St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Malayattoor St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Malayattoor The St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Malayattoor (or Malayatoor Church) is one of the most prominent Christian pilgrim centers in the Malayattoor Angamaly, Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. The Malayatoor Church attracts a large number of devotees from not just Kerala, but from all over India. St. Thomas the Apostle was the one who took initiative to begin Christian community in Kerala later found . He also set up the church here which has been designated by the Vatican as one among the eight International shrines in the world. It is believed that St. Thomas
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,