Chirakkal Raja - Kolathiris and British

Kolathiris and British

In June 1741 the Randuthara Achanmar (Karnavars of Kandoth,Palliyat,Ayilliath and Arayath) and 500 Nayars in the presence of Kolathiri and the English Company agreed to chastise any person that violates the Kolathiri and the English company and defend them both. The English company thus interposed their authority with Kolathiri over his suzeranity over these chiefs. After this agreement, although these Chiefs of PoyaNaadu and the 500 Nayars were technically part of KolathuNaadu, they were being treated as a separate area under the protection of the British at Thalassery. Subsequently, In January 1788, Tippu Sultan invaded Malabar with a large army and founded a new capital at Feroke for his Malabar province. Almost all female members and many male members of different royal families such as Chirakkal, Parappanad, and Kozhikode, and Namboothiri Brahmins and Brahmin /nair chieftains' families like Punnathoor, Nilamboor, Kavalapara, Azhvanchery Thamprakkal etc., fled to Travancore to escape the brutalities of Tippu Sultan's army and temporarily settled down in different parts of Travancore. After the defeat of Tippu Sultan by the English company, and as per the treaties of Srirangapatanam, signed on February and March, 1792, Malabar was formally ceded to the British. The British entered into agreements with the Rajas of Chirakkal,Kottayam and Kadathanand and all of them acknowledged the full sovereignty of the Company over their respective territories. The British Government divided the province of Malabar into two administrative divisions - the Northern and Southern, presided over by a superintendent each at Thalassery and Cherpulasseri, under the general control of the supervisor and chief magistrate of the province of Malabar who had his headquarters at Kozhikode.