Calicut
is the anglicized form of Kalikut, the Arabic for the
Malayalam Kozhikode. It is also called the Cock Fort.
According to the historian,
K.V. Krishnan Iyer, the term means Koyil (Palce) Kodu
(fortified). Any how, it is a historical town with a
hoary past. From time immemorial, the city attracted
travellers, with its charming physical features and
prosperity. Even today, the glory that was Calicut has
not faded.
The
political history of Kozhikode is a story of treacherous
and ill-conceived conspiracies hatched by the Western
poswers. Vasco Da Gama landed at Kappad
(16 kilometres north of Kozhikode) in May 1498, as the
leader of a trade mission from Portugal and was received
by the Zamorin himself.
This
marked the beginning of foreign dominations in the East.
From the 13th century, Kozhikode attained
a position of pre-eminence in the trade of pepper and
other spices which made it India’s emporium of international
trade. As Kozhikode offered full freedom and security,
the Arab and the Chinese merchants preferred it to all
other ports. The globe totter Ibu Btuta (A.D. 1342-47)
notes: “We came next to Calicut, one of the great ports
of the district of Malabar, and in which merchants of
all parts are found”.
Athanaseus
Nikiten, the Russian traveller, (1468-74) accounts thus,
“Calicut is a port for the whole Indian sea, which God
forbid any craft to cross, and whoever saw it, will
not get over it healthy, everything is cheap and servant
and maids are very good”.
Associated
with the Zamorins is Kottaparamba where stood their
ancient palace. Mananchira was the bathing tank of the
members of the Zamorin’s household.
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