Dutch capture Quilon

In 1650s the Dutch possessed only the unfortified factories at Kayamkulam and Cannanore. They took Quilon on 29 December 1658, but the Portuguese reconquered it on 14 April 1659. On February 10, 1661 the Dutch commander Van der Meyden came to Malabar with this intentions, and at Ayyacotta he had an interview with the Calicut prince. It was agreed that Calicut, the most powerful ruler on the Malabar and an enemy of the Portuguese, was to conduct the attack on the Portuguese fort at Cranganore by land and the Dutch by the sea. According to the treaty, the Fort Cranganore was to be made over to Calicut after its successful capture. Van der Meyen dispersed a Nair detachment sent to stop his advance on the way and appeared before Fort Palliport (February 16). The Portuguese made no attempt to resist and fled by the backwaters.
On March 21, Ryckloff Van Goens signed a treaty with the local chief of Paliyam on a ship anchored on the coast. The Dutch forces soon put boots on the ground and attacked the palace of the queen at Mattanceri. Subsequently, the queen was taken as a prisoner. Later in December 1661, the Portuguese Quilon was captured by a Dutch expedition under Ryckloff Van Goens. This is often regarded as the beginning of the Dutch presence in Malabar.

Capture of Cochin in 1663.

On January 3, 1662 Van Goens was joined by the Calicut army, and they besieged the Fort Cranganore in the heat of tropical son. After a fortnight the fort surrendered (15 January), and the Dutch demolished the fort with exception of the bastion, where they stationed a garrison. Now a new treaty was signed between Calicut and Van der Meyden. Calicut agreed to cede Fort Cranganore and Vypin to the Dutch after the capture of the Portuguese fort at Cochin.

Capture of Cochin

Capture of Quilon in 1661.

The allies moved towards Cochin and marched upon the palace of the raja on 5 February 1662. In the battle the raja was killed with two of his juniors. The Dutch installed another prince on throne, and proceeded to besiege the Portuguese fort. Cochin and the chief of Paliyam supplied the Dutch in these prolonged siege. It was not easy to starve it into surrender as the Portuguese resisted heroically. Native rulers of Porca and Cembakasseri kept the besieged supplied with provisions. Though disrupted by monsoon rains and deaths of the ruler of Calicut and important Dutch officers, the garrison was finally capitulated on January 8, 1663. The terms of the capitulation were that all the unmarried Portuguese residents were returned to Europe, and all married Portuguese and Mestiços were transferred to Goa. The last governor of Portuguese Cochin was Inácio Sarmento. About four thousand people, so was said, were the banished. Decades of Portuguese supremacy in Malabar came to an end. Fort Cochin now became the primary trading post of the Dutch colony.

Battles for supremacy on Malabar

Kochi City around 1665.

Quilon in 1756.

The alliance between Calicut and the Dutch had no chance of crystallizing into a long lasting friendship. Calicut had sought the Dutch cooperation that he might once more recover his hold on the Cochin raja (before the Portuguese arrival, Cochin was his vassal state). Hence his stipulation for the cession of Vypin and reduction of the Cochin raja to the position of a Calicut tributary in the treaty of 1662. But, the Dutch had established themselves in Cochin and Calicut asked them to fulfill their treaty obligations.
It was in these circumstances, Calicut welcomed the English and allowed them to establish a factory at Calicut in 1664. The Dutch authorities at Amsterdam were alarmed and wrote to their officers in India to "spare no pains" to secure expulsion of English from Calicut. The Dutch carried off four or five guns from Calicut and attacked Cranganore. The Dutch at once summoned their allies, Cochin, Tekkumkur, Vatakkumkur, Paravur, Cempakasseri and Mangatt. Calicut forces, including Moplahs and supported by a Portuguese named Pacheco, were at first successful. After a year of desultory fighting the Calicut forces withdrew, and the Dutch destroyed the Fort Round and built a bastion near Cranganore.

The Bolgatty Palace, built in 1744 for the commander of Dutch Malabar, is one of the oldest existing Dutch palaces outside of the Netherlands.

