Cochin, also Kochi, city and seaport, southwestern India, in Kerala State, on the Arabian Sea. Cochin lies at the northern end of a narrow neck of land, about 19 km (about 12 mi) long and less than 1.6 km (less than 1 mi) wide in many places, and is separated from the mainland by inlets from the sea and by the estuaries of rivers draining from the Western Ghats. During the rainy season these backwaters are navigable, but in the dry season some are less than 61 cm (less than 2 ft) deep. As a result, the harbor is barely operative during the months from May to August. At all times large vessels must anchor about 4 km (about 2.5 mi) offshore. Cochin, the most important port on the Malabar Coast, is the center of coconut oil production in the state; products made of coconuts are the chief items in the city's export trade. Rice is imported. The major industries of Cochin are shipbuilding, sawmilling, fishing, and the manufacture of coir mats.
The Portuguese were the first European possessors of Cochin when they seized the town in 1500. Two years later the explorer Vasco da Gama erected a factory there. The first European fort in India was constructed in Cochin in 1503. In 1577 Jesuits published at Cochin the first book printed in native Indian characters. The English settled in the city in 1634 but were driven out by the Dutch, who captured Cochin in 1663 and subsequently developed it as an important center of trade. During their conquest of India the British seized the town in 1795 but allowed the Dutch to administer it until 1814, when it became a possession of the East India Company. In 1936 Cochin was placed under the direct administration of the British government in India and given the status of a major port. In 1947 Cochin became part of newly independent India. Population (1991) 564,589.
