﻿ON THE CO^ST OF MALABAfi. 379 



TiiETu pristine floiuisliins: condition, and even 

 opulence, however, cm easily he accounted for. The 

 bulk of th.e St. Thofuc Clin.stians consisted npiostly 

 of fon\crt'< from the I'.ramin and Skoudren cast; 

 and not, as the new Christians, or proselytes made by 

 the Pcrtugue^e missio'.'nriv'^s, of th.e lowest tribes : 

 and as tlie in.-oflnetion and proj)aL;'ation of the Chris- 

 tian reliii,i')a, i:»y \\\? Syria Ji adventurers, probably so 

 early as tlie iifih century, gave no umbrage to the 

 Perum.als, who, at that p.eiiod, goveroed Malabar, 

 these converts v\ere allowed to retain their patrimo- 

 i)ial estates, with equal security, and exemption trom 

 taxes, as the indigenous IJra?nin.s and A^airs. For, 

 under the ancient n)ild Hindoo governnient, and 

 even in modern li'.i.es, till Hyder Ally made his 

 first irruption. ini[)osts on landed property were un- 

 known in Malabar. The St. Thome Christians pos- 

 sessed, in addition, another source of wealth, which 

 v/as trade. They were, in fact, the only, at least the 

 principal merciiants in the country, till the Arabs 

 settled on tlse coast ; and they continued in a tlou- 

 rishing situation till towards tiic middle of the pre- 

 sent asra, when the llajas o't Travancore d.\\(\ Lt>rhin 

 overuiined the whole .system and laws established by 

 the eeletn-a i eci C n e it i; m a P 'J. k u m a l, and after d is- 

 possessing the in(kp>nulenr Rajas of Paroor, jilanga- 

 da, 'lekencoor, II aildakcncoor, Porla, Coilan, Catii- 

 coilan, and many other petty IS air chiefs, under the 

 name of CayiAials, who formed the states of the 

 country, and wtvii long a strong barrier against the 

 at.'.mprs at ahsolute power by the Rajas ; they di- 

 vided into unequal shares tlie wholeof the conquered 

 countr-es, of which the Raja of ( ravancore appro- 

 priated to h.niself by far the greatest part, and intro- 

 diivcd the present oppressive sys em of government ; 

 iftiiat ■ ju\ be called such, uhivh is in j'aet an inju- 

 dici 'US imitation of the lite Mtj-sortan .s\ stem of 

 finances; without tiie order, regularity, and in sonie 



niamier 