In 1669, Dutch Malabar became a separate commandment of the Dutch West India Company; before this year it had been governed from Batavia.^[1] In 1670, the Calicut ruler was persuaded by his prince to go to Cranganore to encourage the Nairs. But, the Dutch made a surprise attack on the Zamorin's camp. 30 Dutch lost their lives these raid, and in the confusion of the battle the Royal Sword of the Calicut was destroyed. Calicut ruler fell back to Papinivattom, and the prince attacked the bastion and captured it. In 1673 Van Rheede came to Cochin as its Commander. He re-occupied the bastion, and demanded the cession of Chetwai- the route to Cochin from Calicut. He himself came to Port Ponani in 1678, and met with the Calicut ruler. Tired with hostilities from most of the natives, the Dutch opened negotiations with Calicut. The Commissary General of Batavia, the head of the Dutch Government in the East Indies, came to Ponani in 1696 without even touching at Cochin. In the meantime, Calicut formed a large anti-Dutch alliance and signed a new treaty with the English. In following years, they made raids deep into Cochin areas (1701–1710). The Dutch were forced to took part in this battles with Cochin and began to construct a fort for the security of Chetwai. Soon, Calicut sent a force to pull down the fortifications and expulsed the Dutch from Chetwai (1714). The Chief of the English factory had a great hand in promoting this. Calicut resolved to follow up this success by attacking Cranganore and Pappinivattom. But, the Dutch under Councillor William Bucker Jacobs retaliated by defeating the Calicut and the English armies and on April 10, 1719 the Dutch formally took command of Fort William, as the fort at Chetwai now called. This deceive Dutch victory was a heavy blow to the English and Robert Adams.
The Dutch slowly began to feel their forts and garrisons in Malabar as a heavy economical burden. The English East India Company began to dominate trade and commerce in Malabar. On September 10, 1691 the Dutch transferred Chetwai back to Calicut and reduced the size and strength of forces across Malabar. The fear of Dutch forces anchored in the minds of the native rulers began to shade. In 1721, the supreme council in Batavia agreed that they will be no longer supporting their unfortunate native ally Cochin against the Calicut.

Defeat against Travancore and Kew Letters

Cochin

Quilon

Cannanore

Kayamkulam

Cranganore

Pallipuram

Purakkad

Map of the main forts on the Malabar Coast of India (Vengurla and Barselor not shown)

The Dutch never succeeded in establishing a pepper trade monopoly in Malabar, and were all the more frustrated in their attempts when the young ruler of Travancore started to expand his kingdom. The Travancore–Dutch War that followed culminated into the Battle of Colachel, which was disastrous for the Dutch. Eustachius de Lannoy, a naval commander in the Dutch army, was taken as POW and subsequently became a commander in Travancore army. De Lennoy later helped Travancore to establish an organized army, introduce better firearms and artillery and to build forts in European model in his state.
As a result of the Kew Letters, the Dutch settlements on the Malabar Coast were surrendered to the British in 1795, in order to prevent being overrun by the French. Dutch Malabar remained British after the conclusion of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814, which traded the colony with Bangka Island.

                                       Marthanda Varma

In a series of battles, Marthanda Varma annexed the kingdoms of Attingal, Quilon, and Kayamkulam. He started his campaign against the Kottarakara and other allies of the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch Governor Van Imhoff met Varma to protest against his policy towards their allies and the meeting served to aggravate the situation. In 1741 AD, the Dutch installed a princess of the Elayadathu Swarupam as the rule of Kottarakara in defiance to the demands of Marthanda Varma. The Travancore army inflicted a crushing defeat upon the combined Kottarakara-Dutch armies and annexed the kingdom, forcing the Dutch to retreat to Cochin. Following this, Marthanda Varma captured all of the Dutch forts in the area.

                               Links with Indus valley civilization

From 3000 BC onwards Kerala had trade relations by sea with the Indus Valley people. The caves contain drawings that range over periods from as early as 5000 BC to 1000 BC. Recently the youngest group of paintings were in the news for a possible connection to the Indus Valley Civilization.^[7][8][9]
Historian M.R. Raghava Varier of the Kerala state archaeology department identified a sign “a man with jar cup” that is the most distinct motif of the Indus valley civilization.^[10] The finding made in 2009 September indicates that the Harappan civilization was active in the region. Interestingly, the “a man with jar cup” symbol from Edakkal seems to be more similar to the Indus motif than those already known from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Mr. Varier said “The discovery of the symbols are akin to that of the Harappan civilisation having predominantly Dravidian culture and testimony to the fact that cultural diffusion could take place. It is wrong to presume that the Indus culture disappeared into thin air.” The scholar of Indus and the Tamil Brahmi scripts, Mr. Iravatham Mahadevan said the findings were very significant called it a "major discovery".

