one of the native states of Hindustan, situate on the coast of Malabar. Its boundaries are the British district of Malabar on the N. and N.E., Travancore on the S. and E., and the sea on the S.W. It lies between Lat. 9° 48' to 10° 50', Long. 76° 5' to 76° 58', and contains an area of 1988 sq. miles. A portion of this territory extends over the mountainous range termed the Western Ghats, and has an elevation of from 4000 to 5000 feet above the sea. The remainder consists for the most part of low hills, intersected by narrow fertile valleys, finely wooded and extremely well watered by small perennial streams. Rice is the chief cereal grown. The other vegetable productions are pepper, cardamoms, ginger, betel-nut, and arrow-root. The gardens and orchards produce in abundance the breadfruit, jackfruit, mango, plantain, lime, pine-apple, guava, Cochin, tamarind, and other fruits. Groves of palms and other trees skirt the bottom of the hills. Above these are woods of forest trees which, though not equal in size to those in Chittagong, are very fine, and free from rattans and other climbers. Among the principal trees may be noticed the teak, which is said to be inferior to that found in Malabar and Travancore; the jackwood, much in demand for cabinet work; the peon, probably a sort of pine, which furnishes excellent masts. There are also the angely, blackwood, and bastard cedar. Among the remarkable features of the country are the Cochin backwaters or shallow lakes, occasioned by the overflowing of the rivers during the S.W. monsoon, and affording the means of inland navigation from stream to stream and estuary to estuary, in a direction parallel to the shore. Of these waters the most important is that of Chowgaut, 20 miles in length and 8 in breadth, studded with numerous islands, and characterized by Dr Buchanan as "one of the finest inland navigations imaginable." In this province are many Nazarene or Christian villages, which, for Indian towns, are well built and cleanly, and the inhabitants of which are a very orderly and industrious people, living chiefly by trade or agriculture. The Christians are of two denominations—the Syrian or Jacobite Christians, who refer their conversion and the foundation of their religious establishment to St Thomas the Apostle, and acknowledge as their spiritual head the Patriarch of Antioch; and the disciples of the Church of Rome, being either descendants of the Portuguese or their converts. Jews also are numerous. These consist of two separate classes; the black Jews from time immemorial settled in the country, and the white Jews, affording evidence in their fairer complexions of the recent emigration of their race from more temperate climes.

The Cochin rajah maintained his independence to a much later period than most of the other Hindu chiefs. When Hyder invaded his country in 1776, he quietly submitted to pay tribute; which was continued to his son Tipoo, and is now paid to the British government. The earliest political relations of England with that government occurred in 1791, when a treaty was concluded between the rajah and the East India Company. This was followed by another in 1809, by the conditions of which the friends and enemies of each of the contracting parties were declared the friends and enemies of both. Cochin is under the protection of the British, and pays an annual tribute of L24,000. Under the influence of the protecting powers many important benefits have been conferred upon the country, which is represented as steadily advancing in all the elements of prosperity. An additional stimulus to the productive powers of the territory has been recently afforded by placing its trade as regards the United Kingdom on the same footing, with certain specified exceptions, as that of the British possessions in India.

seaport and town which, though giving name to the above native state, belongs to the British government, and is included within the district of Malabar, under the presidency of Madras. The city is of a semicircular form, and is about a mile and a half in circumference. It has three gates; and the streets are wide and commodious. A fort was built at this place by Albuquerque in 1503, and was the first possessed by the Portuguese in India. Cochin continued to increase and to flourish under their rule; and, besides other buildings, was adorned by a noble cathedral. In 1663 the town was captured by the Dutch. During the period of their rule it was a place of extensive commerce, and was inhabited not only by all sects of Christians, but by Hindus, Mohammedans, and Jews, who traded with Arabia, Persia, and the whole coast of India. The trade carried on with Surat, Bombay, the coasts of Malabar and Canara, and also with Arabia and the islands in the Eastern Seas, is still extensive. The imports consist chiefly of British manufactures, cotton, wool, opium, and spices; the exports are pepper, cardamoms, teak-wood, and other timber, cocoa nuts, coir, and cassia. The harbour is on the north side of the town, which stands on an island at the mouth of the Cali Caytang river. At this port also ship-building is carried on to a considerable extent, and vessels are constructed on the best European models. Cochin was taken by the British in 1795, when war commenced with Holland. Its fortifications were subsequently blown up with gunpowder; and the town was finally ceded to the British by the European treaty of 1814. Distant S.W. from Madras 350 miles. Lat. 76° 18', Long. 9° 57'.