quarter of the Scottish monetary worth was advanced by a number of wealthy nobles (originally a number of anti British countries and private citizens subscribed to the capital, but due to British pressure they dropped out leaving only Scottish capitalists). The company that oversaw all this was called the Darien Company. By 1698 the first ships moved to Panama for the colony set up, but it soon turned out to be a disaster and in 8 months the colony was abandoned. Of the 1200 that left Scotland, only 300 returned with heads hanging low. Pride as you will see runs high in Scotland and the situation as you saw was not very nice. A second expedition also failed and the settlers further lost the war to the Spaniards. Much more intrigues took place, but we are not talking about the misfortunes of the Darien Company here. One of the men who took leadership position in this colonization effort was a Thomas Drummond and his activities were later defined as far from satisfactory. The money was gone, the lords were unhappy, Scotland was in the doldrums and something had to be done quickly to recoup the lost capital. The publicly funded company lost more than £232,000, crippling and demoralizing Scotland. English propaganda depicted the fiasco as proof that the Scots were useless and unfit for sovereignty and the Darien plan soon picked up a new name, the Darien fiasco. The still wise racked their brains and decided, what else, but head out to Malabar and plunder or profit in the name of conventional trade?

Two ships, the Speedy Return and the Continent were sent out to Malabar. The Speedy return was captained by Robert Drummond and the aforementioned Thomas Drummond accompanied him as Super Cargo (manager for trade) & advisor. The Continent was lost off the Malabar Coast in a fire. Instead of selling the Scottish goods for gold, the Speedy Return exchanged it for slaves who were traded in Madagascar for a profit. Here they met a pirate named James Bowen who appropriated the Speedy Return. Nothing more was heard from the Drummond brothers for a long time after this event. A British ship Annabelle was then commissioned by the Scots, but it was soon confiscated by the EIC on the grounds that all English sailors should only work for the EIC (apparently the Captain Ap Rice quarreled with his Scottish owners and led the British to the seizure). Naturally the Scottish ire at these failures was directed against the EIC. The spearhead of all this anti British rhetoric was a Darien company bloke and company secretary named Roderick Mackenzie. It was during this inopportune time, around mid 1704 that a ship named Worcester captained by Thomas Green laden with goods, and coming from the Malabar Coast, sailed into the Leith harbor, blown off course into Scotland.

So as we read, the Scottish leased Annabelle had been impounded, and Mackenzie on behalf of the Darien Company, decided that the British flagged (though not EIC owned) Worcester should be seized in Scotland as compensation, which he did. The officers of the defunct Darien Company (not the Scottish government) seized the ship on 12th Aug 1704. The reason attributed was the attempted clandestine sale of EIC goods in Scotland and the claim that the Worcester carried a counterfeit copy of the Scottish Darien company seal. Captain Green of the Worcester always hoped that the situation would be sorted out, but nothing happened for three months. Before he knew what was happening, he and his crew were put behind bars for piracy and murder. Later it turned out that it was due to Green’s (and other crew’s) drunken boast of piracy, plunder, other nefarious activities and burning of a ship. Rumors started flying that the attacked ship was the yet to return Speedy return with the Drummond brothers. Despite a total lack of real evidence, Green and two of his crew, John Madden and James Simpson, were sent for trial. Many a thing turned up at the trial, many a thing did not. Due to the fact that some amount of hushing up was done after the trail, some aspects are not traceable anymore. It was not that the Judges were unaware of the discrepancies, but the public mood and the level of Scottish resentment of the British were running so high that it was the best decision to allow the massacre of a couple of Englishmen.

Let us see how it went. As I retell the story, I will slip back and forth between Malabar and Leith or Edinburgh in Scotland. I will not get into too many details of the sordid affair, for it was that, but will cover it as an overview and focus on the Malabar aspects mainly.

As Kelly explains - The conviction of Green and the others was secured solely on the evidence of the Worcester's Christian Malabari cook, one Antonio Ferdinando. After joining the ship on the Malabar coast, Ferdinando said he witnessed an engagement between the Worcester and another ship crewed by English-speaking white men which lasted three days. He claimed that, when the stricken vessel was boarded, those in the sloop (a smaller sailing ship attached to the main ship), who then came aboard, did take up those of the crew of the said ship from under deck, killed them with hatchets, and threw them over board . . . Captain Green, Captain Madder, and James Simpson the gunner were three of these who went aboard and killed the men. Ferdinando said he believed about ten men were killed, and that after the struggle was over a few goods were transferred into the Worcester. The prize vessel was according to him, disposed of afterwards in Caliquilon. Ferdinando claimed he received a wound to his arm during the action and that the coat he was wearing in court was taken out of the prize.