Kingdom of Travancore
Part of History of Kerala
Travancore Kings
Marthanda Varma	1729–1758
Dharma Raja	1758–1798
Balarama Varma I	1798–1810
Gowri Lakshmi Bayi‡	1810–1815
Gowri Parvati Bayi‡	1815–1829
Swathi Thirunal	1829–1846
Uthram Thirunal	1846–1860
Ayilyam Thirunal	1860–1880
Visakham Thirunal	1880–1885
Moolam Thirunal	1885–1924
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi‡	1924–1931
Balarama Varma II	1931–1947
‡ Regent Queens
Capitals
Padmanabhapuram	1729–1795
Thiruvananthapuram	1795–1947
Palaces
Padmanabhapuram Palace
Kilimanoor palace
Kuthira Malika
Kowdiar Palace

Recorded history of the dynasty

Installation of Bhanu Vicrama as King of Kerala by Parashurama

Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi,the only Maharani of Travancore to have reigned in her own right for two years before becoming regent

According to one existing version, the founding members of the Travancore royal family^[1] are said to have come to Kerala, from the banks of the Narmada river. Another belief is that Lord Parashurama himself crowned the first official ruler in the dynasty. Officially, their lineage can be traced definitively to at least 820 C.E, which is based on the claim of descent from the Later Cheras of the three southern Indian Mandala Kingdoms namely Chera Mandalam, Pandya Mandalam and Chola Mandalam. According to another legend, a branch of the Chera family was sent to the extreme north of the then Kerala, where they settled and came to be known as the Mooshika Royal family, or the later Kolathiris, while another branch was deputed to go south to grapple with the Pandyan invasions.
One of the two branches of the Chera dynasty shifted to Venad/Quilon where it merged with the Ay kingdom. Ravi Varma Kulasekhara was the last rulers of this Chera Ay dynasty. Ravi Varma Kulasekara described himself as Ay as well as Komaravarmaan as his mother was a Pandya princess. Numerous places are named after this Tamil Cherai dynasty. Ravi Varma Kulasekhara (1299-1314) invaded the territories of the Pandyas and Cholas and performed imperial coronations at Madurai and Kanchipuram and thus threw of the Pandyan hegemony in the region.^[2] However his success was short lived and after him his successors could not hold on to these acquisitions of the Pandyas and Cholas. After 1310 the last Chera-Ay King Veera Udaya Marthandavarma was forced to abdicate in favour of the princesses sent from the Kolathiri kingdom called Attingal and Kunnumel Ranis. But they adopted the titles of Chera-Ay rulers. The line of kings after Ravi Varma continued through the Marumakkathayam law of matrilineal succession. Soon after Ravi Varma's death two princesses were adopted from the Kolathiri Royal family and installed as Ranis or Queens at Attingal. The Venad Royal family continued thus in the female line. Whenever there were no females to take forth the line, princesses were adopted from the Kolathiri family, the latest adoption being in 1994.^[3] Umayamma Rani who reigned towards the end of the 17th century was a prominent ruler. Marthanda Varma, the "maker of modern Travancore" and Dharma Raja were powerful rulers who reestablished the power of monarchy in the state and destroyed that of the nobles. By the early 19th century the kingdom became a princely state under the British. Swathi Thirunal was one of the most popular rulers of the 19th century. The regency of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi was a time which heralded many new reforms which were continued by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma.

Padmanabha Dasas

Padmanabhaswamy Temple dedicated to the patron deity of the family

Maharaja Marthanda Varma making over the Kingdom To Padmanabha Swamy

The Travancore royal family style themselves as Padmanabha Dasas or servants of Padmanabha an epithet of Hindu God Vishnu since 1750 when Maharajah Marthanda Varma made over the state to the deity of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple and vowed that from that that day on, the royal family would rule the state on behalf of Him.^[4] The title of Padmanabha Dasa is prefixed to the name of every Travancore King while females call themselves Padmanabha Sevinis. This important donation of the state to the temple was known as Thripadidanam. The British government accorded the Maharajah of Travancore a high 19 gun salute, whereas for all temple festivals, the highest salute of 21 guns was fired.

