Kingdom of Travancore - History of Travancore - Venad Swaroopam - Formation of Travancore

Formation of Travancore

Later in the 16th century the Chirava Moopan became the ruler of Kollam (Desinganad) and Thrippappur Moopan became the Venad king, then known as Thrippappur. During this time, Venad was weak and paid an annual tribute to the Nayaks of Madurai, whose general would annually visited the capital Padmanabhapuram (near Nagercoil of Kanyakumari District) to collect the tribute. The temple trustees and the feudal landlords (Ettara Yogam) too were quite powerful and the kings and queens of Venad could not easily control their activities. The rulers of Venad (and later, those of Travancore) were Malayala Kshatriyas followed a matrilineal system of inheritance known as "Marumakkathayam".

The history of Travancore began with Marthanda Varma, who inherited the kingdom of Thrippappur, and expanded it into Travancore during his reign (1729–1758). He expanded the kingdom of Venad, through a series of military campaigns, from Kanyakumari in the south to the borders of Kochi in the north during his 29 year rule. He signed a treaty with the British East India Company and with their help, destroyed the power of the eight feudal land lords called Ettuveetil Pillamar and "Ettara Yogam" who supported the Thampi sons of the previous king of Venad, Rajah Rama Varma. After achieving internal stability in his kingdom, Marthanda Varma set out to conquer the neighbouring kingdoms. In successive battles, Marthanda Varma defeated and absorbed the kingdoms right up to Cochin kingdom including Attingal, Kollam, Kayamkulam, Kottarakara, Kottayam, Pandalam, Poonjar and Chempakassery. He succeeded in defeating the Dutch East India Company during the Travancore-Dutch War (1739–1753), the most decisive engagement of which was the Battle of Colachel (10 August 1741) in which the Dutch Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy was captured.

On January 3, 1750 AD, (5 Makaram, 925 Kollavarsham), Marthanda Varma virtually "dedicated" Travancore to his tutelary deity Padmanabha of Padmanabhaswamy Temple (the Trippadidaanam) and from then on the rulers of Travancore ruled as the "servants of Padmanabha" (the Padmnabha-dasans). In 1753, the Dutch signed a peace treaty with Marthanda Varma. With Battle of Ambalapuzha (3 January 1754) in which he defeated the union of the deposed Kings and the king of Cochin kingdom, Marthanda Varma crushed all opposition to his rule. In 1757, after the Cochin Travancore War (1755–1756), a treaty was concluded between Travancore and Cochin kingdom, ensuring stability on the northern border.

Marthanda Varma organised the tax system and constructed many irrigation works in his kingdom. Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy, who was captured as a prisoner of war in the famous Battle of Colachel was appointed as the Senior Admiral ("Valiya kappittan") and he modernised the Travancore army by introducing firearms and artillery. Ayyappan Marthanda Pillai served as the "Sarvadi Karykar" (Head of the Army). Marthanda Varma introduced titles such as Chempaka Raman and honours such as Ettarayum Koppum to honour the lords and his relatives who had remained faithful to him during his internal problems with the Ettuveetil Pillamar. His able Prime Minister during his entire military career was Ramayyan Dalawa.