The Indian church was effectively cut off from the Syrian hierarchy during this time, which helps to explain their survival. Living outside the reaches of Islamic aggression, the Thomas Christians experienced a level of security that most Asian and Middle Eastern Christians did not enjoy. In fact, the Malabar Christians were quite prosperous throughout the centuries before the coming of the Europeans. They were given autonomy by Hindu princes. They were landowners. They were in charge of the extremely lucrative pepper trade that continues to be a defining feature of that part of India.21 They were seen as high-caste, privileged aristocrats, second only to the Brahmins. They followed caste regulations, including untouchability. They traveled on elephants—a hallmark for high status in Indian society.22 They were spared from largescale massacres and genocidal campaigns inflicted by Mongols in northern India.

After powerful Islamic empires began to conquer and colonialize northern India, Christians were rarely allowed accessto each other. First wasthe Delhi Sultanate, which lasted from 1206 to 1526. Next was the Mughal dynasty, which lasted from 1526 to 1857. Perhaps the salient question is not why so few Westerners reached India during these years. Rather, what should be asked is how Hinduism managed to survive during these centuries. Equally perplexing is how the Thomas Christians evaded the attention of so many Muslim rulers, given Islam and Christianity’s titanic clashes going on in other parts of the world.

It is no wonder the Christians of India failed to expand throughout a politically tense context like this. The only place for them to look was inward. Perhaps this situation may also shed light on the tendency of Malabar Christians to divide. Rather than looking outward and witnessing for Christ, their only option was to cling to the few gains they already had made. Essentially, the only people who came to the Malabar Coast were refugees escaping the frequent Islamic advances that occurred throughout the centuries. But when these immigrants did manage to make it to the safety of the Thomas Christians, they essentially lost contact with the rest of the world. When foreigners relocated to Malabar, they left everything behind. This was the pattern for a thousand years.

Portugal suddenly became king of the seas, and would soon experience commercial profits unlike anything ever known in Europe. No one at that time could have understood the significance of the moment. Stephen Neill wrote, “One of the great revolutions of history was taking place before their eyes.”32 Portugal—and in due course, the major powers of Europe—now had access to trade with India. No longer would European merchants have to trek meekly through Muslim-held lands, paying exorbitant duty fees, and fearing molest from potentially hostile empires. They could effectively bypass Muslim civilization.