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Nicolas Sanson (1600-1667) was a French cartographer and geographer, credited by some as the creator of French geography and the father of French cartography. Born to an old Picardy family of Scottish descent in Abbeville, Nicolas was educated by Jesuits at Amiens.<br/><br/> In 1627, Sanson attracted the attention of Cardinal Richelieu due to a map of Gaul that he had made while only eighteen. Impressed by Sanson, Richelieu made him royal geographer and tutor to King Louis XIII and Prince Louis XIV. He was made a councillor of state by Louis XIII, who was fond of him, and published many maps of importance. He died in 1667 in Paris, and his geographic work was continued by two of his sons.
Cochin (now Kochi), on India’s southwest coast, was a Portuguese fortified town from 1500. In 1663 the Dutch East India Company captured the town for its pepper trade. The Dutch reduced the fort by two thirds so that it would be easier to defend. Portuguese monasteries and churches were converted into warehouses.<br/><br/> Known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the west coast of India from the 14th century. Occupied by the Portuguese Empire in 1503, Kochi was the first of the European colonies in colonial India. It remained the main seat of Portuguese India until 1530, when Goa was chosen instead. The city was later occupied by the Dutch and the British, with the Kingdom of Cochin becoming a princely state.
World: Rose apples (<i>Syzygium jambos</i>) originate in Southeast Asia, but are now grown widely across every continent except Antartica. Rich in vitamin C, the fruit can be eaten raw or used in various regional recipes. In Southeast Asian countries, rose apple fruit is frequently served with spiced sugar.
A Tower of Silence or Dakhma is a circular, raised structure used by Zoroastrians for exposure of the dead. There is no standard technical name for such a construction. The common <i>dakhma</i> or <i>dokhma</i> (from Middle Persian <i>dakhmag</i>) originally denoted any place for the dead. Similarly, in the medieval texts of Zoroastrian tradition, the word astodan appears, but today denotes an ossuary.<br/><br/> In the Iranian provinces of Yazd and Kerman, the technical term is <i>deme</i> or <i>dema</i>. In India, the term <i>doongerwadi</i> came into use after a tower was constructed on a hill of that name. The word <i>dagdah</i> appears in the texts of both India and Iran but, in 20th century India, signified the lowest grade of temple fire (cf. Fire temple). The term 'Tower of Silence' is a neologism attributed to one Robert Murphy, who, in 1832, was a translator of the British colonial government in India.
A dhow is a traditional Arab sailing vessel with one or more lateen sails. It is primarily used to carry heavy items, like fruit, along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India and East Africa. Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty people, while smaller dhows typically have crews of around twelve.<br/><br/> Even down to the present day, dhows make commercial journeys between the Arab or Persian Gulf and East Africa using sails as their only means of propulsion. Their cargo is mostly dates and fish to East Africa and mangrove timber to the lands of the Persian Gulf. They often sail south with the monsoon in winter or early spring, and back again to Arabia in late spring or early summer.<br/><br/> The term 'dhow' is also applied to small, traditionally-constructed vessels used for trade in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf area and the Indian Ocean from Madagascar to the Bay of Bengal. Such vessels typically weigh 300 to 500 tons, and have a long, thin hull design.<br/><br/> Dhow also refers to a family of early Arab ships that used the lateen sail, the latter of which the Portuguese likely based their designs for the caravel (known to Arabs as sambuk, boom, baggala, ghanja and zaruq).
A dhow is a traditional Arab sailing vessel with one or more lateen sails. It is primarily used to carry heavy items, like fruit, along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India and East Africa. Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty people, while smaller dhows typically have crews of around twelve.<br/><br/> Even down to the present day, dhows make commercial journeys between the Arab or Persian Gulf and East Africa using sails as their only means of propulsion. Their cargo is mostly dates and fish to East Africa and mangrove timber to the lands of the Persian Gulf. They often sail south with the monsoon in winter or early spring, and back again to Arabia in late spring or early summer.<br/><br/> The term 'dhow' is also applied to small, traditionally-constructed vessels used for trade in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf area and the Indian Ocean from Madagascar to the Bay of Bengal. Such vessels typically weigh 300 to 500 tons, and have a long, thin hull design.<br/><br/> Dhow also refers to a family of early Arab ships that used the lateen sail, the latter of which the Portuguese likely based their designs for the caravel (known to Arabs as sambuk, boom, baggala, ghanja and zaruq).
The Dutch East India Company captured the town of Cannanore (now Kannur) on India’s southwest coast from the Portuguese in 1663. At that time, the Portuguese military position on the Malabar Coast had been seriously diminished so the company met with virtually no resistance.<br/><br/> The region produced pepper and cardamom, the latter spice used to make sweet biscuits. The company ultimately lost Cannanore to the British in 1790.
