The House of Kunjali Marakkars had been famous for its anti-Portuguese maritime encounters in the history of South India during the 16th century. The House patronised by the Zamorins of Calicut, the local King, played a seminal role in keeping the freedom of the Arabian sea, further extending upto Red sea. This house had produced four illustrious naval commandants in its crusade against the Portuguese from A.D. 1507 to 1600 in which the last one Muhammed Kunjali Marakkar had an epoch making history as a martyr for the freedom of the sea. He assumed charge of his fortress at Kottakkal, near Badagara in the Calicut district in 1595. He became a great threat and danger to the Portuguese conquerers who wanted to establish their ways over Malabar coast. He earned great fame and prestige, as he became known from the Cape of Good Hope to China. He fortified the Kottakkal fort by land and sea and installed the latest cannons for defence.

The Portuguese succeeded to create rupture between the ruler, the Zamorin, and the Kunjali IV, by projecting the title assumed by the latter as “King of the Malabar Moors and Lord of the Indian Seas”. It was an unfortunate event in the history of Malabar that the ruling chief, the Zamorin, was compelled to join with his traditional enemy, the Portuguese. A treaty of peace and friendship was agreed upon between them against Kunjali. However, the Zamorin was not very anxious to start a war against his rebel admiral. In April 1598, thus Captain Luis Gama was compelled to return to Goa without achieving anything against the enemy. He kept a fleet in the mouth of Kottakkal to continue the blockade.

Finally, after the intervention of the Archbishop of Goa, Alexio de Menezes a joint operation against Kottakkal was commenced on 5th March 1599. The fort was strictly watched by fast moving Bassein-boats and all supplies to the fort stopped thereby. The musketteers of Kunjali compelled the Portuguese fleet to retreat to Cochin. Thus the joint operation against Kunjali in March-Sptember 1599 was ended in a great disgrace, the
Portuguese received in Asia. About 500 Portuguese men lost their lives in this engagements. It created great pandemonium in the Viceroy’s palace in Goa. For a second
encounter, the Viceroy selected Andre Furtado as Captain of an expedition consisting of 1000 Portuguese. The latest expedition brought Rani of Ullal and Raja of Mangalore to the Portuguese side and that terminated their possible assistance to Kunjali. By March 1600, the campaign against him was restarted. But the Portuguese were suspicious of the assistance of the Zamorin. Thus, Furtado treated the land force of the Zamorin as enemies. Finally he served an ultimatum to the Zamorin : “Either Kunjali should surrender immediately or else I will attack the fortress killing all those who are there”. March 16th was fixed as a date for surrender ceremony. On that date about 4000 Muslim war-torn garrison of the fort came out of the fortress for surrender. At last Kunjali came out with three captains including Chinna Kutti Ali. Kunjali surrendered his sword after a prostration to the Zamorin. Furtado seized him by his arms and the Nairs of the Zamorin fell upon the Portuguese to rescue him.

The fort was then looted and the looty was distributed among the soldiers. Kunjali’s 40 followers were handed over to the Portuguese. On 22nd March, the expedition ended. The Portuguese took the prisoners along with Kunjali to Goa. The Galley of Furtado was welcomed at the bar of Panjim with decorated boats and crowd. A team of priests tried their level best to convert the prisoners to christians. But they refused to yield. One day, a french type guillotine was erected in front of the Viceroy’s palace where nobles and commoners assembled to witness this great historic event. The charges against Kunjali was that he was a traitor to the King of Portugal and that he had persecuted Christians with great courage. He moved to the scaffold with courage. Later his head was salted and sent to Kannur to be exhibited there as a warning to strike terror among the Muslims. The conquest of Kottakkal fort was rejoiced in Putugal and that the king in a letter thanked Furtado for restoring the glory of the country.

After the culmination of this event, the Malabar coast had no occasion to organise her own naval force to fight against the conquerors. In the 17th century, Portuguese were also compelled to restrict their activities in a few forts and settlements like those of Kannur, Cochin and Quilon of Malabar coast. In 1663, these settlements were also conquered by the Dutch, thereby creating an end to the Portuguese dream of an empire in Malabar.

In fact the native resistance of a country in Malabar against the Portuguese in which the House of Kunjalis played an epoch making role which had helped the Malabar Kingdoms to be free from the conquerors and their colonial designs. If such a continuous programme of resistance had not taken place in Malabar under the leadership of Kunjalis, the coast must have become a colony of the Portuguese like that of Goa. Such a situation must have retarded the development of Malayalam language and literature including its culture. These encounters extending upto Red Sea had also helped the Arab country to maintain their independence during the 16th century. It is unfortunate that the Indian Navy traces its origin from the East India Company’s Bombay marines. In fact, it should have re-evaluated with the advent of the Kunjalis. These admirals had made an epoch in the history of Indian Navy through their dedication for a cause, trends of sacrifice, strategic innovations and technological achievements.

[A study of these developments is given in K.K.N. Kurup & K.M. Mathew Native Resistance against the Portuguese : the Saga of Kunjali Marakkar , Calicut University, 2000]