Abstract
Salt was one of the main economic resources of pre-colonial Malabar and Travancore. A society living primarily on rice and fish that were both of poor quality and had to be preserved by using salt.. It was not only the tastemaker but the primary preservative that made it possible for families to store food for the long monsoon season. The daily consumption of a family of five demanded around 12–15 kilograms of salt annually. Kerala’s heavy rains and the absence of rock-salt deposits made local production through the drying of seawater the only possible source. This product became one of the most consequential commodities of the 1500s-1700s due to a technological and environmental limitation.
Keywords
Dharmapattanam
Koyilandy
Beypore
Chettuva
Ponnani
Kodungallur
References
1. K. S. Mathew, Society in Medieval Malabar (Kottayam: St. Thomas College, 1979), pp. 28–32; Sebastian R. Prange, “The Pagan King and the Muslim Merchants: Salt, Sovereignty and the Politics of Coastal Polities in Medieval Kerala”, Indian Economic & Social History Review 58, no. 2 (2021): 153–158.
2. Average rainfall data compiled from eighteenth-century Dutch observations in Hugo s’Jacob (ed.), The Rajas of Cochin, 1663–1720: From the Dutch Records (Delhi: Manohar, 2000), Appendix III.
3. Estimate extrapolated from Tellicherry Consultations, 1775–1785 (IOR/G/34 series), cross-checked with Travancore salt farmans in T. K. Velu Pillai, Travancore State Manual, vol. II (Trivandrum, 1940), p. 487.
4. VOC 913, Overgekomen Brieven Cochin, 1728, fol. 1123–1127 (Tamil Nadu Archives)
5. Pius Malekandathil, Portuguese Cochin and the Maritime Trade of India, 1500–1663 (Delhi: Manohar, 2001), pp. 189–192
6. K. V. Krishna Ayyar, The Zamorins of Calicut (Calicut University, 1938), p. 214; Edgar Thurston, Castes and Tribes of Southern India, vol. VII (Madras, 1909), pp. 362–370
7. Jacob Canter Visscher, Letters from Malabar (trans. H. Drury, Madras, 1862), Letter VIII, p. 89.
8. VOC 2429, Cochin Factory Diary, entry for 12 March 1743 (Tamil Nadu Archives)
9. Description confirmed by recent archaeological work at Vizhinjam (2023 season): Ajit Kumar & Rajesh S. V., “Salt Production Evidence from Vizhinjam Excavations”, Journal of Kerala Studies 49 (2024): 22–28
10. Price series reconstructed from Mathilakam Granthavari, Bundle 32, Document 174 (Kerala State Archives, Ernakulam).
11. Kozhikode Granthavari, Palm-leaf No. 412 (Kerala State Archives, Calicut Regional Collection); summary in M. G. S. Narayanan, Calicut: The City of Truth Revisited (Calicut University, 2006), pp. 128–130
12. Tomé Pires, Suma Oriental, trans. Armando Cortesão (London: Hakluyt Society, 1944), vol. I, p. 78
13. Jewish Copper Plates of Bhāskara Ravivarman, lines 28–31; full translation in M. G. S. Narayanan, Cultural Symbiosis in Kerala (Trivandrum, 1972), Appendix I.
14. Quilon Plates (Tarisāppalli) of Sthāṇu Ravi, line 22; see Elamkulam P. N. Kunjan Pillai, Studies in Kerala History (Kottayam, 1970), pp. 298–302.
15. Geneviève Bouchon, Mamalucos do Malabar (Lisbon, 1991), pp. 112–118; also O. K. Nambiar, The Kunjalis: Admirals of Calicut (Bombay, 1963), chapter 2.
16. Carta de Duarte Mendes de Vasconcelos, 1524, in Documentação para a História de Evora, vol. III (Lisbon, 1955), p. 214.
17. Mathilakam Records, Bundle 12, document dated Kollam Era 725 (Malayalam); published in Mathilakam Granthavari, ed. K. Raghavan Pillai (Trivandrum, 1964), pp. 87–89
18. Sanjay Subrahmanyam, The Portuguese Empire in Asia 1500–1700 (2nd ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2012), p. 138.
