About Kerala History
The History of Kerala dates back to millions of years ago. The rock carvings at the Edakkal Caves in Wayanad District of Kerala go back as far as the early Stone Age period of around 5000BC. Pre- Historic carvings that date back to over millions of years ago have been found in the Ezhuthupura Caves near the Edakkal Caves.
Though the early Chera Kings used Tamil as their official language, the later Kings developed a separate Kerala identity which was distinct from Tamil. Later small chieftains grew in power with the end of the later Chera Kings known as the Kulashekara Kings, and Kerala was divided into principalities ruled by small Nair chieftains. Thus grew and developed in power the kingdoms of Kochi, Venad and Kolathiri while in Kasargode the Zamorin or the Samuthri emerged powerful.
Though the early Chera Kings used Tamil as their official language, the later Kings developed a separate Kerala identity which was distinct from Tamil. Later small chieftains grew in power with the end of the later Chera Kings known as the Kulashekara Kings, and Kerala was divided into principalities ruled by small Nair chieftains. Thus grew and developed in power the kingdoms of Kochi, Venad and Kolathiri while in Kasargode the Zamorin or the Samuthri emerged powerful.Then came the Portuguese and soon after arriving they took control of the pepper trade. The Zamorin and his Naval Commander Kunjali Marakkar waged constant wars against the Portuguese and defeated them. The Dutch took control of the spices trade but, weakened by the constant battles with the King of Travancore, Marthanda Varma, the Dutch finally surrendered to the British. During the British Rule in India, Kerala was fairly peaceful except that the Lion of Kerala Pazzhassi Raja and the Dewan of Travancore Velu Thampi Delava fought for independence. After India gained independence, and the state of Kerala was formed, the 1957 elections saw the EMS Namboodripad Government elected to power. What was special about this state government was that it is the world’s first democratically elected communist -led government to come to power.
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