Malabar Settlement overlap with what was once the La Chance estate (Verification required), which was founded by Gaston de Gannes de La Chancellerie in the 1840s. Until the early 1970s, southern Malabar was primarily populated by Malabars, descendants of indentured labourers from the Malabar region in Kerala, India. The southern part of the original settlement along Malabar Road was known locally as "India". Malabar is a heavily residential area, with small to medium - size businesses distributed along its main thoroughfares. These businesses are in the main shops, food vendors and small service establishments such as tyre shops, laundries etc. The late
Dutch Malabar motivated by the lucrative pepper trade on Malabar, the primary aim for the Dutch in capturing the coast from the Portuguese was to secure Dutch Ceylon from Portuguese invasions. After failed attempts to capture the main Portuguese fort of Goa in 1604 and 1639, the Dutch decided to aim for the secondary Portuguese trading posts on the Malabar Coast. In 1650s the Dutch possessed only the unfortified factories at Kayamkulam and Cannanore. They took Quilon (now known as Kollam) on29 December 1658, but it was reconquered by the Portuguese on 14April 1659. On February10, 1661 the Dutch commander of Ceylon,