Vasco da Gama’s Portuguese expedition, en route…
May 1498 CE
Vasco da Gama’s Portuguese expedition, en route to India on May 10, 1498, sights the Laccadive Islands, twenty-seven coral islands and numerous reefs located in the Arabian Sea two hundred to four hundred and forty kilometers (one hundred and twenty to two hundred and seventy miles) about three hundred and twenty kilometers (two hundred miles) off the south western coast of India.
Several views have been postulated about the history of the habitation of the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Aminidivi Islands, as they do not have any aboriginal groups.
A mention of the region in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, by an anonymous author, is one of the earliest references.
There are references to the control of the islands by the Cheras in the Sangam literature Pathitruppaththu.
Local traditions and legends attribute the first settlement on these islands to the period of Cheraman Perumal, the last Chera king of Kerala.
The oldest inhabited islands in the group are Amini, Kalpeni Andrott, Kavaratti and Agatti.
Archaeological evidence suggests that Buddhism prevailed in the region during the fifth to sixth centuries CE.
According to popular tradition, Islam was brought to Lakshadweep by an Arab named Ubaidulla in 661 CE.
His grave is located in the island of Andrott.
During the eleventh century, the islands came under the rule of the Late Cholas.
The region then came under the Kingdom of Cannanore, or Kolathunadu.