Antonio’s testimony was the basis of subsequent convictions of Green and two others. Of course, it was supposed that the prize vessel was the Scottish owned Speedy return and that the murdered included the Drummonds, but as the trial progressed, it turned out that it was not. Nevertheless, the trial moved on in its strange and singular course towards culmination into a guilty verdict for the Worcester’s captain and crew. The British crown tried hard to find supporting evidence for the Worcester crew and though a trifle late produced it for study by the Scottish courts. But the situation was clouded due to the boasts by Green and his crew of the illegal activities they themselves (perhaps) committed in Malabar. Whether it was dealing with pillaged goods or piracy of another ship is not clear from the papers, but they were not involved with the Speedy return. The case finally veered off to general piracy, not a specific act and the crew was convicted.

So now we hear a name – Antonio Ferdinando. Who was he? How did he turn up at the courts in Scotland as a witness? What language was he speaking? Before we get to the answers, let us trace the path of Worcester, after it left Britain. The formal journals themselves, were confiscated and lost in Scotland after the Worcester's seizure, and are not available for analysis, but some details are available from British records.

As I held the book ‘Tragedy of the Worcester’, in its first printing from 1930, in my hands, a rare and difficult to find book, now part of my library, I could feel the anguish of the author Richard Carnac Temple. It provided me some information on Ferdinando, the cook’s mate from Malabar, who according to the Temple, possibly used tales current at the Malabar coast to concoct the allegations against Thomas Green. And there was another person of Indian origin in the ship (perhaps from Bengal), one Antonio Francisco who backed Ferdinando’s story. Three other white sailors Linstead, Haines and Bruckley also confessed, supporting Ferdinando’s version, though Haines retracted his some years later.

The Worcester left England in March 1702 with around 35 people on board. Some two years later, when the Scots seized it as it returned to the isles, 14 of the original crew were dead. All of those14 died at the Malabar coast, which itself is peculiar, due to the high mortality percentage. There were plenty of British representation on the coast by then and the Worcester as you will see called on all of them periodically. There was no real medical calamity on board reasoning their deaths, so did they die fighting? We will have to assume so. Interestingly one of the sailors died after a dog bit him near Calliquilon. The ship also brought back two Malabar slave boys, one of whom was purchased by the Duke of Queensborough, whereas the other was purchased by the Earl of Rothe.

The Worcester reached the Malabar Coast on Nov 14th 1702. Between this time and 1704, they were involved in trading activities around Madagascar and Malabar, selling Candy for pepper, asafetida and so on… but related actions were later to cast a slant on their characters.

Ferdinando joined the ship around Nov 1702 when the ship reached Malabar. He sailed with the Worcester since, passing Quilon, Cochin, Calicut, Tellicherry & of course Calliquilon. It was somewhere between Calicut and Tellicherry that Ferdinando, during a couple of clear days in Jan/Feb 1703, claimed he saw Green’s sloop boarded another British flagged ship, manned by English wearing British colors. All of this was deposed through an official interpreter George Yeaman a merchant in Dundee a sworn interpreter.

Kelly explains - The prize vessel was disposed of afterwards in Caliquilon to one Kwaja Kammudi, a Moplah trader. Ferdinando claimed he received a wound to his arm during the action and that the coat he was wearing in court was taken out of the prize. The prosecution used the evidence of Charles May, the Worcester's surgeon, to corroborate Ferdinando's story.

Any story like this will have complications. A document from the shore stated that Ferdinando had boarded the ship only in May 1703. Antonio who was injured in the boarding of the said ship fractured his hand (hit by a shell) and was treated at Cochin, but initially stated that the covered up (plaistered) injury was due to a snake bite (he was threatened by the crew and not allowed to tell the truth – so what were they hiding?). According to him the attack of the ship took over two and a half days and the testimony also states that he was born to Christian parents and joined the ship at Calliquilon though he is not too sure about the date.

The witnesses Francisco and Ferdinando when produced before the court were termed Negros or blacks, not considered real Christians and their names as stated were not considered real. They were for these reasons not considered equivalent to ten pound Scots. Nevertheless, their depositions were the basis for later judgment, Ferdinando’s being the clinching eyewitness testimony augmented by supporting evidence by the others. It appears that he provided his testimony either in Malayalam. Imagine the irony, the destiny of Scotland was decided by a few words in Malayalam!! The translations in court were provided by George Yeaman.

I checked out Yeaman next. What kind of an interpreter was he? As one can see, he was key to the correctness of the testimony. It appears that he had spent 16 years on the coast of Malabar prior to the trial. That means that he came to Malabar in 1684 or so. He returned to Dundee and started a shop ‘Yeamans shore’ in 1700. Yeaman tried a hand at getting into politics subsequently, was successful and continued with various matters until 1715 in many important positions till he died in 1733. His bio is provided by the Scot parliament site below. Perhaps he did know a smattering of Malayalam.

