to dissolve. Fearing Portuguese retribution, the auxiliary troops (of Edapalli, etc.) were probably the first to abandon the siege, leaving the Calicut army without local support. The Zamorin realized he had little choice but to lift the siege and withdraw his army back to Calicut. Fort Sant'Iago in Cochin August–September, 1503 - Cochin rescued, a conference was immediately called between the Portuguese commanders and the Trimumpara Raja to assess the situation. It is clear that the Zamorin had relied on the collaboration of the rulers of Edapalli, and other neighboring princelets, for the siege. So a punitive expedition of four caravels set out (under the commands of Nicolau Coelho, Duarte Pacheco Pereira, Pêro de Ataíde and António do Campo) to tour the Vembanad lagoon and pay a 'visit' to the collaborators. Notably, Edapalli (Repelim) and Kumbalam (Cambalão) were severely dealt with. The punitive expedition seems to have put an end to the Vembanad family quarrel and established the Trimumpara Raja as ruler in his own right over the lagoon. More precisely, senior members of his family were probably deposed and it is from this date that Trimumpara formally took the Edapalli throne for himself, thereby becoming recognized overlord throughout the Vembanad lagoon. However, unlike previous Edapalli kings, the Portuguese insisted that Trimumpara Raja remain based in Cochin city rather than move to Edapalli. Thus 1503 is commonly cited as the foundation year of the Kingdom of Cochin. In the meantime, Francisco de Albuquerque persuaded Trimumpara Raja to allow the Portuguese to erect and garrison a fortress in Cochin. The timber fortress was named Fort Sant'Iago by Afonso de Albuquerque, in honor of the knightly Order of Santiago to which he belonged (it was also the name of his ship). It was erected in a part of Cochinese peninsula, known to the Portuguese as Santa Cruz (or Cochim-de-Baixo, 'Lower Cochin', now known as Fort Kochi), just a little northwest of the old city of Cochin proper (Cochim-de-Cima, 'Upper Cochin', now Mattancherry) (the seat of Trimumpara Raja). Fort Sant'Iago was the first Portuguese fort in Asia. The timber would be replaced by stone in 1505 by Francisco de Almeida and renamed "Fort Manuel" (after the Portuguese king). The Portuguese were also given permission to erect what is arguably the first Roman Catholic church in Asia, São Bartolomeu, within the fort in 1504 (later rebuilt in stone and rededicated several times, it currently