Adoption

Maharaja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma of Travancore successfully repulsed the invasion of Tipu Sultan

Maharani Bharani Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi was adopted from the related Kolathiri royal family

The first adoption to the Travancore Royal Family was in the early 14th century from the Kolathiri family because the Kolathiris are the first one to get Kshtriyahood from lord after conducting " 16 Mahadanas" during 13th century. Since then the senior most females of the family are styled as the Ranis of Attingal with the titles of Attingal Mootha Thampuran (Senior Rani of Attingal) and Attingal Elaya Thampuran (Junior Rani of Attingal).^[5] This adoption resulted by the late 17th century in the branching of the Royal family into four families namely the branch at Trivandrum, another at Kottarakara known as Elayadathu Swaroopam, the Peraka Thavazhi branch of Nedumangad and the Quilon branch. The later two branches died out into the 18th century whereas the last Rani of Kottarakara fled after battle with Marthanda Varma.^[6] In 1630 two males were adopted from the Cochin Royal Family ^[7] sowing the seed of dissension between the branches of the Royal family. Later in 1684 one male and two females were adopted from the Kolathiri family, from which family all subsequent adoptions were made, by Umayamma Rani.^[8] In 1688 two males, including
Rajah Rama Varma, and 2 females were adopted and Marthanda Varma was born to one of these princesses.^[9] In 1718 a princess was adopted, whose son was the later king Dharma Raja and whose great grandson was the poet Irayimman Thampi . In 1748 again four princesses were adopted and Balarama Varma (1798–1810) belonged to this line.^[10] The next adoption of 1788 brought forth the famous Maharanis, Gowri Lakshmi Bayi and Gowri Parvati Bayi and all the male rulers up to 1924, the last ruler in this line being Moolam Thirunal.^[11] In 1857 two princesses, including Rani Lakshmi Bayi, were adopted from a branch of the Kolathiri family residing at Mavelikara since the 1790s, but by 1901 both these princesses and all their issue died.^[12] In 1900 again two princesses were adopted from Mavelikara, granddaughters of Raja Ravi Varma, including the Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi.^[13] The latest adoption occurred in 1994.

Titles and precedence

Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the last Maharani of Travancore and Senior Rani of Attingal

Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma,the last ruling Maharaja of Travancore

• The senior most male of the Royal family, born in the female line, to a Rani of Attingal, becomes Maharajah with the title of Sri Padmanabha Dasa Vanchi Pala (Personal Name) Kulasekhara Perumal. Other titles include Shamsher Jang, Raja Rama Raja Bahadur, Manney Sultan etc.
• The senior most female of the Royal family is the Maharani and holds the title of Attingal Mootha Thampuran and is known as Sri Padmanabha Sevini Vanchi Dharma Vardhini Raja Rajeshwari Maharani (personal name).
• The second princess is known as Attingal Elaya Thampuran, third princess as Attingal Kochu Thampuran.
• The heir apparent is known as the Elaya Raja.
• Consort of the Maharani is known as the Valiya Koil Thampuran.
• Consort of the Maharajah is known as the Ammachi and holds the title of Panapillai Amma. The Maharajahs children do not succeed to the musnud under the Marumakkathayam law and instead get a title of nobility, immediately below royalty, namely Thampi. The Maharajahs are only allowed morganatic marriages so as to maintain Marumakkathayam.

Marriage and other customs

The marriages of the princesses are known as Pallikettus ^[14] while those of the Maharajahs are known as the ceremony of bestowing the Pattum Parivattavum. The form of marriage is Sambandham and the consorts of the princesses are from certain select families of Koyi Thampurans whereas the consorts of the Maharajahs belong to four houses known as Ammaveedus. The spouses of the princesses and Maharajahs are not considered members of the royal house owing to the prevalent Marumakkathayam law. However they received many royal dignities and privileges owing to their position as consorts. Sri Padmanabhaswamy is the chief family deity.

