Until the Portuguese arrival Cochin Kingdom ruled over a large region in central Kerala. Their kingdom extended northward to Ponnani and Pukkaitha, east to Aanamala, and south to Cochin and Porakkad, with northern border capital at Perumpadappu. Calicut was invaded by Eranad's Zamorin, who then captured significant parts of Cochin Kingdom, and tried to claim Cochin's suzerainty.
The first European settlement was in India in Cochin. Cochin. The Portuguese Admiral Pedro Álvares Cabral landed at Cochin in the year 1500, after being repelled from Calicut. Cochin 's king accepted the Portuguese, and concluded a treaty of friendship. King let them build a factory in Cochin. The King declared "war" on the enemy, the Zamorini of Calicut, by offering support.In 1502 Vasco da Gama arrived in Cochin, which renewed friendship. Calicut was later bombed by Vasco da Gama and the Arab factories destroyed. This upset Zamorin, Calicut's governor, and after leaving Vasco da Gama he assaulted Cochin and burned the factory in Portuguese. The king of Cochin was forced to retire to Vypin Island along with his Portuguese allies. However, a small Portuguese fleet of reinforcement arrived and, some days later, the Zamorin were alarmed by Duarte Pacheco Pereira and the forthcoming Monsoons. Calicut recalled the army and left the siege immediately.
The ruler of Cochin with the aid of the Portuguese thwarted some later efforts by the Zamorin to capture the port of Cochin. The Portuguese armor was slowly strengthened at Cochin, probably to help the King defend Cochin. Cochin, located in the heart of East Indies, was for a long time the best site Portugal had in India, right after Goa. The Portuguese exported large amounts of spices from there, particularly pepper.