A representative of a long line of merchants and shipowners in Dundee, Yeaman made his fortune in exotic climes. The Jacobite agent Scot referred to him in 1706 as ‘Captain Yeaman, a wealthy merchant, lately come from the West Indies’, while at the trial of Captain Green in Edinburgh the year before, one ‘Captain Eman of Dundee’ had acted as ‘interpreter for the blacks’ on board Green’s ship. It was said that he had ‘spent 16 years on the coast of Malabar, and spoke to them in lingua franca’. Yeaman had re-established himself in Dundee by 1700 and was soon a leading participant in trade, a shipowner and the proprietor of ‘Yeaman’s shore’ along the waterside. He acquired a country seat at Murie, formerly in the possession of the Ramsays.

Later reports provide a little more information on Ferdinando, that he was a devout Christian, with perhaps a father of obscure Portuguese origin, that he said his prayers regularly as a roman catholic, and trained (and provide Christian instructions) the two slave boys on board. One of the key moments of the trial was the display of the coat that Ferdinando wore (Francisco complained that while Ferdinando had one, he had to shiver without one in that lousy Scottish jail where only bread and water was given to these two prisoners). It appears that this coat was taken from a sailor of the ship that Green boarded and was convicted of. The prosecution tried to say that it was nothing more than pieces of an old Scottish rug.

Seventeen of the eighteen defendants were convicted. The verdicts were secured on the evidence of Ferdinando and the other confessors. Green, Madder, Simpson, and two others were sentenced to hang.

Ferdinando as we saw provided the required testimony that went against the Green crew and was subsequently taken back to his cell. Soon after, some say the same day, some say four hours later, some say the next, some say 10 days after, Antonio Ferdinando the sole eyewitness, was dead of poisoning. The person suspected of this murder was none other than the person who precipitated the whole matter, Rod Mackenzie. As a British sympathizer claimed, Ferdinando was seized by guilt and told Mackenzie who visited him that he was sorry to see Green being sentenced to death and that he was forced to say what he said by Dr May, the ships surgeon. Mackenzie soon came back according to Francisco, with a bottle of wine, a glass of which was provided to Ferdinando who drank it with gusto. Soon after he was seized with belly spasms and died shortly as evidenced by Antonio Francisco. Thus came to naught the desire of Ferdinando to lead a better life, wear better clothes and enjoy a future in Scotland. The local press tried to write it off as though Ferdinando came ashore with a hectic fever and died 10 days following the trial, from his pre-existing illness. Thus ended the short life of the Malabari whose actions were was to later change the course of Scotland.

Many a person questioned the testimony of the Malabari cook’s mate. Some opined that he was having flights of fancy, retelling stories he had heard of other pirates, some reconstructed the story as the tale of the Worcester meeting the EIC ship Aurang-Zeb (and just firing gun salutes which was construed as fighting by the delirious Ferdinando) , which was in the neighborhood. Some others like the esteemed Alexander Hamilton, who met Green and his crew in Calicut, did write that he had heard rumors of Greens pirate activities off the coast of Malabar and the tale of Green’s sinking a ship while he himself was in Calliquilon. So it is difficult to take in completely all of what Temple writes in his book, where he concludes that the entire trial was purely a witch-hunt ending up in wrongful conviction of Capt Green and two others, the others having been let free. Circumstantial evidence pointed to a lot of mischief on the side of the Worcester, like evidence of the contraband goods on board, Ferdinando’s coat, the conflicting comments by the crew, Haines blabbering to his new girl friend Anne, Green’s own comments after a few pints. But the question as to which vessel (if one was sunk) sank in Malabar waters during that event is unanswered till now.

Queen Anne intervened personally to secure a stay of execution to allow her ministers time to consider matters. But, on 11 April, the final day of the postponement, events in Edinburgh got out of hand when people started to feel that the Queen might interfere and acquit the convicted persons.

Daniel Defoe – author of Robinson Crusoe, a pamphleteer, wrote -The Streets filld with incredible numbers of men, women and children, calling for Justice upon those ENGLISH Murtherers. The Lord Chancellor Seafield's Coach happening to passby, they stop'di t, broke the Sashes, haul'd him out, and oblig'd him to promise Execution should speedily be done before he could get from 'em... According to the Chancellors promise, soon after, on the same day, being Wednesday, Captain G reen, Madder, and Sympson were brought out, and convey'd to Execution, which was at Leith Road upon the Sands, and all the way was Huzza'd in Triumph as it were, and insulted with the sharpest and most bitter Invectives…

But, as the rope went taut around Green's neck, the mob (80,000 armed men as a witness put it) underwent an apparent change of heart. 'No sooner was the Sacrifice made, and the Men dead', reported Defoe, 'but even the same Rabble, so sickly is the Multitude, exclaim'd at their own Madness, and openly regrated [sic] what they had done, and were ready to tear one another to pieces for the Excess. Although the mob was appeased, Green's execution now became a focal point for anti- Unionist propaganda. In Scotland, opponents of the Union celebrated the outcome as a symbol of national autonomy.

