Watercolour of the guest house of the Raja of Coorg with the fort in the background, 1795Portico of the Coorg Rajah's Palace at Somwaspett (May 1853, X, p.48)
The Kingdom of Coorg (or Kingdom of Kodagu) was an independent kingdom[2] that existed in India from the 16th century until 1834.[3] It was ruled by a branch of the Ikkeri Nayaka. From 1780 to 1788, the kingdom was occupied by neighbouring Mysore but the Rajah of Coorg was restored by the British and became a protectorate of the British East India Company on 26 October 1790. In 1834, the then Raja of Coorg rebelled against British authority, sparking the Coorg War. The brief conflict led to the British to annex the kingdom in the same year, who transformed the region into a province of British India.
Although Rājendranāme, a royal genealogy of the rulers of Coorg written in 1808, makes no mention of the origin of the lineage, its reading by historian Lewis Rice led him to conclude that the princely line was established by a member of the Ikkeri Nayaka family, who first settled in Halerinard. Having moved south to the town of Haleri in northern Coorg in the disguise of a wandering Jangama monk (or, by some recounting, a Lingayat monk[3]), he soon began to attract followers; with their help, or their acquiescence, he took possession of the town, and in such manner came to rule the entire country.[4] According to the genealogy,[3] the Coorg rajas who ruled from the early 17th century to the mid-19th century were:
Rulers of Coorg from early 17th century to mid-18th century[2]
Muddu Raja, the Coorg ruler from 1633 to 1687, initially ruled from the town of Haleri, but later moved his capital to Mercara, which he fortified and where he built a palace in 1681.[5] Early during the rule of his successor, Dodda Virappa (1687–1736), the army of the neighbouring kingdom of Mysore, under the orders of WodeyarChikka Devaraja, attacked and seized Piriyapatna, a territory which abutted Coorg (see Map11), and which was then being ruled by a kinsman of Dodda Virappa.[5] Buoyed by the victory, the Mysore army soon attacked Coorg itself; however, it had advanced only a short distance, when, while camping overnight on the plain of Palupare, it was surprised by a Coorg ambush. In the ensuing massacre, the Mysore army lost 15,000 men, and the survivors had to beat a hasty retreat. For most of the next two decades, the western reaches of Mysore remained vulnerable to attacks by the Coorg army. In the border district of Yelusavira, the Coorg and Mysore forces fought to a stalemate and, in the end, had to work out a tax sharing arrangement.[5]
In 1724, major hostilities resumed between Coorg and Mysore.Changing his modus operandi from guerrilla skirmishes in the hilly Coorg jungle to open field warfare, Dodda Virappa, attacked the Mysore army in the plains. Catching it off guard, he took in rapid succession six fortresses from Piriyapatna to Arkalgud. The resulting loss of revenue, some 600,000 gold pagodas, was felt in Mysore, and several months later, in August or September 1724, a large army was sent from Seringapatam, the Mysore capital, to Coorg.[6] Upon the Mysore army's arrival in the western region, however, the Coorg forces, returning to guerrilla warfare, retreated into the woods. Emboldened by the lack of resistance, the Mysore forces next mounted an attack on the Coorg hills. There too, they met no resistance.[7] However, a few days into this invasion, the Mysore forces, recalling their ignominious ambush in the 1890s,[clarification needed] panicked and retreated during the night.[7] Soon, the Coorg army was attacking the Mysore outposts again. This pattern of back and forth was to continue until the Mysore army was recalled, a few months later, to Seringapatam, leaving the region again vulnerable to the periodic raids of the Coorg army.[7] According to historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam,
The entire episode yields a rare insight into one aspect of war in the 18th century: the (Coorg) forces, lacking cavalry, with a minimum of firearms, lost every major battle, but won the war by dint of two factors. First, the terrain, and the possibility of retreating periodically into the wooded hillside, favoured them, in contrast to their relatively clumsy opponents. Second, the Mysore army could never maintain a permanent presence in the region, given the fact that the Wodeyar kingdom had several open frontiers.[8]
The ruler was succeeded by his grandson, Chikka Virappa, whose unremarkable rule lasted until 1768, when Coorg was conquered by Haidar Ali, the new sultan of Mysore.[citation needed]
Later history
In 1780, Coorg was invaded by Hyder Ali of Mysore and the state was annexed. For eight years, Coorg was a part of Mysore. In 1788, through British intervention, the Raja of Coorg regained his kingdom. He signed a treaty bringing Coorg under the protection of the British.
