There are two forts named Udayagiri Fort in South India.
Udayagiri Fort in Andhra Pradesh was constructed by Langula Gajapathi, chieftain to Gajapatis of Odisha approximately between 1434 and 1512 CE.
The fort in Tamil Nadu is located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from Nagercoil in Thuckalay Town, Kanyakumari District on the Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil National highway at Puliyoorkurichi. This was the most important military barracks of the rulers, when Padmanabhapuram was their capital.
Originally built in the 17th century, the fort was rebuilt by Maharaja Marthanda Varma of Travancore in the 18th century.
Spanning about 90 acres (36 ha), including an isolated 260 feet (79 m) hillock. The fort contains an old foundry which was used for casting guns.
The fort was rebuilt during the reign of Marthanda Varma, between 1741-44 under the supervision of Eustachius De Lannoy, a Flemish naval commander of the Dutch East India Company, who later served as the Chief of the Travancore Army. [1]
In the early days, the fort was of strategic importance. Prisoners captured in the campaign against Tippu Sultan were confined in the fort for some time. In 1810, the East India Company's Army under Colonel Leger marched into Travancore through the Aramboly Pass (Aralvaimozhi) to quell a rebellion under the leadership of Velu Thambi Dalava.
In later years, English East India Company troops were stationed at the fort until the middle of the 19th century. A foundry for the manufacture of guns, mortars, and cannonballs was established within the fort under the supervision of the resident General.
The fort is built of massive granite blocks around an isolated hillock.
The tombs of the Dutch Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy, (in whose honour the fort was once called Dillanai Kottai— De Lennoy's Fort), and of his wife and son can still be found inside a partly ruined chapel in the fort.
De Lannoy's body was buried within the fort and a chapel was built at his burial site. De Lannoy's tombstone lies within the walls of the ruined chapel. The inscriptions on his stone are both in Tamil and in Latin. His wife and son were buried by his side.
Recently, officials of the Department of Archaeology found a tunnel within the fort.
Presently, the fort has been turned into a bio-diversity park by the Tamil Nadu forest department, with sites of historical importance, such as De Lannoy's tomb, remaining as protected archaeological sites under the Archaeological Department of India. [2]
The Kingdom of Travancore, also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor or later as Travancore State, was kingdom that lasted from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of the south of modern-day Kerala and the southernmost part of modern-day Tamil Nadu with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in the neighbouring Kingdom of Cochin. However Tangasseri area of Kollam city and Anchuthengu near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram were parts of British India.
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma (1758–98).
Padmanabhapuram is a town and a municipality near Thuckalay in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 21,342. Padmanabhapuram was the capital of Travancore state in the past. In 1795, the King of Travancore, Rama Varma (known as Dharma Raja moved the capital from Padmanabhapuram to Thruvananthapuram. At that time the boundaries of Travancore state included half the area of modem Kerala state. In 1947, after independence, Padmanabhapuram became part of Travancore-Cochin state When Indian states ware reorganized on the basis of language. In 1957, Padmanabhapuram along with other Tamil-speaking areas were ceded to Madras State, while the Malayalam-speaking areas became part of Kerala. Later the name of Madras State was changed to Tamil Nadu.
Marthandam is a major trade centre in Kuzhithurai municipality across National Highway in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Formerly known as Thoduvetty, it was a portion of Kanyakumari district which was added to the state of Tamil Nadu on 1 November 1956.
Padmanabhapuram Palace, also known as Kalkulam Palace, is a Travancore-era palace located in Padmanabhapuram in the Kanyakumari district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The palace is owned, controlled and maintained by kerala government. Padmanabhapuram is the former capital city of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore. It is around 20 km (12 mi) from Nagercoil, 39 km (24 mi) from Kanyakumari town and 52 km (32 mi) from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. The palace complex lies inside an old granite fortress around four kilometers long. The palace is located at the foot of the Veli Hills, part of the Western Ghats. The river Valli flows nearby.
Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam (Quilon). It was one of the major principalities of Kerala, along with kingdoms of Kannur (Kolathunadu), Kozhikode (Nediyiruppu), and Kochi (Perumpadappu) in medieval and early modern period.
Kanyakumari district, officially Kanniyakumari district, is one of the 39 districts of Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Nadu in terms of per capita income, and also tops the state in Human Development Index (HDI), literacy, and education. The district's headquarters is Nagercoil.
