The period after the dissolution of the Second Chera Empire of the Kulasekharas witnessed the rise of several small kingdoms in Kerala.  The important ones are Venad {Travancore), the Perumpadappu Swarupam (Cochin), The Nediyirippu Swarupam of the Zamorins of Calicut.  The minor principalities are Desinganad, Attingal, Karunagappally, Karthikappally, Kayamkulam, Purakkad, Pantalam, Tekkumkur, Vadakkumkur, Punjar, Karappuram, Anchi Kaimals, Edappally, Parur, Alangad, Cranganore, Airur, Talappilly, Valluvanad, Palghat, Kollengode, Kavalappara, Parappanad, Kurumpranad, Kottayam, Cannanore, Nileswaram, and Kumbla.

Travancore Royal Family

The Travancore Royal Family belongs to the Kulasekhara Dynasty of the Cheras and ruled over the Indian state of Travancore until 1949. The Royal family, alternatively known as the Kupaka Royal Family, Thripappur Swaroopam, Venad Swaroopam, Vanchi Swaroopam etc, has its seat today at Trivandrum in Kerala, India. The last ruling Maharajah was Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma and Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi was the last Queen of Travancore. The present head of the royal family is Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma.

Kingdom of Cochin

The Kingdom of Cochin (also known as Perumpadappu Swaroopam, Madarajyam, Gosree Rajyam, or Kuru Swaroopam;) was a princely state that included much of modern day Thrissur district, Chittoor Taluk of Palakkad district and Fort Kochi Taluk, most of Kanayannur taluk (excluding Idappalli), and parts of Aluva taluk (Chovvara, Kanjoor, Srimoolanagaram) of Ernakulam district which are now the part of the Indian state of Kerala. Kochi was the first princely state to willingly join the Indian Union, when India gained independence in 1947. Cochin merged with Travancore to create Travancore-Cochin, which was in turn merged with the Malabar district of Madras State on November 1, 1956 to form the new state of Kerala.

Pazhassi Raja – Lion King Of Kerala

Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, who belonged to the Kottayam Royal Family in Talacherry in Kannur was a “royal rebel”. His crime: revolting against the British. The Pazhassi Revolt started in 1793. During that time, northern Kerala was ruled by Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali. They collected tax directly from the peasants and farmers. Fearing Tipu Sultan, a lot of Pazhassi’s cousins and family fled to south Kerala, but he stuck on to help his beloved subjects. Once the British took over, they started collecting it from the King and the landlords, increasing the tax in the meantime.

CALICUT (Zamorins (Samutiri) of Calicut)

The Zamorins (Samutiri) of Calicut are descendants from the Ernad Utaiyavar and are supposed to have received land and a broken sword (otimaval) from the Cheraman Perumal. The kingdom of Calicut came to be known as Nediyirippu Swarupam after the original house of the Eradis. Under the patronage of the Zamorins, Calicut became an important sea-port and trade rpnt.er from the fourteenth century. The Arabs and the Chinese were the major trading partners of Calicut. With revenues -from trade, the Zamorins embarked on the path of aggressive expansion by conquering and annexing the principalities of Beypore, Parappanad, Vettat, Valluvanad, Nilambur, Manjeri, and Malappuram. Finally, the reigning Zamorin victoriously marched into Tirunavai and assumed the role of patron (Rakshapurusha) of the Pan-Kerala Meet (Mamankam). The later history of Calicut is characterized by constant conflicts with Cochin and by interferences from foreign powers like the British. On May 21, 1800, the British, after crushing the opposition of the Zaniorins and Pazhassi Raja, annexed Malabar to the Province of Madras. During the period 1836-1856, the Malabar District had reported twenty-two bloody Muslim Mappila riots in which the poor Muslim tenants murdered many cruel Hindu Janmis (landlords) and burned Hindu temples. The riots came to an end with increasing opportuni-ties of employment for the unemployed and with land reform acts which pro-vided protection for poor tenants from unjust eviction.