Cessation of the practice of mahādanams

Marthanda Varma entering the golden tub during Hiranyagarbha ceremony

Marthanda Varma performing Thulapurusha Danum ceremony

The Maharajas of Travancore had been conditionally promoted to Kshatriyahood from Samantha Nair with periodic performance of 16 mahādānams (great gifts in charity) such as Hiranya-garbhā, Hiranya-Kāmdhenu, Hiranyāswaratā, and Tulāpurushadānam in which each of which thousands of Brahmins had been given costly gifts apart from each getting a minimum of 1 kazhanch (78.65 gms) of gold.^[15] The Nambudiri Brahmins had stipulated that Rajas of Travancore could retain their dignity of Nair Sāmanta permanently but the Kshatriyhood conferred on them by the yāgās and mahādanams would be valid only for 6 years and thus the latter purchased kshatriyhood at a heavy recurring cost. During 1848, Lord Dalhousie the then Governor General of British India who was also an eager annexationist was appraised that the depressed condition of the finances in Travancore was owing to mal-administration and practices of treasury by the ruling elite.^[16] Lord Dalhousie, who was indignant at the colossal wasteful expenditure of Travancore state treasury through mahādanams among others, instructed Lord Harris Governor of Madras, warn the Rāja under the ninth article of the treaty of 1805. On 21 November 1855, Lord Harris dispatched a strongly worded communication to the then Rāja of Travancore alias Martanda varma (Uttram Tirunal 1847–1860 A.D) that if he did not put a stop to his periodic re-incarnation as Kshatriya by squandering away huge sums of tax payer's money, among others, his state administration would be taken over by the Madras government. This led to the cessation of the practice of mahādanams and the Rājas of Travancore were unable to purchase their Kshatriyahood further and hence Sāmanthan by dignity presently.

Palaces

Padmanabhapuram Palace

Kowdiar Palace, The official residence of the Travancore Royal Family

The Padmanabhapuram Palace was the main residence of the Travancore Maharajahs whereas the Ranis of Attingal resided at that place in their own palaces. Later the royal family moved to Trivandrum wherein the females resided at the Sree Padam Palace. Presently the Royal family members live at Kowdiar Palace in Trivandrum and at Chennai, Bangalore etc. Some members are also settled abroad in the United States of America, Australia, South Africa etc.

The Royal Family

Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma, present head of the family

Prince Ashwathi Thirunal Rama Varma is a noted Indian classical musician

The Royal family at present consists of the descendants of the two princesses adopted in 1900 from the Mavelikara royal family, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and Sethu Parvathi Bayi. Sethu Lakshmi Bayi was the last regent Maharani of Travancore. The oldest son of Sethu Patvathy Bayi was the last Maharajah, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, who signed the instrument of accession and amalgamated the state into India in 1949. The Royal family consists, in the line of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi two daughters, Princesses Uthram Thirunal Lalithamba Bayi and Karthika Thirunal Indira Bayi and their families. In the line of the Junior Maharani, Sethu Parvati Bayi, are the last Maharajah (unmarried), his brother Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma, present head of the royal family and the family of their late sister Princess Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi (who was married to Col. G.V. Raja of the Poonjar Royal Family). Princess Karthika Tirunal and Col. G. V. Raja had two daughters (Pooyam Tirunal and Ashwati Tirunal) and two sons (Avittam Tirunal and Moolam Tirunal). The present Head of the Family, Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma married Shrimati Radha Devi (the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Krishnan Gopinath Pandalai, MB, CM, FRCS, LRCP, late IMS, sometime Superintendent of the Government General Hospital, Madras), and has a son, Anantha Padmanabhan Thampi and a daughter, Parvati Devi. He resides at Pattom Palace, Trivandrum. Presently the senior most female in the Royal Family with the title of Attingal Mootha Thampuran is H.H. Karthika Thirunal Indira Bayi. She resides in Chennai. The Indian Constitutional Amendment of 1971 terminated the status of the royal families of the erstwhile princely states as rulers and abolished their rights to receive privy purses. However the other clauses of the agreements signed between the Government of India and the Princes in 1947 legally still hold. The Royal Family of Travancore has no administrative authority since 1971. Till 1956 Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma served as Rajpramukh of Thiru-Kochi. Later in 1971 while the family lost their privy purse and other privileges, the rights of the family in the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple were respected and the head of the family still fulfills his duty towards the temple as the Maharajah of Travancore.^[17] The allowances of all the family members born prior to 1949 are also still paid by the Government of Kerala.
Some prominent members of the Travancore royal family today include artists Rukmini Varma (Princess Bharani Thirunal) and her son Jayagopal Varma, writers Shreekumar Varma (Prince Punardam Thirunal), Dr. Lakshmi Raghunandan (Princess Makham Thirunal) and Gowri Lakshmi Bayi (Princess Aswathy Thirunal), musician Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma, Yathi Verma. After the Constitutional Amendment of 1971, the royal family and its properties and estates were partitioned and divided into two equal halves among the branches of HH Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and HH Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi. However certain legal disputes with regard to the same continued among family members until as late as 1991.^[18]

