William Logan (1841-1914) was the collector of Malabar under the British administration. He is remembered for his ‘Malabar Manual’, a guide to the Malabar district that was published in two volumes in 1187. The book has four chapters – province, people, history and land, with several subsections. This portion of ‘Malabar Manual’, describes the journey of Vasco da Gama to Kerala and his association with the Zamorins, the ruler of the kingdom of Kozhikkode. This journey is historically very important because there began colonial mercantilism and subsequent colonization.
Vaco da Gama started his journey from Belem near Lisbon on 25th March 1497 in three vessels namely, San Raphael, San Gabriel and Miguel. Each ship carried eighty men, officers, seamen and servants. After five months, their fleet arrived at St. Helena Bay in South Africa. After staying at many places and after dismantling San Miguel, they reached Melinde on 29th April 1498. They stayed there for three months. The king of Melinde gave them pilots and a broker to help them in trade. He also advised to sail for Capocate (Calicut) instead of Cambay (Khambhat-Gujarat). They left Melinde on 6th August 1498 and sighted the coast of Malabar on 26th August 1498. Then the two ships anchored near Pantalayani, Kollam.
The arrival of Portuguese aroused jealousy in the Moors or Muhammadans. There were three persons in authority under the Zamorin – The overseer of the treasury, the King’s Justice, and the Chief Officer of the palace guard. The Moors bribed both the overseer and the King’s Justice to obstruct the Portuguese. However, Nicholas Coelho, who had commanded San Miguel, got the sanction of the king, written on a palm leaf, for opening trade. Then Gama met the King. The King was a very dark man, half naked, clothed from the middle to the knees. He had a bracelet above the elbow, studded with rich jewels. Round his neck he wore a string of pearls and gold chains studded with rubies and emerald. His long hair gathered up and tied on the top with a knot. That too had a string of pearl around it.
On both sides of the king, there were two page boys. One had a shield and a sword. The other had a gold cup with a wide rim into which the king spat. There was a Chief Brahman who gave a folded green leaf every now and then, which the King ate and spat into the cup. This is how the king is portrayed in the manual. However, Vasco da Gama remained standing during the interview with the King. The King allowed the Portuguese to erect a factory on shore for trading purpose. But the Moors bribed the Chief Officer of the palace guard. He took Gama in a palanquin for a second interview. Gama was then taken to different places and the Chief Officer tried to discourage the Portuguese. But the Portuguese overcame everything with their patience. Later they become the rulers of India.
----Thulasidharan V
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