<P> Kochi also known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, was an important spice trading centre on the west coast of India from the 14th century onward, and maintained a trade network with Arab merchants from the pre-Islamic era . Occupied by the Portuguese in 1503, Kochi was the first of the European colonies in colonial India . It remained the main seat of Portuguese India until 1530, when Goa was chosen instead . The city was later occupied by the Dutch and the British, with the Kingdom of Cochin becoming a princely state . Kochi ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourist arrivals in Kerala . Kochi has been ranked the sixth best tourist destination in India according to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Company on behalf of the Outlook Traveller magazine . Kochi was one of the 28 Indian cities found to be among the emerging 440 global cities that will contribute 50% of the world GDP by the year 2025, in a 2011 study done by the McKinsey Global Institute . </P> <P> Kochi is the home to Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy and the state headquarters of the Indian Coast Guard with an attached air squadron, named Air Squadron 747 . Commercial maritime facilities of the city include the Port of Kochi, an International Container Transshipment Terminal, the Cochin Shipyard, offshore SPM of the BPCL Kochi Refinery, and the Kochi Marina . Kochi is also home for the Cochin Stock Exchange, International Pepper Exchange, industries like HMT, Cyber City, Kinfra Hi - Tech Park, chemical industries like the FACT, TCC, IREL, Petronet LNG, Merchem, HOCL and Kochi Refineries, electrical industries like TELK, and industrial parks like the Cochin Special Economic Zone, Smart City and Infopark . Kochi is home for the High Court of Kerala and Lakshadweep, Naval physical and oceanographic laboratory (NPOL), Indian Maritime University, Sree sankara Sanskrit University and the Cochin University of Science and Technology . Kochi is also home to Kerala's National Law School, The National University of Advanced Legal Studies . Kochi has been hosting India's first art biennale, the Kochi - Muziris Biennale, since 2012, which attracts international artists and tourists . </P> <P> Ancient travellers and tradesmen referred to Kochi in their writings, variously alluding to it as Cocym, Cochym, Cochin, and Kochi . The Cochin Jewish community called Cochin as Kogin (קוגין), which is seen in the seal of the synagogue which is still owned by the community . The origin of the name "Kochi" is thought to be from the Malayalam word kochu azhi, meaning' small lagoon' . Yet another theory is that Kochi is derived from the word Kaci, meaning "harbour". The name Cochin implies "co-chin", meaning "like - China". It looked like China when the Chinese came to the region during the 14th century and installed Chinese nets . Accounts by Italian explorers Nicolo Conti (15th century), and Fra Paoline in the 17th century say that it was called Kochchi, named after the river connecting the backwaters to the sea . After the arrival of the Portuguese, and later the British, the name Cochin stuck as the official appellation . The city reverted to a closer Anglicization of its original Malayalam name, Kochi, in 1996 . This change in name was challenged by the city municipal corporation but court has later dismissed the plea . </P> <P> Kochi was the centre of Indian spice trade for many centuries, and was known to the Yavanas (Greeks and Romans) as well as Jews, Syrians, Arabs, and Chinese since ancient times . Kochi rose to significance as a trading centre after the port Muziris around Kodungallur (Cranganore) was destroyed by massive flooding of Periyar in 1341 . The earliest documented references to Kochi occur in books written by Chinese voyager Ma Huan during his visit to Kochi in the 15th century as part of Admiral Zheng He's treasure fleet . There are also references to Kochi in accounts written by Italian traveller Niccolò Da Conti, who visited Kochi in 1440 . </P>

What was queen of the arabian sea kochi known as before 1996