HISTORY OF KERALA-MEDIEVAL KINGDOMS

Modern history

Formation of Kerala state

The two independent kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin joined with the Union of India after India gained independence in 1947. On 1 July 1949, the two states were merged to form Travancore-Cochin. On 1 January 1950, Travancore-Cochin was recognised as a state. The Madras Presidency was organised to form Madras State in 1947.
On 1 November 1956, the state of Kerala was formed by the States Reorganisation Act merging the Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin (excluding four southern taluks, which were merged with Tamil Nadu), and the taluk of Kasargod, South Kanara.^[81] In 1957, elections for the new Kerala Legislative Assembly were held, and a reformist, Communist-led government came to power, under E. M. S. Namboodiripad.^[81] It was the first time a Communist government was democratically elected to power anywhere in the world. It initiated pioneering land reforms, leading to lowest levels of rural poverty in India.^[82][83]

Liberation struggle

It refused to nationalize the large estates but did provide reforms to protect manual labourers and farm workers, and invited capitalists to set up industry. Much more controversial was an effort to impose state control on private schools, such as those run by the Christians and the Nairs, which enrolled 40% of the students. The Christians, the land owning communities of Nairs and Namputhiris and the Congress Party protested, with demonstrations numbering in the tens and hundreds of thousands of people. The government controlled the police, which made 150,000 arrests (often the same people arrested time and again), and used 248 lathi charges to beat back the demonstrators, killing twenty. The opposition called on Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to seize control of the state government. Nehru was reluctant but when his daughter Indira Gandhi, the national head of the Congress Party, joined in, he finally did so. New elections in 1959 cost the Communists most of their seats and Congress resumed control.

Coalition politics

Later in 1967-82 Kerala elected a series of leftist coalition governments; the most stable was that led by Achutha Menon from 1969 to 1977.^[84]
From 1967 to 1970, Kunnikkal Narayanan led a Naxalite movement in Kerala. The theoretical difference in the communist party, i.e. CPM is the part of the uprising of Naxalbari movement in Bengal which leads to the formation of CPI(ML) in India.Due to the several difference in the ideological level the CPI-ML splitted to several groups. Some are come to the democratic way and some to the extrem, anarchic way. The violence alienated public opinion.^[85]
The political alliance have strongly stabilized in such a manner that, with rare exceptions, most of the coalition partners stick their loyalty to the alliance. As a result to this, ever since 1979, the power has been clearly alternating between these two fronts without any change. Politics in Kerala is characterized by continually shifting alliances, party mergers and splits, factionalism within the coalitions and within political parties, and numerous splinter groups.^[86]
Modern politics in Kerala is dominated by two political fronts: the Communist party-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) since late 1970s. These two parties have alternating in power since 1982. Most of the major political parties in Kerala, except for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), belong to one or the other of these two alliances, often shifting allegiances a number of time.^[86] According to 2011 Kerala Legislative Assembly election results, the UDF has a majority in the state assembly (72/140).

HISTORY OF KERALA-MEDIEVAL KINGDOMS

The Medieval Kingdoms


The period after the dissolution of the Second Chera Empire of the Kulasekharas witnessed the rise of several small kingdoms in Kerala. The important ones are Venad {Travancore), the Perumpadappu Swarupam (Cochin), The Nediyirippu Swarupam of the Zamorins of Calicut. The minor principalities are Desinganad, Attingal, Karunagappally, Karthikappally, Kayamkulam, Purakkad, Pantalam, Tekkumkur, Vadakkumkur, Punjar, Karappuram, Anchi Kaimals, Edappally, Parur, Alangad, Cranganore, Airur, Talappilly, Valluvanad, Palghat, Kollengode, Kavalappara, Parappanad, Kurumpranad, Kottayam, Cannanore, Nileswaram, and Kumbla.

