Malabar region Malabar region Malabar region refers to the historic and geographic area of southwest India, covering the state of Kerala along with Kanyakumari district, Tulu Nadu and Kodagu district It lies between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. The word Malabar is derived from the Malayalam word ""mala-baram"". "Mala" in Malayalam means "hill". "Varam" means "slope" or "side of a hill". The "Malabar Coast", in historical contexts, refers to India's southwest coast, lying on the narrow coastal plain of Karnataka and Kerala states between the Western Ghats range and the Arabian Sea. The coast runs from south of Goa to
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,