Cochin

“ These form the Cochin backwaters, which consist of shallow lagoons lying behind the beach-line and below its level. In the monsoon the Cochin backwaters are broad navigable channels and lakes; in the hot weather they contract into shallows in many places not 2 ft. deep. The town of Cochin is about a mile in length by half a mile in breadth. Its first European possessors were the Portuguese. Vasco da Gama founded a factory in 1502, and Albuquerque built a fort, the first European fort in India, in 1503. The British made a settlement in 1634, but retired when the Dutch captured the town in 1663. ”

“ Terrified by so prodigious a multitude, the naires of Cochin all ran away, only Grandagora and Frangora remaining, who were on board the caravel, or they would have done like the rest. Indeed their presence was of no importance, except to serve as witnesses of the valour of our men. ”

“ Cochin is in the province of Malabar, on a river close to the sea, and is almost an island, so that it is very strong and difficult of access, having a large and safe harbour. The land in its neighbourhood is low and intersected by branches of the river into many islands. The city itself is built much after the same manner with Calicut, and is inhabited by idolaters, with a good many Moorish strangers, who come hither to trade from many countries, two of whom were so rich as to have each fifty ships employed. ”

“ The man forgot his lame back and plunged forward, gathering small stones which he aimed at Jeremiah. Round and round the fence they went, the man throwing stones and execrations; the gander gabbling, ducking, dodging until he bethought himself of the haven of gooseberry bushes, scrambled under them and into the orchard, through the hedge into the open where, joy inexpressible, Mrs. Cochin and her ten fluffs were tumbling in the dog fennel.
“At last I have found you, my beloved,” gasped Jeremiah, and he rounded up the chicks and drove them into the orchard. Mrs. Cochin followed, protesting. ”

“ Who would favour, or even sanction, a Dorking in which size and shape, and every property we value in them, was sacrificed to an endeavour to breed to a particular colour? and this is what we have been doing with the Cochin-China. Many breeders say, eat Cochins while very young; but we have found them much better for the table as fowls than as chickens. A fine Cochin, from five to seven months old, is like a turkey, and very juicy and fine in flavour. ”

“ The Cochin, with its deeply furrowed frontal bones, peculiarly shaped occipital foramen, short wing-feathers, short tail containing more than fourteen feathers, broad nail to the middle toe, fluffy plumage, rough and dark-coloured eggs, and especially from its peculiar voice, is probably the most distinct of all the breeds. If any one of our breeds has descended from some unknown species, distinct from G. bankiva, it is probably the Cochin ”

“ Although the rajah of Cochin was quite sensible of the inferiority of his military force, and was convinced what the zamorin threatened might readily happen, he yet determined to remain firm to his engagements, and sent the following answer:
"If you had required with civility what you have proudly commanded me, I should not have esteemed your valour lessened by your courtesy: For with men of wisdom and power there is no need for insolent vaunts. ”

“ Salt is manufactured along the coast. The capital is Ernakulam, but the raja resides at Tripunthora. The principal commercial centre is Mattancheri, adjoining the British town of Cochin. The chief means of communication is by boat along the backwaters; but in 1902 a metre-gauge line was constructed by the Madras railway at the expense of the state to connect Ernakulam with Shoranur.
History.—What is now the native state of Cochin formed, until about the middle of the 9th century A.D., part of the ancient Chera or Kerala kingdom (see Kerala) . ”

“ But as Calicut is greatly more resorted to by merchants, it is therefore much richer than Cochin. The king is an idolater, of the same manners and customs with him of Calicut; but his country being small he is very poor, and has not even the right to coin money, being in many respects subordinate to the zamorin; who, on his accession to the throne always goes to Cochin, and takes possession of that kingdom, either retaining it in his own hands, or restoring the rajah as he may think proper. ”

