"A. Sreedhara Menon writes: The brutalities committed by the Mysorean troops led to large scale migration from Malabar of people belonging to all strata of society. The hardworking peasants took refuge in the forests and jungles. Consequently, agriculture was ruined. What was once a fertile and flourishing country now assumed the appearance of a cheerless desert. The Nair gentry was dispossessed and shorn of its military and political power. The decline in agriculture resulted in their economic impoverishment also . . . moreover, many a flourishing town had been laid waste by the Mysore troops. Trade and commerce also declined steadily. The cultivation of pepper on which depended the economic prosperity of the country was suspended over large areas and Kerala’s once prosperous pepper trade practically came to a standstill. The once flourishing sea ports of Kerala now presented a deserted look. Gold and silver which the country had amassed by centuries of trade with foreign countries virtually disappeared from the land. Extensive fields lay uncultivated, houses of nobles and landlords were in ruins and daily worship in many important temples was suspended. The economic depression that set in was so severe that the common people were on the verge of famine and starvation. To add to the economic distress of the times, the Mysorean invasions created a cleavage between the Mappilas and the Hindus and destroyed social harmony. The former had helped the Mysore Sultans in their campaigns in Kerala and aroused the active hostility of the Hindu population. With the expulsion of Tipu, the Mappilas who had enjoyed political power for more than 30 years lost their privileged status. They were unable to reconcile themselves to this discomfiture and were thereafter in a state of general revolt against established authority. The Mappila outbreaks of the 19th Century were thus in a way a legacy of the Mysore invasions."