From 1790 to 1834, Coorg remained a protectorate of British India. In 1834, the then Raja of Coorg tried to shake off his allegiance to the British which resulted in the Coorg War. The state was eventually annexed and became the Coorg Province.
British rule
Under British rule, the natives of Coorg were encouraged to join the Indian army. Even today most of the soldiers from Karnataka are from this land.
Legacy
The present day Madikeri was formerly known as Muddu raja keri (meaning Mudduraja's town) and was named after the prominent king, Mudduraja who ruled Coorg from 1633-1687. The present day Virajpet derived from Virarajendrapete was the town established by Haleri king Dodda Veerarajendra, after whose name the city derives its name.[9][10]
Chikka Vira Rajendra, The last King of Coorg (circa 1805)
Princess Gouramma, who would later become Victoria Gouramma, the daughter of Chikka Virarajendra, the last king of Coorg, was adopted to be taken care by Queen Victoria.
Related Research Articles
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The Kodava people or Kodavas or Codavas are an ethno-linguistic group from the region of Kodagu in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, who natively speak the Kodava language. They are traditionally land-owning agriculturists and patrilineal, with martial customs. Kodavas worship ancestors and weapons. They used to worship swords, bows, arrows and later guns. Hence, Kodavas are the only ones in India permitted to carry firearms without a license.
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Nayakas of Keladi (1499–1763), also known as Nayakas of Bednore and Ikkeri Nayakas, were an Indian dynasty based in Keladi in present-day Shimoga district of Karnataka, India. They were an important ruling dynasty in post-medieval Karnataka. They initially ruled as a vassal of the famous Vijayanagar Empire. After the fall of the empire in 1565, they gained independence and ruled significant parts of Malnad region of the Western Ghats in present-day Karnataka, most areas in the coastal regions of Karnataka and the central plains along the Tungabhadra river. In 1763 AD, with their defeat to Hyder Ali, they were absorbed into the Kingdom of Mysore. They played an important part in the history of Karnataka, during a time of confusion and fragmentation that generally prevailed in South India after the fall of the Vijayanagar Empire. The Keladi rulers were of the Vokkaliga and Banajiga castes and were Veerashaivas by faith. The Haleri Kingdom that ruled over Coorg between 1600 A.D and 1834 A.D. was founded by a member of the Keladi family.
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Nalknad Palace or Nalkunadu, called Naalnaad Aramane in the local Kodava language, is a palace located in the Kodagu district of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located near a village named Yavakapadi and was built between the years 1792 and 1794 AD. This palace was the last refuge of the last of the Haleri kings of Kodagu, Chikka Veerarajendra before he was deposed by the British. The Kannada film Shanti, which has only a single actor, was shot in the surroundings of the palace.
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The Coorg War was fought between the British East India Company and the State of Coorg in 1834. Defiance of the Raja of Coorg, a small state in South India, led to a short but bloody campaign in 1834. In February 1834, a force of 7,000 was assembled under the command of Brigadier General Lindsay to commence operations against the Raja, who had begun hostilities against the British. Due to the poor state of roads, the force was divided into four columns, which were to enter Coorg from different directions and converge on the capital of Mercara. On 11 March, the Northern Division under the command of Colonel Gilbert Waugh entered the territory of Coorg and on 3 April, the leading troops made contact with the enemy. At noon, the advanced guard arrived in front of the fortified position of Soamwar Pettah. The force launched an attack on the position but was forced to retreat after a severe mauling. The leader of the Coorg resistance at was 'Madanta' (Mathanda) Appachu. Similar fate was suffered by another column.
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Guddemane Appaiah Gowda was an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary, he instated a peasant army from Kodagu and became its commander in-chief to lead the Amara Sullia Rebellion in 1837. They were successful in hoisting the native flag after lowering the Union Jack, which is known to be the first-ever freedom movement against the East India Company. They established a civil government in Mangalore for 13 days under his leadership.
Mathanda Appachu was an Indian warrior and freedom fighter. He was an officer in Chikka Vira Rajendra's army. He was from Bollumad village in Beppunad in Kodagu. He was also known as Madanta Appachu. He defeated the British in battle in 1834.
References
Citations
↑ "Portico of the Coorg Rajah's Palace at Somwarpett". The Wesleyan Juvenile Offering: A Miscellany of Missionary Information for Young Persons. Wesleyan Missionary Society. X: 48. May 1853. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (1989), "Warfare and state finance in Wodeyar Mysore, 1724–25: A missionary perspective", Indian Economic and Social History Review, 26 (2): 203–233, doi:10.1177/001946468902600203, S2CID145180609
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