VENAD (TRAVANCORE)

The royal house of Venad, which later came to be called Travancore, claims Rama Varna Kulasekhara as its founder and Quilon as its capital. Venad became a power in the fourteenth century under Ravi Varna Kulasekhara (1299-1314), the conqueror, who claimed lordship even over the Pandyas. He assumed the Sanskrit title sangramadhira (strong in battle). Quilon acquired great prosperity and prominence at this time that travellers like Marco Polo visited the city at the end of the thirteenth century. According to Marco Polo, "the merchants from China and from the Levant went there with their merchandise in their ships and made huge profits from the import-export business."

In the eighteenth century, Venad was blessed with two great rulers, Marthanda Varma (1729-1758) and his nephew, Kartika Tirunal Rama Varma or the Dharna Raja (1758-1798). The former annexed several neighboring states to Venad and the latter consolidated the gains by maintaining the independence of the state from the external aggressions of Hyder Ali and Tippu, the Sultans of Mysore. One of the most important acts of Marthanda Varma the Conqueror was the dedication (Trippatidanam) of the newly organized kingdom to his household deity Sri Padmanabha (Vishnu)
of Trivandrum on Wed-nesday, January 3, 1750. As Marthanda Varma is remembered for his construction of the great Sri Padmanabha Temple of Trivandrum, Dharma Raja is commemorated by the Nedumcotta of Central Kerala (the Great Mall) built to prevent the Mysorean invasion -- it was the Dutch-General D'Lannoy who supervised the construction of the Great Mall. The great poets, Kunjan Nambiar and Unnai Harrier, lived during the time of Dharma Raja. When the Raja passed away in 1798 after a long reign of forty years, he was seventy-four years old; his subjects bestowed on him the affectionate title Kizhavan Raja (the Old Man King). The following successors of Dharma Raja continued the policy of enlightened administration under the guidance of British Residents; Bala Rama Varma (1798-1810), Rami Gouri Lakshmi Bai (1810-1815), Gouri Parvati Bai (1815-1829), the scholar-composer-polyglot Svati Tirunal (1829-1847), Sri Mulam Tirunal (1885-1924), and Sri Chitra Tirunal (1931-1949).


COCHIN

Nothing much is known about the Cochin royal house (Perumpadappu Swarupam) until the arrival of the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. The Cochin ruler claims to be a descendant of the Kulasekharas. The only important ruler of Cochin was Saktan Tampuran (1790-1805) who introduced the system of central administration with the advice of the British Resident Colonel Munro.

CALICUT

The Zamorins (Samutiri) of Calicut are descendants from the Ernad Utaiyavar and are supposed to have received land and a broken sword (otimaval) from the Cheraman Perumal. The kingdom of Calicut came to be known as Nediyirippu Swarupam after the original house of the Eradis. Under the patronage of the Zamorins, Calicut became an important sea-port and trade rpnt.er from the fourteenth century. The Arabs and the Chinese were the major trading partners of Calicut. With revenues -from trade, the Zamorins embarked on the path of aggressive expansion by conquering and annexing the principalities of Beypore, Parappanad, Vettat, Valluvanad, Nilambur, Manjeri, and Malappuram. Finally, the reigning Zamorin victoriously marched into Tirunavai and assumed the role of patron (Rakshapurusha) of the Pan-Kerala Meet (Mamankam). The later history of Calicut is characterized by constant conflicts with Cochin and by interferences from foreign powers like the British. On May 21, 1800, the British, after crushing the opposition of the Zaniorins and Pazhassi Raja, annexed Malabar to the Province of Madras. During the period 1836-1856, the Malabar District had reported twenty-two bloody Muslim Mappila riots in which the poor Muslim tenants murdered many cruel Hindu Janmis (landlords) and burned Hindu temples. The riots came to an end with increasing opportuni-ties of employment for the unemployed and with land reform acts which pro-vided protection for poor tenants from unjust eviction.

Colonial period

In the famous Battle of Colachel (1741), Marthanda Varma's army defeated the Dutch East India Company, resulting in the complete eclipse of Dutch power in Malabar.