“ Colleville invented an anagram on Cochin's name; with his given names it made up "Cochenille." Cochin and his wife were in Birotteau's circle, being present with their son at the famous ball given by the perfumer. In 1840, Cochin, now a baron, was spoken of by Anselme Popinot as the oracle of the Lombard and Bourdonnais quarters. (Cesar Birotteau, The Government Clerks, The Firm of Nucingen, The Middle Classes)
COCHIN, (Adolphe) , son of the preceding; an employe of the Minister of Finance as his father had been for some years. In 1826 his parents tried to obtain for him the hand of Mlle. ”

“ After that, we gave the land a wide berth, and met nothing we need fear, till at last, with the French flag flying, we sailed merrily into Brest Harbour, safe and sound, without a scratch on our hull or a hole in our canvas.
But here Captain Cochin’s good luck suddenly deserted him; for no sooner was he berthed, with sails stowed and anchors out, than he discovered that the French merchantman next him was none other than a vessel which on his last voyage out he had attempted to board in mid-channel, and, but for a sudden squall, would have captured and plundered. ”

“ Cochin telegraphs his wife to be at the station with the little one——
They cannot sleep and they speak of their captivity. They are content within themselves as long as they do not give way to discouragement. They fully apprehend now the return—what will become of them?
They await the coming of day with disquietude. Night seems without an end. At last, the sun routs the darkness and they recognize the outskirts of Paris——
At seven o'clock in the morning their train enters the station——
"The war is finished for us, Cobusse, and we are lucky to get back——"
Cochin does not reply. ”

“ Don Francisco de Almeyda, now divested of the viceroyalty which indeed he had for some time unlawfully retained, sailed from Cochin on the 19th of November 1509, with two more ships in company. Before leaving Cochin some of the sorcerers or astrologers of that place predicted that he would not pass the Cape of Good Hope. He did pass the Cape however, but was slain and buried at the Bay of Saldanna only a few leagues beyond that place. Having passed the Cape of Good Hope with fine weather, he observed to some of his attendants, "Now God be praised! the witches of Cochin are liars." ”

“ Cochin told how his wife was waiting for him in Panam [34] with their little Hélène, who was almost five. He could not stop talking of the little gamine who was "his own picture."
"You cannot realize, Patachon, how lively and intelligent she is. Ah! what wouldn't I give to clasp her in my arms."
[191]
To change the conversation Patachon said to him:
"Some time you'll be eager to scratch yourself, Cobusse—Don't stand on ceremony, you know I'm here for that, my old friend—we must aid each other in life." ”

“ It is the merit of M. Cochin to separate that penalty of wrong which it is impossible to extinguish from the disastrous results of causes peculiar to the politics of a given nation, or to the private character of its officers. He certainly shows that production and commerce have not been annihilated by the abolition of slavery, while the moral condition of both races has been manifestly improved. Recognizing the immutable laws which are potent in the life of nations, M. Cochin touches upon the remote antecedents of slavery as well as the immediate antecedents of emancipation. ”

“ From Cape Comorin we went to Coulan, a fort of the Portuguese, whence comes great store of pepper for Portugal, as frequently one of the caraks is laden here. We arrived at Cochin on the 22d of March, where we found the weather very warm, and a great scarcity of provisions, as neither corn nor rice grows here, having mostly to be supplied from Bengal. They have here very bad water, as the river is far off; and by this bad water many of the people are like lepers, and many have their legs swollen as big as a mans waist, so that they can hardly walk. ”

“ He reached Calicut on October 29th, and immediately bombarded the city, seizing the inoffensive native fishermen in the port, eight hundred of whom he massacred in cold blood under circumstances of brutal atrocity. In 1503 he again left for Europe, after establishing a factory at Cochin. In consequence of his violence a war ensued between Cochin and Calicut. In 1504 Lopo Soares came out with a fleet of fourteen caravels, and proclaimed a blockade of the port of Cochin, in spite of the fact that the Rajah of that place had always shown great kindness and hospitality to the Portuguese. ”

“ In this same year 1521, the zamorin of Calicut made war against Cochin at the head of 200,000 men; and although only forty Portuguese were in the army of Cochin, and but thirty of these armed with muskets, the enemy retired in dismay. At this time likewise Diego Fernandez de Beja, who had been left before Diu, came to join Sequeira at Ormuz, having been attacked by some vessels belonging to Malek Azz, whose double dealing was now apparent. ”

