To Gandhiji standing at the beach at Fort Cochin, Cochin was the "epitome of adventure". Gandhiji had captured the essence of the spirit of Cochin, reflected in the eddies and currents of her five hundred year old maritime history. Cochin was the gateway to the famed "Spices Trade of the Orient" and in the first millennium B. C. ships from China and Arabia docked at her harbour. In was here that a foothold was sought by Europe in her bid to dominate the spices trade of the East and Cochin remained the hotbed of European rivalry and was occupied by the three European Powers in quick succession each of whom left their visible marks in old Cochin.