View of Cannanore on the Malabar Coast in India

Unknown artist

The Dutch East India Company captured the town of Cannanore (now Kannur) on India’s southwest coast from the Portuguese in 1663. At that time, the Portuguese military position on the Malabar Coast had been seriously diminished so the company met with virtually no resistance. The region produced pepper and cardamom, the latter spice used to make sweet biscuits. The company ultimately lost Cannanore to the English.