Kozhikode

Kozhikode, city in south-west India, in Kerala State, a seaport on the Arabian Sea. The city was formerly known as Calicut. It is a rail junction and shipping centre serving a rich agricultural region. Coffee, coconuts, tea, ginger, pepper, and other spices are the chief exports. Industrial establishments include sawmills, textile mills, coffee-processing plants, and factories producing soap and tiles. The University of Calicut (1968) is in the area. Kozhikode was visited in 1487 by the Portuguese explorer Pedro de Covilhão. In May 1498 the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama arrived here after completing the first voyage from Europe to Asia around the Cape of Good Hope. The Portuguese established a trading post at Kozhikode, then in 1513 they set up a cotton-weaving centre that became extremely prosperous. Cloth from Kozhikode was known as calico. They withdrew in 1525. Trading stations were founded in the city by the English East India Company in 1664 and by the French in 1698. The British seized Kozhikode in 1790 in retaliation for attempts by the local rulers to expel European merchants. In 1792 the British annexed the city, together with much of the surrounding region. Population (1991) 419,531.