Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, also known as Cotiote Rajah and Pychy Rajah, was the de facto head of the Kottayam Kingdom in the Malabar region of Kerala between 1774 and 1805. His struggles with the British East India Company is known as the Cotiote War. Pazhassi's rebellion against the British is often touted as one of the earliest acts of freedom fight in India. He earned the epithet "Kerala Simham" on account of his martial exploits.
The Anglo-Mysore Wars were a series of four wars fought during the last three decades of the 18th century between the Sultanate of Mysore on the one hand, and the British East India Company, Maratha Empire, Kingdom of Travancore, and the Kingdom of Hyderabad on the other. Hyder Ali and his succeeding son Tipu fought the wars on four fronts: with the British attacking from the west, south and east and the Nizam's forces attacking from the north. The fourth war resulted in the overthrow of the house of Hyder Ali and Tipu, and the dismantlement of Mysore to the benefit of the East India Company, which took control of much of the Indian subcontinent.
Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792–1800), Madras Presidency (1800-1937), Madras Province (1937–1950) and finally, Madras State (1950-1956) in India. It was the most populous and the third-largest district in the erstwhile Madras State. The historic town of Calicut was the admisnitrative headquarters of this district.
The Kavalappara is an aristocratic Indian Nair tharavad or swaroopam, whose estates and powers vested in the matrilineally-mediated succession to and from each Kavalappara Nair, who headed the family and held the rank of Moopil Nair. In medieval Kerala, they served as part of the jenmi, or allodially landed nobility, and were sworn to the service of the rajas of the area, first that of Palghat and then later that of Cochin. Based at Kavalappara Desam in Karakkat, Valluvanada, their holdings extended to areas such as Kailiad and Panayur, ultimately compassing some 155,358 acres of jenmom estates, and ranking preeminent among the jenmimars of Malabar.
The presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the East India Company's rule in India, later the forces of the British Crown in India, composed primarily of Indian sepoys. The presidency armies were named after the presidencies: the Bengal, Madras, and Bombay Armies. Initially, only Europeans served as commissioned or non-commissioned officers. In time, Indian Army units were garrisoned from Peshawar in the north, to Sindh in the west, and to Rangoon in the east. The army was engaged in the wars to extend British control in India and beyond.
Moopil Nair, also transliterated Mooppil and Muppil is an elite subgroup of the Nair caste. They were vazhunnors, naduvazhis and desavazhis of small feudal polities on the Malabar Coast, present-day Kerala state, South India, typically owing at least nominal allegiance to a superordinate Raja, despite frequently aggregating lands and political powers of sufficient scale so as to establish them as essentially autonomous monarchs in their own rights. Although Moopils frequently simply styled themselves as 'the' name of swaroopam/tharavadu Nair, virtually all were entitled to higher titular Nair rank, most saliently that of Nambiar, but also Nayanar and Mannadiyar, among others.
Edachena Kunkan was a Wayanad Nair noble from Tirunelli, Wayanad, Kerala, India who joined the war effort of Pazhassi Raja during the 1770s and became commander of the Raja's army. His younger brothers joined him as generals. Kunkan was a popular leader in Wayanad, gathering support from people of many classes for Raja's war against the East India Company.
The Travancore rebellion against the British East India Company was led by the prime ministers of the Indian states of Travancore and Cochin in 1808–09 with support from Sikhs ruling Punjab.
The Siege of Tellicherry was a military embargo that happened in Thalassery. The Commander in Chief of the Mysore Calicut Province, Sirdar Ali, took siege of the British Military Barrack of Thalassery for 18 months. They British and the local administrators were blockaded within Thalassery by land as well as by sea. It was during the Second Anglo-Mysore War. The siege continued until reinforcements from Bombay under the command of Major Abington attacked the Mysore army and defeated them. Major Abington then moved south, capturing Calicut. The Siege of Tellicherry led to the fall of strongholds of the First Mysore conquest, led by Hyder Ali. Even though laterTipu Sultan came from Mysore to reinstate the conquered area to previous status.
