Lords of the Sea -- Copyright Page -- SERIES EDITOR'S FOREWORD -- CONTENTS -- Acknowledgements -- Glossary -- Notes on place and personal names -- Notes on weights and currencies in Cannanore -- Maps -- Introduction -- Kolathunadu, 1663-1723 -- Sources -- Historiographical antecedents -- Analytical framework -- Chapter One: The Geo-Political Setting of Kolathunadu -- Kolathunadu through the ages -- Malabar: a regional perspective -- Region within the region: the social world of Kolathunadu -- Brahmanism in Kolathunadu -- Nayars as local elites -- Other social groups -- Mercantile groups in Kolathunadu -- Conclusion -- Chapter Two: The Rajas of Kolathunadu -- The 'state' in pre-colonial Kerala -- The 'little kingdom' model -- The swarupam polity -- The concept of sakti -- Houses by the sea -- The co-sharers of Kolathunadu -- Lords of the horses -- The Arackal Ali Rajas -- Legitimacy and sakti -- Conclusion -- Chapter Three: Lords of the Sea -- The fifteenth century: decline or continuity? -- The sixteenth century: changing port order in Malabar -- The rise of the Mappila trading network in Cannanore -- The Cannanore Bazaar -- The Cannanore thalassocracy -- Cannanore and the commercial world of the Indian Ocean -- 1. The Arabian Sea -- 2. Ceylon, Coromandel, Bengal, and South-East Asia -- 3. Asian traders in Cannanore -- 4. Cannanore exports -- 5. Cannanore imports -- Conclusion -- Chapter Four: Jan Company in Cannanore (1663-1723 -- The Malabar commercial scenario on the eve ofthe Dutch conquests -- The Dutch in Malabar -- The Cannanore fort -- The Dutch garrison in Cannanore -- Jan Company and the local political elites -- The Dutch and the local political practice of gift-giving -- The Company and local communicators -- Jan Company's commercial policy in Cannanore -- The Company and local commercial partners.

Jan Company and its rivals in trade -- The Mappila merchants of Cannanore -- Maritime control system and its failure -- The English and the French -- Conclusion -- Chapter Five: The VOC Trade in Cannanore (1663-1723) -- The VOC trade in Cannanore: exports -- 1. Pepper -- 2. Cardamom -- 3. Timber -- 4. Ambergris, wild cinnamon, and coconut products -- The VOC trade in Cannanore: imports -- 1. Opium -- 2. Japanese copper -- 3. Cotton -- 4. Horses and elephants -- 5. Spices and other small-quantity merchandise -- Into the hinterland of Cannanore -- Conclusion -- Chapter Six: Power Politics in Kolathunadu (1663-1697) -- Drive towards centralization: Prince Ramathiri (1663-1673) -- Ramathiri and the Company: early contact -- For the sake of trade: the Ali Raja's Mangalore missionand its failure -- Growing tension: Ramathiri and the VOC -- Changing commercial atmosphere and shifting strategies:the Ali Raja and the Company -- Conflicting interests: Ramathiri versus the VOC -- The fall of Ramathiri -- Political restructuring in Kolaswarupam:the (re)invention of tradition -- Unnithiri: the new contester for power -- Competition for Kottakunnu: the Ali Raja and the VOC -- An anti-Ali Raja alliance in the making -- The Dutch ragiadoor-moor and the failure of theCochin model -- The Ali Raja's political setback in Dharmapatanam -- Changing attitude of the VOC towards the Ali Raja -- Run to the coast: Prince Unnithiri -- A miscarried attack: the Mappila attack on the VOC fortin Cannanore -- Threat from the sea: the Maratha 'pirates' andCannanore politics -- The growing tension 'within': the Ali Raja and the princes -- Changing balance of power in Kolathunadu -- The death of the Kolathiri and the increasing political confusionin Kolathunadu -- confusion in Kolathunadu -- Conclusion.

Chapter Seven: The Coast Adrift: The Ali Raja and the Rise ofNew Maritime Powers (1698-1723) -- Close encounters along the coast -- Trans-regional alliance against the Ikkeri Nayaka:resurgence of the border conflict -- The Vazhunnavar of Vadakara versus the Ali Raj -- The Ali Raja: strengthening the position -- New regime and the continuing power conflict -- Alienating from the Kolathiris -- 1. Unnithiri -- 2. The Ali Raja -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Appendices -- 1. Factors of the VOC Settlement in Cannanore -- 2. The Kolathiris (1663-1723) and the Ali Rajas (1663-1723) -- 3. The Ships of the Ali Rajas to Bengal (1700-1724) -- 4. The First Treaty between the Ali Raja and the VOC,11 February 1664 -- 5. The Third Treaty signed between the Ali Raja and the VOC,9 April 1680 -- 6. The Treaty between the Ali Raja and the English, 1668 -- 7. The VOC Commanders of Malabar (1663-1723) -- Bibliography -- Index.