page_title: Kozhikode
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Kozhikode / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Vasco da Gama lands at Calicut, May 20, 1498. Português: Vasco da Gama, navegador e explorador português. العربية: فاسكو دي جاما وصل إلى ساحل كينكا الهندي
context_page_description: Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is an Indian city, second-largest urban agglomeration in the State of Kerala and 20th largest in the country with a population of 2 million according to 2011 census.
  During classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikode was dubbed the City of Spices for its role as the major trading point of Indian spices. A historical city, it was the capital of an independent kingdom ruled by the Samoothiris in the Middle Ages. According to data compiled by economics research firm Indicus Analytics in 2009 on residences, earnings and investments, Kozhikode ranked as the second best city in India to reside in.
context_section_description: Kozhikode was the capital of an independent kingdom ruled by the samoothiris (Zamorins) in the Middle Ages and later of the erstwhile Malabar District under British rule. Arab merchants traded with the region as early as 7th century, and Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed at Kozhikode on 20 May 1498, thus opening a trade route between Europe and Malabar. A Portuguese factory and the fort was intact in Kozhikode for short period (1511–1525, until the Fall of Calicut). The English landed in 1615 (constructing a trading post in 1665), followed by the French (1698) and the Dutch (1752). In 1765, Mysore captured Kozhikode as part of its occupation of the Malabar Coast. Kozhikode, once a famous cotton-weaving centre, gave its name to the Calico cloth.
  It was ranked eleventh among Tier-II Indian cities in job creation by a study conducted by ASSOCHAM in 2007.
caption: Vasco da Gama's arrival in Calicut in 1498 ushered in six centuries of rule of the Portuguese Empire in India, lasting until 1961.
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