The British got Malabar from Tippu Sultan in 1792. But Malabar was a province that was plagued by refraction, unrest and insurgency as early as 1766—when Hyder Ali occupied whole of Malabar. Two decades of Mysore effort to subjugate this province ended up in chaos and confusion in Malabar with a part of her population either dead or migrated and once prosperous economy destroyed.
Kannavath Sankaran Nambiar was the prime minister, or Sarvadikaryakar, of Pazhassi Raja in what is today India. Sankaran led rebel forces against the British East India Company in two campaigns before he was captured and executed.
Pallūr Ēman Nāyar(Poligar Eman" "Pulior Eman" was a Nayar lord of southern Wayanad, north east Kerala, India. He was involved in the Cotiote War, a conflict between the Cotiote princely ruler Pazhassi and the British East India Company. In 1799, Eman fought with the British. In 1802, Eman became a double agent for Pazhassi, who was his overlord.
Ravi Varma Raja (1745–1793) was a Samantan Nair warrior prince of the Royal House of Zamorins from Calicut who fought a two-decade long revolt against the Mysore Sultanate under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan between 1766–1768 and 1774–1791, and later the British East India Company in 1793.
Pazhayaveettil Chandu Nambiar also known as Pazhayamviden Chandu was a general of Pazhassi Raja whose betrayal led to death of his Raja and British victory in Cotiote War.
K. K. N. Kurup is an historian of India and a former vice-chancellor of the University of Calicut. He has specialised in the history of the Malabar region of South India.
Thalassery was a trade hub where Chinese, Arab, and Jewish traders had considerable influence in the spice market before that the Greeks and Romans was in the trade. It was the European invasion that brought significant change as they enforced the trade with their military.
Rao Sahib Ayyathan Gopalan, popularly known as Darsarji and Darsar Sahib, was an Indian doctor, surgeon, professor, writer, philanthropist, social reformer, and Renaissance leader from Kerala. He is the founder of the Sugunavardhini movement (1900) and Depressed classes mission (1909) and also the leader and propagandist of Brahmo Samaj (1893) in Kerala. He denounced idol worship and fought to end those social practices in Kerala that he thought were unethical. Among his followers were Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi, Vaghbatananda, and Brahmavadhi P. Kunhiraman. Gopalan titled P. Kunhiraman as "Brahmavadhi" and Sivayogi as "Brahmananda Swami".
Dr. Ayyathan Janaki Ammal (1878 –1945) was the first female doctor in Kerala and also in Malabar region which was an administrative district of Madras Presidency during British rule in India. She was also the first female doctor from the Thiyya community and also hailed with the title as the first Malayali lady doctor and surgeon. and the sister to Ayyathan Gopalan. a social reformer of Kerala, the founder of the Sugunavardhini movement (1900), Depressed Classes Mission (1909) and the leader and propagandist of Brahmo Samaj in Kerala.
The Thiyyar Regiment was a military class created by British Empire that provided thousands of Thiyyar community members from Malabar for the British Indian Army. The Regiment was based in Thalassery, chosen because it was a strategic center in Malabar. There were many Thiyyar people who held the posts of subedar and jemendhar in the local militia under the East India Company. Jemadhar were considered the high and responsible post.The first person to occupy this highest rank and post in British Indian army under the Thiyya regimen was Ayyathan Chandhoman Jemadhar. He was also the great-granduncle to Dr.Ayyathan Gopalan a renowned renaissance leader and social reformer of Kerala. There were lesser known Thiyya regiments and Thiyyar Pattalam formed by the French and British governments in Mahe and Thalassery. The British deployed the unit in various military operations.
Diwan Bahadur E. K. Krishnan (1841–1907) Thalassery in Kannur, served as a sub-judge in the Madras Court in 1861 and as an English writer in the Thalassery Civil Court and munsiple chair. In 1896 he retired from the British administration with the service of Deputy Collector of Malabar and Diwan of Malabar. He was the father of the botanist Janaki Ammal.
British East India Company 