Kochi is the commercial hub of Kerala. Ruled by Indian princes
since 1102 BC, it became an important spice trading center on the
Arabian Sea in the 14th century. By 1503, however, Portuguese traders
took control and it became the first European colonial settlement in
India - and was later claimed by the Dutch, Mysore, and the English.
When India gained independence from Britain in 1947, Kochi was the
first princely state to voluntarily join the newly formed nation.