Kunjali Marakkar


The Kunjali Marakkar or Kunhali Marakkar was the title given to the naval chief of the Zamorin of Calicut in present-day Kerala, India during the 16th century. There were four Kunjali Marakkars who were the naval commanders of Zamorin in his naval war against the Portuguese from 1507 to 1600. The Kunjali Marakkars are credited with organizing the first naval defense of the Indian coast.

Title

The title of Marakkar was given by the Zamorin. It may have been derived from the Malayalam language word marakkalam meaning ‘boat,’ and kar, a termination, showing possession.
The four Kunjali Marakkars and their tenure:
  1. Kutti Ahmed Ali – Kunjali Marakkar I
  2. Kutti Pokker Ali – Kunjali Marakkar II
  3. Pattu Marakkar – Kunjali Marakkar III
  4. Mohammed Ali – Kunjali Marakkar IV

    Origins of Marakkar

According to tradition, Marakkars were originally Muslim marine merchants of port Kochi who left for Ponnani in the Zamorin's dominion when the Portuguese fleets came to Kingdom of Cochin. They offered their men, ships and wealth against the Portuguese to the Zamorin of Calicut-the king took them into his service and eventually they became the Admirals of his fleet. Another version suggests that they were merchants of Cairo, Egypt who settled in Kozhikode and joined the Samoothiri's navy.

Against the Portuguese Empire

The Portuguese initially attempted to obtain trading privileges in 1498, but soon had troubles because the pressure from the Muslim Arabs over the Zamorin, since they had traditionally been trading in his ports, and did not want to lose the monopoly in trading spices. The Zamorin resisted these attempts which resulted in the Portuguese trying to destabilise his rule by negotiating a treaty with his arch enemy, the Kingdom of Cochin in 1503. Sensing the Portuguese superiority at sea, the Zamorin set about improving his navy. He appointed Kunjali Marakkar to the task.
The fight between the Zamorin and the Portuguese continued on until the end of the 16th century, when the Portuguese convinced the Zamorin in 1598 that Marakkar IV intended to take over his Kingdom. The Zamorin then joined hands with the Portuguese to defeat Marakkar IV, ending in his defeat and death in 1600.
The Kunjali IV had rescued a Chinese boy, called Chinali, who had been enslaved on a Portuguese ship. The Kunjali was very fond of him, and he became one of his most feared lieutenants, a Muslim and enemy of the Portuguese. The Portuguese were terrorized by the Kunjali and his Chinese right-hand man, eventually, after the Portuguese allied with Calicut's Samorin, under Andre Furtado de Mendoça they attacked the Kunjali and Chinali's forces, and they were handed over to the Portuguese by the Samorin after he reneged on a promise to let them go. Diogo do Couto, a Portuguese historian, questioned the Kunjali and Chinali when they were captured. He was present when the Kunjali surrendered to the Portuguese, and was described: "One of these was Chinale, a Chinese, who had been a servant at Malacca, and said to have been the captive of a Portuguese, taken as a boy from a fusta, and afterwards brought to Kunhali, who conceived such an affection for him that he trusted him with everything. He was the greatest exponent of the Moorish superstition and enemy of the Christians in all Malabar, and for those taken captive at sea and brought thither he invented the most exquisite kinds of torture when he martyred them." However, de Couto's claim that he tortured Christians was questioned, since no other source reported this, and is dismissed as ridiculous.

Key events