Locating Calicut Port

Where exactly was the medieval port of Calicut located? The Portuguese illustration of the Port of Calicut (above) from the 16th Century suggests a location between the Korappuzha River in the north and the Kallayi River in the south. The vessels anchored to the south of Kallayi River might even suggest a port extending from Korappuzha to Chaliyam (Beypore). The boat building activities would suggest Beypore, in which case the river has to be Chaliyar and not Kallayi. (Please click on the picture for an enlargement.)

The most prominent landmark in

the sketch is, obviously, the Portuguese Church which was built in 1598 and which later on was completed by the Zamorin in 1725. This church, now known as the Madre De Deus Cathedral appears to be right on the beach, according to the painting. The same church is today quite inland (see picture – the white turret is the top of the Cathedral under renovation).

Writing in 1883, William Logan (Malabar) observed: '...the sea encroaches one year it recedes again speedily, a fact which is perhaps to be accounted for by the rocky (laterite) nature of the bottom opposite the lighthouse, and for a considerable distance further north'. During Logan's time, 'The best anchorage for large vessels is marked by a buoy and is with the following bearings:-Lighthouse E to E by N in five to six fathoms, and from two to three miles offshore. Small craft, of which large numbers frequent this port, lie close in shore, but they should not anchor further south than with the light bearing E.N.E as the ground then becomes foul'.

Thus, the famous mud banks off the coast of Calicut, while beneficial for small crafts as these break the waves and make the waters placid, can be quite treacherous for larger vessels. In any case, larger vessels were anchored a few miles away from the port and goods and persons were transported in smaller boats. Thus, Calicut provided open anchorage and was no natural harbour. When Abdul Razzak, who visited Calicut in 1442, was speaking of Calicut as a 'perfectly safe harbour', he was obviously not referring to protection from the elements of nature which an open road stead port like Calicut did not provide, but to the rule of law which prevailed in the administration of the port.

An interesting factlet regarding the port was the change in the direction of trade during the middle ages. When Marco Polo visited Malabar, the trade was predominantly with the East, dominated by Chinese traders. Zheng He, the great voyager and admiral of the Chinese fleet died in Calicut in 1433 and Abdul Razzak who came only 9 years after the event noticed already a shift in the trade from east to west.

The limits of the port of Calicut today are as follows:

To the north.- The boundary pillar erected three quarters of a mile north of the new custom house.

To the south.- The boundary pillar two miles south of the custom house; the seashore between them to within fifty yards of high-water mark spring-tides

For an interesting presentation on Calicut Port – Past and Present please visit http://calicutheritageforum.googlepages.com/meeting92