A website covering the political, social and cultural history of Kerala with special focus on the Dutch connection in the region has been launched.

Funded by the Netherlands Embassy in India, the Malayalm site www.dutchinkerala.com has contents on the rise and fall of the Dutch power in Kerala during the early phases of western colonisation and their contributions in various fields.

The English version of the site will be opened soon, its editor said.

It also connects the incidents in Kerala to the national and international events happened during the same period.

Various episodes in history like the wars in Europe, struggle for democracy in England, the American and French revolutions, fall of Mughal empire, arrival of East India Company, Battle of Plassey and the reign of Marthanda Varma in Travancore are presented in a lucid and narrative style on the site.

A host of rare photographs, sketches and maps of then Kerala, India and world would help the history buffs to get a clear picture of the period, said journalist and researcher Malayinkeezhu Gopalakrishnan, the editor of the site.

"The main objective of the website is to help common people and students to learn history easily. It covers a period from the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama's arrival in Kerala to the evolution of modern Kerala as a state that integrated the regions that remained fragmented for long," he said.

"We have also plans to bring out the English version of the site soon," he said.