Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam The Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam is an eparchy of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India for Knanaya Catholics. The Knanaya are descendants of Syrian Christians of Jewish origin who reportedly migrated to the Malabar coast during the fourth century under the leadership of Nestorian Thomas of Cana. During the 17th century, they split into Catholic and Malankara Church factions. The Knanaya (Hebrew: קנניה, Malayalam: ക്നാനായ, Syriac: ܛܢܢܐ, Arabic: قينان), also known as Q'nanaya, Q'nai, Kanai, or Kanahi people are endogamous Jews who settled in Kerala. Their origins are uncertain, but many scholars believe them
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,