The Kingdom of Travancore (/ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom 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 district, were British colonies and were part of the Malabar District until 30 June 1927, and Tirunelveli district from 1 July 1927 onwards. Travancore merged with the erstwhile princely state of Cochin to form Travancore-Cochin in 1950. The five Tamil-majority Taluks of Vilavancode, Kalkulam, Thovalai, Agastheeswaram, and Sengottai were transferred from Travancore-Cochin to Madras State in 1956. The Malayalam-speaking regions of Travancore-Cochin merged with the Malabar District and the Kasaragod taluk of the South Canara district in Madras State to form the modern Malayalam-state of Kerala on 1 November 1956, according to the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 passed by the Government of India.
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma Kulasekhara Perumal.( Tamil : மார்த்தாண்டவர்மா, 1706 – 7 July 1758: Malayalam : അനിഴം തിരുനാൾ മാർത്താണ്ഡവർമ്മ) 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).
There are two forts named Udayagiri Fort in South India.
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 the government of the neighbouring state of Kerala. This palace is older than Rambagh Palace in Rajasthan. It is possible that it is the one of the oldest palaces in India.
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 is one of the 38 districts in 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.
Thuckalay or Thakkalai (தக்கலை) 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 within the administrative jurisdiction of Kanyakumari District. 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.
St. Devasahayam Pillai 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.
Dharma RajaKarthika Thirunal Rama Varma was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He succeeded his uncle Marthanda Varma, who is credited with the title of "maker of modern Travancore". During his reign Dharma Raja not only retained all the territories his predecessor had gained but administered the kingdom with success. He was addressed as Dharma Raja on account of his strict adherence to Dharma Sastra, the Hindu principles of justice by providing asylum to thousands of Hindus and Christians fleeing Malabar during the Mysorean conquest of Malabar.
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.
Nedumkotta or Travancore lines was a wall built as a protection against consistent invasions from Mysore during the rule of Tipu Sultan. It was built by the Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal, King of Travancore with the request, support and permission of the Kingdom of Kochi. It was constructed by Rama Varma under the supervision of his Commander Eustachius De Lannoy. The work was started in 1762 it was completed only by 1775. The lines consist of a ditch about sixteen feet broad and twenty feet deep with a thick bamboo hedge in it, a slight parapet and good rampart and bastions on rising grounds almost flanking each other from one extreme of the lines to the other. The construction of Nedumkotta or the Travancore Lines is considered to be a unique and unparallel episode in Indian History by historians.
The Kingdom of Thekkumkur was an independent kingdom in the southern part of Kerala in India from 1103 CE until 1750 CE. It was ruled by the Thekkumkur Royal Family. Thekkumkur lies between the Meenachil River and the Pamba River, from the Western Ghats to the Vembanad Kayal. Thekkumkur emerges as a result of administrative changes in the princely states at the end of the Chera Kulasekhara dynasty of Mahodayapuram. The literal meaning of the title is the southern regent and the attribute southern distinguished them from another kingdom known as Vadakkumkur which bordered it in the northern side. The royal household, Thekkumkur Kovilakam, were at Vennimala and Manikandapuram near Puthuppally, later it shifted to Neerazhi Palace at Puzhavathu of Changanassery and Thalilkotta at Thaliyanthanapuram (Kottayam).
Eustachius Benedictus de Lannoy was a skilled military strategist and commander of the Travancore Army, under Maharaja Marthanda Varma.
The Nair Brigade was the army of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore in India. Nairs were a warrior community of the region. The personal bodyguard of the king Marthanda Varma (1706–1758) was also called Thiruvithamkoor Nair Pattalam. The Travancore army was officially referred as the Travancore Nair Brigade in 1818.
Ramayyan was the Dewan 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.
Pillai, meaning Prince, is a title of nobility which can either refer to a ruling chief, members of the nobility, or junior princes of the royal family historically ranked immediately below the king. The oldest lineages of Pillais include not only Kshatriyas but also brahmins who took up the sword. From the early modern period, the title also came to be bestowed upon Savarna subjects by the King of Travancore for services military or political, most of whom were of Nair origin.
The Colachel International Seaport also known as Enayam 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.
