Kochi is the commercial hub of Kerala. Ruled by Indian princes since 1102 BC, it became an important spice trading center on the Arabian Sea in the 14th century. By 1503, however, Portuguese traders took control and it became the first European colonial settlement in India — and was later claimed by the Dutch, Mysore, and the English. When India gained independence from Britain in 1947, Kochi was the first princely state to voluntarily join the newly formed nation.