“ Within Cochin is the kingdom of Pepper.] Cochin is, next vnto Goa, the chiefest place that the Portugales haue in the Indies, and there is great trade of Spices, drugges, and all other sortes of merchandize for the kingdome of Portugale, and there within the land is the kingdome of Pepper, which Pepper the Portugales lade in their shippes by bulke and not in sackes: [Marginal note: The Pepper that the Portugals bring, is not so good as that which goeth for Mecca, which is brought hither by the streights.] ”

“ The United State of Travancore and Cochin was formed by the integration of the two southern-most States lying on the south-west coast of the Indian Peninsula, namely, Travancore and Cochin. In spite of the large revenue and the high degree of literacy among the people of the two States it was felt that in modern conditions it was not possible for the two States to remain as separate entities. ”

“ Cochin, kō′chin, n. a large-sized variety of the domestic hen, with feathered legs, full breast, small tail.—n. Cō′chin-chin′a, a large-sized hen originally from Cochin-China.—adj. Cō′chin-Chinese′.
Cochineal, koch′i-nēl, n. a scarlet dye-stuff consisting of the dried bodies of certain insects gathered from the cactus plant in Mexico, the West Indies, &c.: the insect itself. [Sp. cochinilla, dim. of L. coccinus—Gr. kokkos, a berry, as the cochineal was formerly supposed to be the berry or seed of the plant.] ”

“ The attempt to breed pure Cochins with a fuller breast I believe to be perfectly futile, their wings are so small in size that they never fly, and the muscles which move the wings and form the entire mass of flesh on the breast, are consequently of small size also; it would be as reasonable to expect the muscles of a blacksmith in the arms of a draper, as the plumpness of a Dorking on the breast of a Cochin. ”

“ Their women are called Māntalu. The chief man among the Nampitis is the Kāranavappat of Kakkāt in British Malabar.” In the Cochin Census Report, 1901, it is noted that of the Nampidis “the Aiynikoor Nampidis, or the five families of Nampidis, are historically and socially the most important; the eldest male member possesses the honorific title of Karanavarpad, enjoying special privileges at the hands of the rulers of Cochin, as the members of the family once held responsible posts in the militia of the State. According to tradition, they were Nambūdris. ”

“ The cruelty of the Portuguese drove most of the Jews to Cochin. Up to 1314, when the Vypin harbour was formed, the only opening in the Cochin backwater, and outlet for the Periyar, was at Kodungalur, which must then have been the best harbour on the coast. ”

“ From the beginning of his career he worked for the publishers, composing frontispieces, ornamented letters, and tailpieces, or transferring to copper the drawings of others. Singular type of artist, besides, educated, well brought up, epicurean and spendthrift, friend of great lords, and protected by Madame de Pompadour. When he travelled in Italy with her young brother Abel Poisson, Cochin did everything, was ready at the least request, inventing curious menus, giving representations of fêtes, and yet finding the time to decorate books and design vignettes profusely. ”

“ All the characteristic differences of the Cochin breed are more or less variable, and may be detected in a greater or lesser degree in other breeds. One sub-breed is coloured closely like G. bankiva. The feathered legs, often furnished with an additional toe, the wings incapable of flight, the extremely quiet disposition, indicate a long course of domestication; and these fowls come from China, where we know that plants and animals have been tended from a remote period with extraordinary care, and where consequently we might expect to find profoundly modified domestic races. ”

“ IV. iv. 13.
c. 1561.—In war between the Kings of Calicut and Cochin (1503) two princes of Cochin were killed. A number of these desperadoes who have been spoken of in the quotations were killed.... "But some remained who were not killed, and these went in shame, not to have died avenging their lords ... these were more than 200, who all, according to their custom, shaved off all their hair, even to the eyebrows, and embraced each other and their friends and relations, as men about to suffer death. In this case they are as madmen—known as amoucos—and count themselves as already among the dead. ”