Battle of Colachel in 1741, where the Travancore army under King Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma fought against the Dutch East India Company, marked a significant turning point in India’s history by defeating them. Colachel was the first war in which an organised Asian power defeated a European power like the Dutch.
Annexation of Elayadathu Swarupam or Kottarkara and Dutch intervention
In 1741, on behalf of the Dutch, Van Imhoff placed princes of “Elayadathu Swarupam” or “Kottarakara” on the throne of Kottrakara without the permission of “Marthanda Varma“. For this support, the Dutch got some land at Airoor and certain other privileges.
So Marthanda Varma of Travancore decided to annex this small state to Travancore. Later, the army of Marthanda Varma defeated the combined forces of Kottrakara and the Dutch. After annexation, the princess fled to Cochin for Asylum under the Dutch.
According to the Travancore state manual,” not one soldier of the Dutch remained to tell the tale of annexation“.
When Rani was under the protection of Van Imhoff, the Dutch pensioned her at two rupees and five annas (daily).
After annexation, Travancore captured all Dutch forts in Travancore. This situation forced the Dutch to move to Cochin.
Attack on South Travancore
After defeating the Dutch and Kottarakara, Marthanda Varma turned his attention towards Kayamkula, a small princely state.
When the Dutch realised that most of the forces were concentrated on Kayamkulam, they invaded Travancore with the help of reinforcements from Ceylon’s Dutch station. After capturing some positions in the south Travancore, the Dutch forces started to harass the citizens of south Travancore, especially Thengapattanam.
When this unexpected news reached the ears of the king, he left his capital, Padmanabhapuram (later capital was shifted to Thiruvanathapuram) and ordered his Dalawa (Cheif Minister) to join him at the capital. But by this time, an area from Colachel and Kottar had surrendered to the Dutch forces.
Before the fall of the capital, Maharaja and his forces arrived just in time and saved the capital, Padmanabhapuram. Now, he needs more soldiers to counter the Dutch threat to the country. So, he ordered an increase in the strength of the Travancore nair brigade.
Battle of Colachel
On 31 July 1741, Travancore and Dutch Forces clashed at Colachel. (According to the Travancore state manual, the official publication of erstwhile Travancore, the date is 31 July, but as per the book A Survey of Kerala History of Mr. Sreedhara Menon, the date is 10 August.)
The result of the war was Travancore’s victory. The Dutch forces retreated to their vessels to avoid more casualties and abandoned the captured positions.
The Travancore army took 24 prisoners, 349 muskets, a few Dutch cannon, and many swords. In the meantime, the surviving Dutch ships moved to a safe position in Cochin to avoid further loss.
For safety, Maharaja even tried to send a messenger seeking help and a friendship treaty from the French station at Pondichery. He even assured land at Colachel and permission to construct factories in Travancore. But Travancore won the fight without any external help.
Even though the war was fought and won in 1741, the Batavian administration, which governed the Dutch settlements, finally concluded and ratified peace on 18 October 1748. Thus, Travancore became the first Asian state or power to challenge a European power successfully. It put an end to the Dutch ambition of colonial expansion in India.
Aftermath of Battle of Colachel
The Travancore government treated the Dutch prisoners very kindly, and most of them decided to join the Travancore forces. The most distinguished commander of Travancore, Euslachius D’Lannoy or ‘Eustachius De Lannoy’, was a prisoner of this war. Later, he became the “Chief Captain of Travancore Forces” or “Valiya Kapithan of Travancore“. Donadi was another prisoner who later became part of the Travancore army.
The Dutch commanders reorganised the whole army and disciplined it according to European models. This change made it more efficient and disciplined. This new army helped Marthanda Varma annexed small states and created unifed Travancore.
Importance of Colachel
Colachel was an ancient seaport well known from ancient days.
Denmark had a factory here with a Commercial Resident for effective trade.
The Port of Colachel helped to facilitate trade with other parts of the world, especially Sri Lanka. Most of the Coffee produced in Travancore was exported to Sri Lanka through this port.
The presence of rocks posed a danger to the ships, so a flagstaff and a boy were used to signal ships about the dangers of rocks present at this port. From Colachel, It’s easy to move to the old capital of Travancore, Padmanabhapuram (Later, the capital was moved to Thiruvananthapuram).
