How a Travancore Maharaja thwarted Dutch colonial ambitions in India

Indian Express

5 days ago

In 1729, when a 23-year-old Marthanda Varma ascended the throne of Travancore, the kingdom was embattled on every front. From feudatories to rival kingdoms and European colonial powers seeking to establish a foothold in the South Asian region, Varma had to contend with several issues in the princely state.
Varma is best remembered for defeating the Dutch in the Battle of Colachel in 1741. The Dutch never managed to recover from the defeat, and thereafter never resumed their colonial ambitions in India.
In their new book, God's Own Empire: The extraordinary life of Marthanda Varma of Travancore, published by Penguin, authors Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat describe in vivid detail the life and legacy of Marthanda Varma.
The following excerpt from the book is an action-packed account of the Battle of Colachel and describes how Varma could emerge as the only raja in Indian history to destroy a significant European power.
Excerpt from the book:
The Travancore army did not have any siege equipment. Hence, Marthanda strategized that by cutting off all supplies to the Dutch garrison—he would starve them into surrender.His army, which considerably outnumbered the Dutch force at Colachel, encircled the Dutch entrenchments from all sides.The Dutch troops at Colachel numbered around 400 (of which only around 150 were European), while the Travancore army had about 20,000 soldiers. Although Marthanda Verma suffered loss of men and money, he did not withdraw from the siege.
Apart from the blockade imposed by the Travancore forces, the adverse wind, floods and rough sea also prevented the Dutch from supplying ammunition and provisions to Colachel. The heavy rains made it hard for them to keep their gunpowder dry, which made their weapons unusable. According to a report on 31 July of the English factory at Anjengo, two Dutch sloops had been trying to land at Colachel for several days but had failed to do so because of continuous firing from the Travancore forces.
However, the Travancore troops, whenever they approached the fort, were beaten back. On the other hand, Marthanda had batteries set up on the beach so that it was impossible for the Dutch to supply the fort with provisions and ammunition.The Travancore artillery advanced to threaten the men within the fort should they venture out. The Dutch commented with amazement at the speed with which the enemy had set up these coastal batteries. Marthanda had the artillery in such positions that the Dutch were surrounded from both the southern and eastern fronts of the fortress. In this manner, Colachel was surrounded by a force of approximately 20,000Travancore troops.
In July, the Travancore army blew up two mines they had placed under the Colachel fort but the attack that followed was repulsed by the Dutch. As the situation was critical, the Dutch tried to send a corporal, along with an interpreter, to Cape Comorin to seek help, but they were captured by Marthanda'smen. Later that month, a Dutch army, consisting of 420 men,including 150 Europeans, marched from Cape Comorin towards Colachel to relieve and reinforce the garrison there.As soon as the Travancore army discovered this, they beat the drums and sounded the horns continuously, threatening an attack on them. The Dutch troops withdrew.
The Travancore army, seeing the desperation of the forces within the Colachel fort, launched a heavy attack on the fortress. It was repulsed once more. The Travancore army then began to use mines and send paper rockets with burning fuses to set the fortress on fire.
The repeated repulsions did discourage the Travancore troops. At the end of July, Marthanda told his troops to withdraw to a nearby village, leaving only a few soldiers behind. When the Dutch heard this, they thought they would be able to relieve the garrison by sending troops from CapeComorin. However, because of the monsoons, this was not possible.
On 2 August, de Lannoy deserted the Dutch army during one of the efforts to relieve Colachel. After deflecting, he tried to negotiate for Dutch surrender.
In early August, the commander of the Colachel fort, Rijtel, was severely wounded and died shortly afterwards. The soldiers were very demoralized. To boost their morale, they were given arrack. The drunk soldiers climbed the walls, shouting and waving their hats. Hearing of the strange behaviour of the Dutch, Marthanda came to the fortress and asked the Dutch to climb down so that he could talk to them. Thirty-one Dutch soldiers swung down the walls with ropes and came to theTravancore camp. They informed Marthanda of their willingness to surrender in exchange for safe passage to Cape Comorin
With the surrender of the thirty-one Dutchmen, Travancore redoubled its efforts to capture the fort. On the western side,the Travancore army filled the moat, created outside the walls,with coconut shells, gourds and soil. They built watchtowers that were higher than the walls, enabling them to shoot at anyone within the fortress.
Marthanda was aided in his efforts by Pokku Musa Marikkar, the merchant prince of Puvar. Marikkar's fleet of ships patrolled the sea, making it impossible for the Dutch to send in provisions to the fort by sea.
On 6 August, Marthanda's forces, under Duijven shot,made a new attempt to undermine the eastern side of the fort.The intent was to place mines under the fort and blow it up.
On the morning of 7 August 1741, the Battle of Colachel commenced. The ships of Pokku Musa Marikkar surrounded the solitary Dutch ship anchored in the Colachel waters and prevented the landing of men and arms to assist the Dutch detachment engaged in the battle. Ramayyan's men charged the Dutch line that had ventured out of the fort. As the Dutch had no cavalry, the Travancore cavalry swept through the Dutch forces. Retreating into the fort, the Dutch left behind a significant number of casualties, injured individuals, and prisoners. During the melee, a red-hot ball fired by theTravancore troops fell into a barrel of gunpowder and caused an explosion within the fort. Six hundred pounds of gunpowder,nearly all the artillery and grenades the Dutch possessed were blown up. The wooden housing of the soldiers and all the food supplies were destroyed. After that, the Maraver cavalry,commanded by Ramayyan, attacked the fort. Ramayyan'scharge threw the Dutch in disorder.
Following the explosion and the death of the Dutch commander, Rijtel, the Dutch garrison was in despair. The Colachel war council sent Sergeant Hartman as a negotiator. Soon, it was evident that there was only one option—total,unconditional surrender. De Lannoy, who had deserted theDutch a few days earlier, met Hartman and told him that the Travancore army had succeeded in placing mines under the fortress a second time and that should the Dutch refuse to capitulate, they would be blown up. Initially, the Dutch had insisted that they would negotiate only with Marthanda.Finally, they capitulated.
On 10 August 1741, the 190 surviving soldiers marched out of the fortress with full colours and arms, as they had no alternative. De Lannoy, as the negotiator, approached Marthanda, who was sitting on a chair, and knelt before him.Then, with his head bent down, he extended his arms holding his sword and offered it to Marthanda. Authorized to speak on behalf of the Dutch, de Lannoy, with complete humility,said, 'We surrender to your mercy. The field is yours.' The keys to the fort were also handed over to Marthanda by the Dutch book keeper Karel Hendrix.
Marthanda's army seized the spoils of war, comprising 899 muskets, a handful of cannons and a substantial quantity of swords. Twenty-four European prisoners, comprising both officers and privates, were sent to Udayagherry.
The battle was won before the ratification of the treaty with the French, and the stipulations of the treaty were never met.
The Battle of Colachel shattered the Dutch dream of colonizing Malabar. The Dutch never recovered from this unqualified defeat. They however, did not desist from meddling in the affairs of Marthanda's kingdom.
As far as Marthanda was concerned, the Dutch were no longer an impediment in his expansion plans. He stood unchallenged, his ambitions unhindered by any force capable of withstanding his unstoppable march. Nothing could stop Marthanda's expansion plans.
Marthanda is the only raja in Indian history whose forces,under his leadership, resoundingly vanquished a significant European power.