19. Pius Malekandathil, Portuguese Cochin and the Maritime Trade of India (Manohar, 2001), pp. 112–115, 189–190.
20. Letter of Viceroy D. João de Castro, 1545, in Arquivo Português Oriental, tomo 4, vol. II, p. 312. ↩
21. Hugo s’Jacob (ed.), The Rajas of Cochin 1663–1720 (Manohar, 2000), pp. 42–46, 178–182
22. Treaty text in s’Jacob, Rajas of Cochin, Appendix VII.
23. VOC 2356, Secret Report on Colachel Factory, 1739, f. 412–418.
24. Travancore farman dated ME 916 Kanni 15 (1740), published in T. K. Velu Pillai, Travancore State Manual, vol. II, pp. 492–494
25. Nagam Aiya, Travancore State Manual, vol. I (1906), p. 378
26. Kānam regulations in Travancore Administrative Report Report 1864–65, Appendix IV (earliest surviving copy of 1742 rules).
27. Oral tradition recorded in K. P. Padmanabha Menon, History of Kerala, vol. III (Ernakulam, 1933), p. 212.
28. Estimate derived from Travancore Accounts 1750–51 preserved in Padmanabhapuram Palace Records; summarised in A. Sreedhara Menon, A Survey of Kerala History (2007 ed.), p. 298
29. Tellicherry Consultations, IOR/G/34/15, 1754–56 price tables.
30. VOC 1684, Cochin to Batavia, 7 Oct. 1708, f. 89–92
31. Sinnappah Arasaratnam, Maritime Trade and State Development in Early Modern India (Delhi, 1989), pp. 134–136.
32. Tellicherry Consultations, IOR/G/34/12, 1734–35
33. Routes mapped in Susan Bayly, Saints, Goddesses and Kings (Cambridge, 1989), pp. 224–227
34. Stephen F. Dale, Islamic Society on the South Asian Frontier (Oxford, 1980), pp. 98–102.
35. Travancore Palace Records, Salt Department Memorandum ME 950 (1775 CE), quoted in P. Shungoonny Menon, History of Travancore (1878), p. 312
2. Average rainfall data compiled from eighteenth-century Dutch observations in Hugo s’Jacob (ed.), The Rajas of Cochin, 1663–1720: From the Dutch Records (Delhi: Manohar, 2000), Appendix III.
3. Estimate extrapolated from Tellicherry Consultations, 1775–1785 (IOR/G/34 series), cross-checked with Travancore salt farmans in T. K. Velu Pillai, Travancore State Manual, vol. II (Trivandrum, 1940), p. 487.
4. VOC 913, Overgekomen Brieven Cochin, 1728, fol. 1123–1127 (Tamil Nadu Archives)
5. Pius Malekandathil, Portuguese Cochin and the Maritime Trade of India, 1500–1663 (Delhi: Manohar, 2001), pp. 189–192
6. K. V. Krishna Ayyar, The Zamorins of Calicut (Calicut University, 1938), p. 214; Edgar Thurston, Castes and Tribes of Southern India, vol. VII (Madras, 1909), pp. 362–370
7. Jacob Canter Visscher, Letters from Malabar (trans. H. Drury, Madras, 1862), Letter VIII, p. 89.
8. VOC 2429, Cochin Factory Diary, entry for 12 March 1743 (Tamil Nadu Archives)
9. Description confirmed by recent archaeological work at Vizhinjam (2023 season): Ajit Kumar & Rajesh S. V., “Salt Production Evidence from Vizhinjam Excavations”, Journal of Kerala Studies 49 (2024): 22–28
10. Price series reconstructed from Mathilakam Granthavari, Bundle 32, Document 174 (Kerala State Archives, Ernakulam).
11. Kozhikode Granthavari, Palm-leaf No. 412 (Kerala State Archives, Calicut Regional Collection); summary in M. G. S. Narayanan, Calicut: The City of Truth Revisited (Calicut University, 2006), pp. 128–130
12. Tomé Pires, Suma Oriental, trans. Armando Cortesão (London: Hakluyt Society, 1944), vol. I, p. 78
13. Jewish Copper Plates of Bhāskara Ravivarman, lines 28–31; full translation in M. G. S. Narayanan, Cultural Symbiosis in Kerala (Trivandrum, 1972), Appendix I.
