Travancore History

The Ay dynasty was the first dynasty in Kerala. During the Sangam period, it included the Sahyaparvata areas from Nagercoil to Thiruvalla. The capital was Ayakudi in Podiyil Hills. The major deity of the Ay kings was Sree Padmanabhan. The elephant was the symbol of the Ay kings. Ptolemy described the Ay kingdom from the Baris River (Pamba) to Kanyakumari as 'Aioi'. Vizhinjam was the later capital of the Ay kings. Vikramaditya Varaguna was the Ay king who issued the Paliyam edict. Karunanthadakkan, also known as Srivallabhan and Parthiva Shekhar, was the Ay king. He built the Parthivapuram Vishnu temple. Karunanthadakkan also established the famous Kanthalloor Sala. Kanthalloor Sala is described as the southern Nalanda. Vizhinjam and Kanthalloor were the military centers of the Ay kings. During the Sangam period, Venad was under the Ay kings. The Ay rule lasted until the beginning of the ninth century. During the time of the Kulasekhara Perumal, Venad was a vassal state in the southernmost part of that kingdom. It was granted independent status in the twelfth century. Modern Travancore was known as ' Venad ' in the Middle Ages. Ravi Varma Kulasekharan, who ruled here from 1299 to 1314, was a great ruler. At that time, Kollam, the capital of Venad, was an important commercial center and a civilized city. In the early fifteenth century, Venad was divided into two branches, Trippappur and Desinganad. The king of Trippappur built the palace of Travancore and moved there. Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma is the architect of modern Travancore. He was born in 1706 to Karthika Thirunal, the daughter of Ilayarani Karthika Thirunal Thampuratti of Attingal and Koyithampuran of Kilimanoor. When Veera Rama Varma passed away in 1729, the 23-year-old Marthanda Varma became king. Marthanda Varma ascended the throne in 1729. He faced many challenges after taking over the rule of Travancore. 

The Ettara Yogam was the administrative committee of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram. In deciding the affairs of the Devaswom, each of the eight potties had one vote and the Venad (Trippappur) Maharaja had half a vote. The Ettara Yogam was the eight lords who were entrusted with the collection of taxes on the immense property of the temple. The temple property was divided into eight parts and each part was entrusted to a Nair Madambi for the purpose of collecting taxes and other matters. These Nair Madambis were known as Ettara Yogam. The Ettara Yogam belonged to families from eight different villages, namely Kulathur, Kazhakoottam, Chempazhanthi, Kudamon, Pallichal, Venganoor, Ramana Matham, and Marthanda Matham. Being a half-vote, the Maharaja did not have much role in the administration of the temple. Moreover, since the Maharaja's headquarters was in Thiruvankodu, it was not easy for him to admin the administration of Thiruvananthapuram. Therefore, he gave permission to his own nephew, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, to deal with this chaotic situation. At that time, there was a son-in-law dynasty throughout Malayalam Region, Marthanda Varma became the younger king. When Marthanda Varma came to power, the Pillas, Yogas and Madambis of Ettuveetil became bitter enemies. Pappu Thampi and Raman Thampi, the sons of the previous rulers, came forward to claim the throne. The nobles called Ettuveetil Pillamar also supported the Thampis. They helped the Thambis (Padmanabhan Thambi and Raman Thambi) who rebelled against Marthanda Varma. In addition, the Pottis, the Yogas of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, also joined them. Marthanda Varma suppressed the Thambis, Pillas and Yogas.

History of Travancore

The history of Travancore starts with Marthanda Varma, who inherited the Venad Kingdom (Thrippappur), and expanded it into Travancore. Later during his reign, Travancore is expanded from Padmanabhapuram in the south to the borders of Kochi in the north. Travancore was divided into five divisions as Padmanabhapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Quilon, Kottayam, and Devikulam. Padmanabhapuram and Devikulam divisions were predominantly Tamil-speaking regions with small Malayalam-speaking minorities. While the Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Kottayam divisions were predominantly Malayalam-speaking regions with small Tamil-speaking minorities.

Marthanda Varma and the wars

Marthanda Varma fought many wars to annex neighboring states to Travancore and expand the kingdom's territory.

The war with Kollam

During the time of Marthanda Varma, Desinganad (Kollam) was ruled by Marthanda Varma's uncle, Unni Kerala Varma. Unni Kerala Varma allied with Kayamkulam and captured a part of Kallada, which was claimed by Trippappur Swaroopam. Realizing that Unni Kerala Varma was a challenge to him, Marthanda Varma decided to attack Kollam. The Travancore army, led by the then Dalawa Arumukham Pillai, moved towards Kollam and defeated Unni Kerala Varma in the battle that took place there.

