Calicut is a city on the coast of Malabar, a province of the second India, which begins at the mount of Delhi, and ends at Cape Comory, being sixty– one leagues in length, and fifteen leagues broad421. The whole of this country is very low, and apt to be covered with water, having many islands in its rivers, which flow into the Indian Sea. This country of Malabar is divided from the kingdom of Narsinga by a very high hill. The Indians report that this land of Malabar was covered by the sea of old, which then reached to the foot of the hills, and thence to a hill, where now the islands of the Maldives are found, which were then firm land; and that in after times it destroyed that latter country, and laid bare the country of Malabar, in which are many pleasant and rich cities, dependent upon trade, which they carry on principally with Calicut, which exceeds all cities of our days in riches and in vice. Its foundation and rise was as follows: In ancient times, this country of Malabar was entirely ruled by one king, who dwelt in the city of Coulan. In the reign of the last king of this race, named Saranaperimal422, who died 600 years ago, the Moors of Mecca discovered India, and came to the province of Malabar, then inhabited by idolaters, and governed by an idolatrous king. From the time of the coming of these Moors, they began to reckon their years as we do, from the birth of our Saviour423. After the coming of the Moors into Malabar, they insinuated themselves so much into the confidence of the before-mentioned king, that he became a convert to their law, renouncing the religion of his country, and embracing Mahometism with such zeal, that he resolved to go and end his days in the temple of Mecca. Having thus resolved, out of love to the Mahometan sect, to abandon his kingdom, he called his kindred together, and divided all his territories among them, reserving only twelve leagues of country near the place where he intended to embark, not then inhabited, which he bestowed upon one of his cousins who acted as his page. To this kinsman he gave his sword and turban, as ensigns of dignity; commanding all the other nobles, among whom he had distributed the rest of his territories, to obey this person as their emperor, the kings of Coulan and Cananor only excepted; whom also, and all the others, he debarred from coining money, which was only to be done by the king of Calicut. Having thus given away his whole dignities and possessions, and set every thing in order, he embarked from the place where Calicut now stands; and because this king embarked from that place on his pilgrimage to Mecca, the Moors have ever since held Calicut in so high devotion, that they and all their posterity would never take their lading from any other port. From that time forwards, they discontinued trade with the port of Coulan, which they had used formerly, and that port therefore fell to ruin; especially after the building of Calicut, and the settlement of many Moors in that place424.

As the Moors are merchants of most extensive dealings, they have rendered Calicut, as the centre of their trade, the richest mart of all the Indies; in which is to be found all the spices, drugs, nutmegs, and other things that can be desired, all kinds of precious stones, pearls and seed-pearls, musk, sanders, aguila, fine dishes of earthen ware, lacker425, gilded coffers, and all the fine things of China, gold, amber, wax, ivory, fine and coarse cotton goods, both white and dyed of many colours, much raw and twisted silk, stuffs of silk and gold, cloth of gold, cloth of tissue, grain, scarlets, silk carpets, copper, quicksilver, vermilion, alum, coral, rose-water, and all kinds of conserves. Thus, every kind of merchandize from all parts of the world is to be found in this place; which, moreover, is very quiet, being situated along the coast, which is almost open and very dangerous. Calicut is surrounded by many gardens and orchards, producing all the herbs and fruits of this country in great abundance, having also many palms and other sorts of trees, and abounds in excellent water. This part of India produces but little rice, which is a principal article of food in these parts, as wheat is with us; but it procures abundance of that and all other kinds of provisions from other countries. The city is large, but the dwellings consist only of straw huts; their idol temples, and chapels, and the kings palace excepted, which are: built of stone and lime and covered with tiles; for, by their laws, no others are permitted to build their houses of any other material than straw. At this time, Calicut was inhabited by idolaters of many sects, and by many Moorish merchants, some of whom were so rich as to be owners of fifty ships. These ships are made without nails, their planks being sewed together with ropes of cayro, made of the fibres of the cocoa-nut husk, pitched all over, and are flat-bottomed, without keels. Every winter there are at least six hundred ships in this harbour, and the shore is such, that their ships can be easily drawn up for repairs.

"The subjects of the following digression are so intimately connected with the first establishment of the Portuguese in India, as to justify its introduction in this place, which will greatly elucidate the narrative of Castaneda; and its length did not admit of being inserted in the form of notes. It is chiefly due to the ingenious and Reverend James Stanier Clarke, in his Origin and Progress of Maritime Discovery, extracted by him from various sources."

"The name of this country, Malabar, is said to be derived from ulyam, which signifies, in the original language of that part of India, skirting the bottom of the hills, corrupted into Maleyam or Maleam, whence probably came Mulievar, and Mala-bar. In a MS. account of Malabar, it is said that little more than 2300 years ago, the sea came up to the foot of the Sukien mountains, or the western gauts. The emerging of the country from the waters is fabulously related to have been occasioned by the piety or penitence of Puresram Rama, who prayed to Varauna, the God of the ocean, to give him a track of land to bestow on the Bramins. Varauna accordingly commanded the sea to withdraw from the Gowkern, a hill near Mangalore, all the way to Cape Comorin; which new land long remained marshy and scarcely habitable, and the original settlers were forced to abandon it on account of the numerous serpents by which it was infested: But they afterwards returned, being instructed to propitiate the serpents by worshipping them."

"At first this country was divided into four Tookrees or provinces, these into Naadhs or districts, and these again into Khunds or small precincts. The Bramins established a kind of republican or aristocratical government, under a few principal chiefs; but jealousies and disturbances taking place, they procured a Permaul or chief governor from the prince of Chaldesh, a sovereignty in the southern Carnatic: Yet it is more likely that this sovereign took advantage of the divisions among the chiefs of Malabar, to reduce them under his authority. These permauls or viceroys were for a long while changed every twelve years; till at length one of them, named Sheo-Ram, Cheruma Perumal, or Shermanoo Permaloo, the Sarana-perimal of Castaneda, became so popular that he set his master Kishen Rao, the rajah of Chaldesh, at defiance, and established his own authority in Malabar. An army was sent into Malabar to reduce the country again to obedience, but it was defeated, and from this event, which is said to have happened 1000 years ago, all the rajahs, chief nayres, and other lords of Malabar, date the sovereignty and independence of their ancestors in that country."