14. Quilon Plates (Tarisāppalli) of Sthāṇu Ravi, line 22; see Elamkulam P. N. Kunjan Pillai, Studies in Kerala History (Kottayam, 1970), pp. 298–302.
15. Geneviève Bouchon, Mamalucos do Malabar (Lisbon, 1991), pp. 112–118; also O. K. Nambiar, The Kunjalis: Admirals of Calicut (Bombay, 1963), chapter 2.
16. Carta de Duarte Mendes de Vasconcelos, 1524, in Documentação para a História de Evora, vol. III (Lisbon, 1955), p. 214.
17. Mathilakam Records, Bundle 12, document dated Kollam Era 725 (Malayalam); published in Mathilakam Granthavari, ed. K. Raghavan Pillai (Trivandrum, 1964), pp. 87–89
18. Sanjay Subrahmanyam, The Portuguese Empire in Asia 1500–1700 (2nd ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2012), p. 138.
19. Pius Malekandathil, Portuguese Cochin and the Maritime Trade of India (Manohar, 2001), pp. 112–115, 189–190.
20. Letter of Viceroy D. João de Castro, 1545, in Arquivo Português Oriental, tomo 4, vol. II, p. 312. ↩
21. Hugo s’Jacob (ed.), The Rajas of Cochin 1663–1720 (Manohar, 2000), pp. 42–46, 178–182
22. Treaty text in s’Jacob, Rajas of Cochin, Appendix VII.
23. VOC 2356, Secret Report on Colachel Factory, 1739, f. 412–418.
24. Travancore farman dated ME 916 Kanni 15 (1740), published in T. K. Velu Pillai, Travancore State Manual, vol. II, pp. 492–494
25. Nagam Aiya, Travancore State Manual, vol. I (1906), p. 378
26. Kānam regulations in Travancore Administrative Report Report 1864–65, Appendix IV (earliest surviving copy of 1742 rules).
27. Oral tradition recorded in K. P. Padmanabha Menon, History of Kerala, vol. III (Ernakulam, 1933), p. 212.
28. Estimate derived from Travancore Accounts 1750–51 preserved in Padmanabhapuram Palace Records; summarised in A. Sreedhara Menon, A Survey of Kerala History (2007 ed.), p. 298
29. Tellicherry Consultations, IOR/G/34/15, 1754–56 price tables.
30. VOC 1684, Cochin to Batavia, 7 Oct. 1708, f. 89–92
31. Sinnappah Arasaratnam, Maritime Trade and State Development in Early Modern India (Delhi, 1989), pp. 134–136.
32. Tellicherry Consultations, IOR/G/34/12, 1734–35
33. Routes mapped in Susan Bayly, Saints, Goddesses and Kings (Cambridge, 1989), pp. 224–227
34. Stephen F. Dale, Islamic Society on the South Asian Frontier (Oxford, 1980), pp. 98–102.
35. Travancore Palace Records, Salt Department Memorandum ME 950 (1775 CE), quoted in P. Shungoonny Menon, History of Travancore (1878), p. 312
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Chandni C.V.
(2026).
Salt and Statecraft in Kerala : The Political Economy of Coastal Salt Production and Trade in Pre-Colonial Malabar and Travancore (16th–18th Centuries).
Kerala History and Studies Journal,
1
(1)
, 147-159
.
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Chandni C.V.. "Salt and Statecraft in Kerala : The Political Economy of Coastal Salt Production and Trade in Pre-Colonial Malabar and Travancore (16th–18th Centuries)." Kerala History and Studies Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, 2026, pp. 147-159.
Copied
MLA 9th edition
Chandni C.V.. "Salt and Statecraft in Kerala : The Political Economy of Coastal Salt Production and Trade in Pre-Colonial Malabar and Travancore (16th–18th Centuries)." Kerala History and Studies Journal 1, no. 1 (2026): 147-159.
Copied
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