The Battle of Colachel was fought on 10 August 1741 [O.S. 31 July 1741] between the Indian kingdom of Travancore and the Dutch East India Company. During the Travancore-Dutch War, King Marthanda Varma's (1729–1758) forces defeated the Dutch East India Company's forces led by Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy on 10 August 1741. The Dutch never recovered from the defeat and no longer posed a large colonial threat to India. Travancore triumphed in the war thanks to the exceptional military efforts of the Travancore Nair Brigade at sea, along with the leadership of three Nair commanders—Arumukhan Pilla, Nanu Pilla, and Chembaka Raman Pilla—on land.
Thuckalay or Thakkalai is a town in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Thuckalay comes under the Padmanabhapuram Municipality, and is the administrative headquarters of Kalkulam Taluk. The Revenue Divisional Office is located in Mettukadai.
Colachel is a coastal town in the far south of India, located in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. It is a natural harbor on the Malabar coast, located 20 km north-west of Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India. As of 2011 the municipality had a population of 23,227 and a metropolitan population of 47,007.
Devasahayam Pillai or Mar Lazarus Sahada was an Indian layman and martyr of the Catholic Church. He was canonized as a saint of the church by Pope Francis on 15 May 2022.
Thiruvithamcode, is a small panchayat town located in the Kanyakumari district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thiruvithamcode is about 20 km from Nagercoil and 2 km from Thuckalay.
Kunnathur Kesavan Raman Pillai, also known as Raja Kesavadas was the Dewan of Travancore during the reign of Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma. He is well known for his military tactics and administrative acumen. He was the mastermind in developing the Alappuzha town.
Eustachius Benedictus de Lannoy was a skilled military strategist and commander of the Travancore army, under Maharaja Marthanda Varma.
Vattakottai Fort is a seaside fort near Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu the southern tip of India. It was built in the 18th century as a coastal defence-fortification and barracks in the former Travancore kingdom.
)Ramayyan Dalawa was the Dalawa of Travancore state, India, during 1737 and 1756 and was responsible for the consolidation and expansion of that kingdom after the defeat of the Dutch at the 1741 Battle of Colachel during the reign of Maharajah Marthanda Varma, the creator of modern Travancore.
Kalkulam is a small village located in Kalkulam taluk, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. The taluk was among several in Thiruvananthapuram district that with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 were transferred from Thiruvananthapuram district, Travancore-Cochin State to the newly created Kanyakumari district of Madras State.
Puliyoorkurichi is a small village in India, a suburb of Padmanabhapuram, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) southeast of Thuckalay on the Trivandrum-Nagercoil Highway. It is adjacent to Udayagiri Fort, which is its principal point of interest.
Marthandanthurai is a coastal village on the shore of the Arabian Sea in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India, near the border with Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The village is part of the Kollemcode panchayat. It belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum from 1967. Prior to joining with the Trivandrum Latin Archdiocese, this village was a part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cochin. The village is known for its beauty and versatility. It is a pilgrimage centre of Our Lady of Lourdu and is dedicated to the patronage of Our Lady of Dolours. The historical AVM Canal flows through this village. Its golden sand beach is the attraction of this tourist village. Being the part of Kollemcode Town Panchayat, this is the prime centre of trade and transportation for the neighboring villages. The 30% of people live in Marthandanthurai speak Malayalam as their major spoken language and the remainder speak a mixture of Tamil and Malayalam. In short, it can be said that people have their own colloquial way of talking and language. This language slang has big difference among neighbor regions and villages. Marthandanthurai the name sometimes referred as "Land of Marthanda Varma" because the king who did a lot of favors to this village. The villages of Vallavilai and Neerody are located near the village Marthandanthurai. This Village is located nearly 70 km from Kanyakumari and 30 km from Trivandrum.
The Colachel International Seaport also known as Kanyakumari Transshipment Port, is proposed and located in Colachel, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India into a major port transforming it into India's southern trans-shipment gateway. The project costs Rs 28000 crore. 500 acres of land will be reclaimed from the sea. This will be taken up in three phases. Colachel is already a natural harbour with water that is about 20 metres deep. The proposed port is less than four nautical miles away from the international shipping channel. The Colachel port would have the ability to handle around two million metric tonnes of cargo initially, which would gradually be enhanced to eight million metric tonnes.