St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Palayoor St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Palayoor St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Palayur is located at Palayur (also spelt Palayoor), in Thrissur district in Kerala on the west coast of India. According to tradition, it was established in 52 AD by St Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. It is one of the oldest churches in India, second only to Kottakkavu Mar Thoma Church, North Paravur and is called an Apostolic Church credited to the Apostolate of St. Thomas who preached and also started conversion of people to Christianity here. It was part of the seven churches that he
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,