The next batch of the convicted were due to be executed the following Friday, but the anger having been satiated by the three executions, the latter was postponed and eventually the rest of the Worcester’s crew was released. The ship however was given to the Scottish Darien Company and all the goods, including the possessions of the crew, were sold. As Kelly puts it - In England, Green and his men were hailed as martyrs. An unaccountable delay in producing the official trial report in Edinburgh sparked off a vicious pamphlet war. English pens sought to discredit the Scottish judiciary, while the Scots tried any means to deflect criticism until the report could be published. The whole affair hastened the Union of 1707, for it was a choice of Union or war between the two nations.

So whatever happened to the Speedy return? It was earlier pirated off the Malabar Coast by another pirate John Owen and the Drummonds due to their involvement went undercover in Madagascar, living there for many years. But some questioned it. Was the story of the piracy by John Owen a work of fiction by Daniel Defoe to help the English? Was Drury’s book on Owen and the Drummonds death in Madagascar ghost written by Defoe as some felt? That is another matter.

Hamilton writes - The unfortunate Captain Green, who was afterwards hanged in Scotland, came on board my ship at sunset, very much overtaken in drink and several of his men in the like condition (at Calicut, February 1703). He wanted to sell Hamilton some arms and ammunition, and told me that they were what was left of a large quantity that he had brought from England, but had been at Madagascar and had disposed of the rest to good advantage among the pirates. I told him that in prudence he ought to keep these as secrets lest he might be brought in trouble about them. He made but little account of my advice, and so departed. About ten in the night his chief mate Mr. Mather came on board of my ship and seemed to be very melancholy.... He burst out in tears and told me he was afraid that he was undone, that they had acted such things in their voyage that would certainly bring them to shame and punishment, if they should come to light; and he was assured that such a company of drunkards as their crew was composed of could keep no secret. I told him that I had heard at Coiloan (Quilon) that they had not acted prudently nor honestly in relation to some Moors' ships they had visited and plundered and in sinking a sloop with ten or twelve Europeans in her off Coiloan.

We do not know what happened to Antonio Francisco. Maybe he survived in Scotland and his lineage flourishes. Daniel Defoe went on to write Robinson Crusoe’s tale. Roderick Mackenzie had a miserable end. In August 1707 the family of John Madder was awarded £460 compensation for his death.

But the Worcester had yet another interesting story to tell. On Feb 6th 1703, the Worcester entertained the factor at EIC’s offices in Calicut. On Feb 8th the records indicate this interesting incident – Being Munday, riding at anchor at Callicute, a moor merd belonging to Shackmaker passing by, he saluted us with 5 guns, we returned in like manner and he gave us three for thanks. Moor merd means a Persia-man or Moplah vessel. Shackmaker is Sheikh Maraikkar. Now did that mean that were others who continued to hold the Marakkar title after the 1600 Kunhali?

References

The tragedy of the Worcester – Richard Carnac Temple
The Worcester Affair – James Kelly
Celebrated criminal trails in Scotland – Arnot Hugo
The Tryal of Capt Thomas green and his crew

British Scottish relations – A very brief note

England and Scotland were separate states for several centuries before eventual union, and English attempts to take over Scotland by military force in the late 13th and early 14th centuries were ultimately unsuccessful. England and Scotland were ruled by the same king for the first time in 1603 when James VI of Scotland also became the king of England. However they remained two separate states until 1 May 1707.

Quoting from the BBC site - The largest component of customs dues was levied on the colonial trade. But this trade faced significant disruption from Scottish commercial networks which circumvented the Navigation Acts contrived to protect English domestic and overseas trade. English feelings that Scotland was acting as a rogue nation contributed greatly to William’s willingness to sabotage the Darien Venture through which Scotland attempted to establish an entrepôt for the East and West Indies on the Panama Isthmus in the late 1690s. English desires to control the Scots became more acute after the accession of Queen Anne, particularly as the Scots seemed reluctant to accept an eventual Hanoverian succession. Morover, England had insufficient manpower to fight wars, sustain manufacturing and expand its empire. The Scots were a ready reservoir.

Some Scots nobility petitioned Westminster to wipe out the Scottish national debt and stabilise the currency, which was eventually done. United Kingdom thus came into being...