Malabar

The south western coast of India, sandwiched between the western ghats and the Arabian sea is broadly called the Malabar region. During the reign of the British East India Company, Malabar was part of its Madras Presidency. Later on it became the state of Malabar. This included the coastal areas of the southern part of the present day Karnataka and the northern parts of Kerala. Today, it refers largely to the northern part of the state of Kerala.

Northern Kerala region was ruled by the Chera dynasty till the 12th centuary. From the very early times, the Malabar region had intense trade relations with Europe, Arabia and indo-china. The area of present day Calicut and Baypore was the chief port and the trade capital of the region.