Cochin, or Kochi (pop. 602,046; met. area pop. 2,117,990), is a port city in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It was also the name of a princely state that existed until India became independent in 1947. Cochin lies at the tip of a long peninsula, at the mouth of the Periyar River. Across the river from Cochin lies Ernakulam, a newer city that is a center of the engineering industry. Cochin has one of the best natural ports in India, and after independence, it became a training center for India’s navy and the base of the Southern Command, one of India’s three naval commands.
Cochin has a long history as a port and trading center. At the Cochin site, the Portuguese established the first European settlement in India in 1500, and they built the first European fort in India in 1503. Portugal dominated the area for much of the 1500’s and 1600’s. The Dutch took over in 1663 and ruled until 1795, when the port came under British rule. The British constructed a modern port for the city in the early 1900’s. Upon independence in 1947, the princely state of Cochin became part of the newly created state of Kerala. Many buildings from Cochin’s different colonial periods still stand in the city. The area attracts many tourists.
Cochin’s population includes many different religious communities. There are Jews and Christians as well as Muslims and Hindus. Kerala has had a Jewish community for almost 2,000 years, and Cochin became its center in 1568. However, in 1948, most of Cochin’s Jews immigrated to Israel. Cochin’s Christians claim to date back to the apostle Thomas, whom they say made a voyage to India in the A.D. 100’s. These Christians are adherents of the ancient Syriac Christian religion rather than Roman Catholicism, which the Portuguese brought to Cochin. The oldest synagogue and the oldest Christian church in India, both of which date from the 1500’s, are in Cochin.
