Abstract
The Kerala coast, since time immemorial, has welcomed the various foreign powers and has been shaped by the relations it has had with each other. This essay examines the various phases in the relations with such a foreign power- the Dutch and the mighty state of Travancore. It focuses on the beginning of the Dutch trade endeavours and spice trade with the Malabar coast countries through the Dutch East India Company, the rise of Travancore and its expeditions under Marthanda Varma, the Dutch competition for trade monopoly with other European powers and subsequent clashes, the relations with Travancore and allied countries, the Battle of Colachel leading to the eclipse of Dutch power in India, the fate of the Dutch in church and the transformation of Eustache Delannoy from the Dutch Captain to Valiya Kappithan of Marthanda Varma and its impacts. The essay looks into the works by and from Dutch archives, A. Sreedhara Menon, Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai, M.O. Koshy, A. Arul Shoba, Markus Vink, Jeena Sarah Jacob, S. Krishna Iyer and others.
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References
2. Kumar, Santhosh, L, “Rethinking Dutch Trade Settlements in Travancore,2022.
3. Koshy, M.O, “Native Assistance in the Foundation of Dutch Power in Kerala”, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 1988, Vol. 49 (1988), pp. 196-201.
4. Vink, Markus, " ‘The World's Oldest Trade’: Dutch Slavery and Slave Trade in the Indian Ocean in the Seventeenth Century”, Journal of World History, Jun., 2003, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Jun., 2003), pp. 131-177.
5. Present day Kayamkulam
6. Present day Kollam
7. An independent kingdom in the southern part of Kerala in India from 1103 CE until 1750 CE.
8. The Ettuveetil Pillamar (Lords of the Eight Houses) were nobles from eight ruling Houses in erstwhile Travancore in present-day Kerala state, South India. They were associated with the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram and the Ettara Yogam. Their power and wealth grew until Marthanda Varma (1706–1758), the last king of Venad and the first king of Travancore, defeated them in the 1730s.
9. Present day Kottarakara.
10. Present day Srilanka.
11. Koshy, M.O, “The Dutch Conquest of Kerala-Compulsion and Considerations”, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 1996, Vol. 57 (1996), pp. 239-244.
12. ShobaJini, Arul. A, “The Dutch Struggle for Political Supremacy in Travancore 1700- 1753, 2019.
13. Koshy, 1996, pp. 239-244.
14. Koshy, M.O, “The Trade Monopoly of Travancore 1743-44”, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 1989, Vol. 50, Golden Jubilee Session (1989), pp. 312-319.
15. Koshy, 1988, pp. 196-201.
16. Jacob, Jeena Sarah, “The Fate of the Faith”, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, December 2019, Vol. 80 (December 2019), pp. 490-497.
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