The war with Kottarakkara

In 1734, Marthanda Varma conquered Kottarakkara and imprisoned the king, Veera Kerala Varma, in Thiruvananthapuram. When Veera Kerala Varma, who was in solitary confinement in Thiruvananthapuram, died in prison in 1736, Marthanda Varma did not allow the Queen of Kottarakkara to take power. The Dutch came to the rescue of the Queen and installed her as the ruler of Kottarakkara in 1741. The Travancore army then fought Kottarakkara and captured Kottarakkara.

The Battle of Colachel

Marthanda Varma launched a series of attacks against the Dutch. The Dutch prepared to confront him. A Dutch army with artillery set out from Ceylon to attack Travancore. The Dutch army, which had set foot in Colachel, attacked the Travancore areas up to Kottar and brought them under their control. The Dutch army then moved on to Kalkulam, the headquarters of Marthanda Varma. On 10 August 1741, the Dutch army and Marthanda Varma's army clashed at Colachel. The Dutch army was completely defeated. Many Dutchmen, including Captain Delanoy, were taken prisoner. He later became the 'Big Captain' in Marthanda Varma's army. The Battle of Colachel dealt a fatal blow to the Dutch power. It stopped their advance. This was the first battle in Asia in which a foreign power had to retreat after being defeated by a local ruler.

Battle of Kayamkulam (Battle of Purakadu)

With the defeat of the Battle of Colachel in 1741, the Dutch captured Vamanapuram with the help of the King of Kollam. Following this, the Travancore army under the leadership of Ramayyan Dalawa surrounded the Dutch Kollam fort. However, the Kayamkulam army helped the Dutch army in the defense of this fort. The Kayamkulam army was led by Achutha variyar, who was the minister of the Kayamkulam king. Following this, the Travancore army retreated. In 1742, the combined forces of the Dutch and Kayamkulam captured Kilimanoor. For this reason, Marthandavarma brought a cavalry from Tirunelveli and led the army to Kilimanoor. The Travancore army captured Kilimanoor. Then Marthandavarma's army moved towards Kayamkulam. The King of Kayamkulam initially resisted, but finally sued for peace. Following this, Marthandavarma and the King of Kayamkulam signed the Treaty of Mannar. But the King of Kayamkulam violated these terms of the treaty. Then the Travancore army again moved towards Kayamkulam and conquered Kayamkulam in 1746. This war was known as the Purakad War. The kingdom of Chembakassery was known as Purakad. In recognition of its assistance to Kayamkulam in the war with Travancore, Marthanda Varma captured this kingdom and annexed it to Travancore. The present-day Ambalapuzha and Kuttanad taluks were included in this.

Travancore-Cochin War (Battle of Anandeshwara)

In 1754, Travancore and Cochin clashed at Anandeshwaram. Ramavarma, Ramayyan and Delanoy led the Travancore army. After a battle in which no one was victorious, the Cochin army retreated to Ambalapuzha and Travancore defeated the Cochin army in a decisive battle that followed.

Travancore-Cochin alliance

Travancore and Cochin formed an alliance in 1757 against the Zamorin, who was preparing to attack Travancore. Paliath Komi's father initiated this alliance.

Mavelikkara Treaty

The Treaty of Mavelikkara was an agreement between King Marthandavarma and the Dutch. The agreement was signed on 15 August 1753 at Mavelikkara. Following the Treaty of Mavelikkara, it was agreed that the Dutch would provide war materials to Travancore in exchange for pepper and that the Dutch would not interfere in the internal affairs of Travancore and other small states. With this treaty, Dutch rule in Kerala came to an end. This treaty did not allow the English or any other European powers to give further encouragement to Travancore. The Treaty of Mavelikkara helped Marthandavarma expand his kingdom without the interference of any foreign power.

Suchindram Treaty

The Suchindram Treaty was a treaty signed at the Suchindram temple by the King of Cochin, Kerala Varma during his visit to Thiruvananthapuram in 1762. The treaty was ratified in the presence of Ayyappan Marthanda Pillai, the Minister of Travancore, and Paliath Komi, the Minister of Cochin. Following this treaty, the Travancore army led by Ayyappan Marthanda Pillai and Delanoy fought against the Zamorin.