The inside of the St Francis Church in Cochin, Kerala, India

A photo of the inside of the St. Francis Church in Cochin, in the state of Kerala, India. The church has a complex history, since it was controlled by different people at different points of time. The Church was built as a simple structure by the Portuguese in 1503 under permission by the local King, and then the Church was claimed by the Dutch (who were Protestants versus the Catholic Portuguese) - they destroyed all churches except this one. Then the Church was controlled by the British; and the Church was also famous since the body of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was buried here for 14 years (in the 16th century, until it was sent back to Portugal).