The Malabar Independent Syrian Church, also known as the Thozhiyur Sabah (Church), is a Christian church centred in Kerala, India. It is one of the churches of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.<br/><br/> Considered part of the Syriac Orthodox Group of churches in India, the church split from the main body of India's Malankara Church in 1771. After a court verdict in 1862, the church was given its current name Malabar Independent Syrian Church.<br/><br/> Today the church remains small, with about 35,000 members, and maintains good relations with the other Malankara churches.
In classical usage, 'India Intra Gangem' refers to South Asia west of the Ganges, while 'India Extra Gangem' refers to peninsular Southeast Asia.
A map of the Coasts of Persia, Gujarat and Malabar (French, 1740).
Probably born in Venice around 1254 CE, Marco Polo was raised by his aunt and uncle after his mother died. His father, Niccolo, was a Venetian merchant who left before Marco was born to trade in the Middle East. Niccolo and his brother Maffeo passed through much of Asia and met with Mongol emperor Kublai Khan who reportedly invited them to be ambassadors. In 1269, Niccolo and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time.<br/><br/> In 1271, Marco Polo, aged 17, with his father and his uncle, set off for Asia, travelling through Constantinople, Baghdad, Persia, Kashgar, China and Burma. They returned to Venice 24 years and 15,000 miles later with many riches. Upon their return, Venice was at war with Genoa, and Marco Polo was imprisoned. He spent the few months of his imprisonment dictating his adventures to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who incorporated the tales into a book he called 'The Travels of Marco Polo'. The book documented the use of paper money and the burning of coal, and opened European eyes to the wonders of the East.
Woman of the Tiyan caste in Malabar, where the females of many castes wear no clothing above the waist. Metal discs or rolls of palm-leaf are inserted in the lobes of the ears, which are dilated during infancy. The tali (marriage badge) and metal talismans are suspended from a necklace round the neck.
A voyage to the East Indies; containing authentic accounts of the Mogul government in general, the viceroyalties of the Decan and Bengal, with their several subordinate dependencies. This two-volume work is the third edition of a book first published as a single volume in 1757, expanded to two volumes in 1766, and republished in 1772. The author, John Henry Grose (active 1750-83), was born in England and went to Bombay (present-day Mumbai) in March 1750, to work as a servant and writer for the British East India Company. The book contains Grose’s descriptions of 18th-century India, including his account of the war of 1756-63, in which the British East India Company largely eliminated France as a competitor for control of India and established the basis for British rule that was to last until the middle of the 20th century.
A dhow is a traditional Arab sailing vessel with one or more lateen sails. It is primarily used to carry heavy items, like fruit, along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India and East Africa. Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty people, while smaller dhows typically have crews of around twelve.<br/><br/> Even down to the present day, dhows make commercial journeys between the Arab or Persian Gulf and East Africa using sails as their only means of propulsion. Their cargo is mostly dates and fish to East Africa and mangrove timber to the lands of the Persian Gulf. They often sail south with the monsoon in winter or early spring, and back again to Arabia in late spring or early summer.<br/><br/> The term 'dhow' is also applied to small, traditionally-constructed vessels used for trade in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf area and the Indian Ocean from Madagascar to the Bay of Bengal. Such vessels typically weigh 300 to 500 tons, and have a long, thin hull design.<br/><br/> Dhow also refers to a family of early Arab ships that used the lateen sail, the latter of which the Portuguese likely based their designs for the caravel (known to Arabs as sambuk, boom, baggala, ghanja and zaruq).
A dhow is a traditional Arab sailing vessel with one or more lateen sails. It is primarily used to carry heavy items, like fruit, along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India and East Africa. Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty people, while smaller dhows typically have crews of around twelve.<br/><br/> Even down to the present day, dhows make commercial journeys between the Arab or Persian Gulf and East Africa using sails as their only means of propulsion. Their cargo is mostly dates and fish to East Africa and mangrove timber to the lands of the Persian Gulf. They often sail south with the monsoon in winter or early spring, and back again to Arabia in late spring or early summer.<br/><br/> The term 'dhow' is also applied to small, traditionally-constructed vessels used for trade in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf area and the Indian Ocean from Madagascar to the Bay of Bengal. Such vessels typically weigh 300 to 500 tons, and have a long, thin hull design.<br/><br/> Dhow also refers to a family of early Arab ships that used the lateen sail, the latter of which the Portuguese likely based their designs for the caravel (known to Arabs as sambuk, boom, baggala, ghanja and zaruq).