Cochin

Cochin

1. a region and former state of SW India: part of Kerala state since 1956

2. a port in SW India, on the Malabar Coast: the first European settlement in India, founded by Vasco da Gama in 1502: shipbuilding, engineering. Pop.: 596 473 (2001)

3. a large breed of domestic fowl, with dense plumage and feathered legs, that originated in Cochin China

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Cochin

 

a city and port in southern India, in Kerala State, on the bank of one of the lagoons of the Arabian Sea. Population, 438,000 (1971). In 1502, at the time of the arrival of Europeans on the Malabar Coast, Vasco da Gama’s expedition reached Cochin. A Portuguese fort was founded there in 1503, and since the 17th century, the city has been an important trading center. The port’s annual freight turnover is about 2.5 million tons. Exports through Cochin include coconuts, rubber, tea, cashew nuts, and spices, and the principal imports are coal, petroleum and petroleum products, grain, and machinery. The city has textile and food-processing plants and an oil refinery.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.