The Taking of Ye City of Cotchin in Mallabar.

This engraving depicts the taking of the city of Cotchin (Kochi) on the Malabar coast in southwest India by the Dutch in 1663. Kochi, known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, was the centre of the Indian spice trade for many centuries. The Dutch had sought a presence in Malabar for some time, both to gain access to the lucrative pepper trade and to secure Dutch Ceylon from the Portuguese. After two unsuccessful attempts to take the main Portuguese fort of Goa in 1604 and 1639, the Dutch decided to target secondary trading posts and found success first in Quilon in 1661 and then Kochi in 1663.