Captured Mappila prisoners of 1921 revolt taken after a battle with British troops

The monopoly of maritime spice trade in the Indian Ocean stayed with Arabs during the high and late medieval periods. However, the dominance of Middle East traders got challenged in the European Age of Discovery during which the spice trade, particularly in black pepper, became an influential activity for European traders.^[74] Around the 15th century, the Portuguese began to dominate the eastern shipping trade in general, and the spice-trade in particular, culminating in Vasco Da Gama's arrival in Kappad Kozhikode in 1498.^[75][76][77]

Portuguese period

The Zamorin of Calicut permitted the Portuguese to trade with his subjects. Their trade in Calicut prospered with the establishment of a factory and fort in his territory. However, Portuguese attacks on Arab properties in his jurisdiction provoked Zamorin and finally it led to conflicts among them. The Portuguese took advantage of the rivalry between Zamorin and king of Kochi; they allied with Kochi and when Francisco de Almeida was appointed as the Viceroy of Portuguese India in 1505, his headquarters was at Kochi. During his reign, Portuguese managed to dominate over the relation with Kochi and established a few fortresses in Malabar coast.^[78] Nonetheless, Portuguese suffered severe set back from the attacks of Zamorin forces; especially the naval attacks under the leadership of admirals of Calicut known as Kunjali Marakkars compelled them to seek a treaty. In 1571, Portuguese were defeated by the Zamorin forces in the battle at Chaliyam fort.^[79]

Dutch commander De Lannoy surrenders to Marthanda Varma at the Battle of Colachel. Depiction at Padmanabhapuram Palace

Dutch period

The weakened Portuguese were ousted by the Dutch East India Company, who took advantage of continuing conflicts betweenKozhikode and Kochi to gain control of the trade. The Dutch in turn were weakened by constant battles with Marthanda Varma of the Travancore Royal Family, and were defeated at the Battle of Colachel in 1741. An agreement, known as Treaty of Mavelikkara, was signed by the Dutch and Travancore in 1753, according to which the Dutch were compelled to detach from all political involvements in the region. In the meantime, Marthanda Varma annexed many smaller northern kingdoms through military conquests, resulting in the rise of Travancore to a position of preeminence in Kerala.^[80] Hyder Ali of Mysore conquered northern Kerala in the 18th century, capturing Kozhikode in 1766.

British period

Hyder Ali and his successor, Tipu Sultan, (but Nairs under the capable Diwan of Travancoore Raja Keshavadas (Keshava pillai Diwanji) defeated Tippu near chalakudy) came into conflict with the British, and the four Anglo-Mysore wars were fought across southern India in the latter half of the 18th century. Tipu Sultan ceded Malabar District to the British in 1792, and South Kanara, which included present-day Kasargod District, in 1799. The British concluded treaties of subsidiary alliance with the rulers of Cochin (1791) and Travancore (1795), and they became princely states of British India, maintaining local autonomy in return for a fixed annual tribute to the British. Malabar and South Kanara districts were part of British India's Madras Presidency.
Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (Kerul Varma Pyche Rajah, Cotiote Rajah) (3 January 1753 – 30 November 1805)was the prince regent and the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Kottayam in Malabar, India between 1774 and1805. He lead the Pychy Rebellion (Wynaad Insurrection, Coiote War) against the English East India Company. And one of the first to start the fight for Indian freedom struggle. He is popularly known as Kerala Simham (Lion of Kerala).
Organised expressions of discontent with British rule were not uncommon in Kerala. Uprisings of note include the rebellion by Pazhassi Raja, Velu Thampi Dalawa and the Punnapra-Vayalar revolt of 1946. In 1919, consequent to their victory in World War I, the British abolished the Islamic Caliphate and dis-membered the Ottoman Empire. This resulted in protests against the British by Muslims of the Indian sub-continent which is known as Khilafat Movement, which was supported by Mahatma Gandhi in order to draw the Muslims into the mainstream national independence movement. In the year 1921, the Khilafat Movement in Malabar culminated in widespread riots against the British government and Hindu population in what is now known as Moplah rebellion. Kerala also witnessed several social reforms movements directed at eradication of social evils such as untouchability from among the Hindus, pioneered by reformists like Srinarayana guru, Chattambiswami etc. The non-violent and largely peaceful Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924 was instrumental in securing entry to the public roads adjacent to the Vaikom temple for people belonging to untouchable castes. In 1936, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balaramavarma the ruler of Travancore issued the Temple Entry Proclamation, declaring the temples of his kingdom open to all Hindu worshipers, irrespective of caste