The Battle of Colachel: When Travancore Defeated European Naval Power
-Bhoomee Vats
In 1741, when King Marthanda Varma faced the Dutch East India Company (EIC), commanded by the well-known Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy, a harbour on the Malabar coast was blocked by a fleet of ships of the Dutch forces who had seized the fort at Colachel. Adding to the distress, the European troops fired relentlessly at the Travancore army. Approximately four hundred houses were burnt down, even as it rained profusely, and while strong winds and rough seas crashed against the coast. Even though not as famous, the Battle of Colachel is of huge significance in the history of India and Asia since it was the first time that an Asian kingdom had managed to defeat a European power. The Dutch forces were destroyed, and their colonial ambitions in India were stalled.
The Battle of Colachel, also known as the Kulachal War, occurred on 10 August 1741. The battle also had far-reaching and major consequences for the Travancore state. Admiral De Lannoy was captured in the battle, but managed to earn the trust of King Varma and was eventually made the senior admiral in the Travancore army. Admiral De Lannoy trained the Travancore army in modern warfare and techniques and also helped realise the King’s long-treasured dream of a united Travancore state. The Indian Army celebrated the 284th anniversary of the Battle of Colachel on July 31st, 2025. The Madras Regiment of the Army held a celebratory event at the Colachel War Memorial in Kanyakumari district to highlight the occasion. The Colachel Day is celebrated every year to celebrate and give respect to the victory of the Travancore forces led by Marthanda Varma over the Dutch in the Battle of Colachel on July 31, 1741.
The Battle
It was in February 1741 that the Dutch decided to send a fleet of soldiers from their colony, which was in Ceylon, to Colachel, and started attacking many villages and the Travancore army. Describing the situation of distress, historian P. Shungoony Menon in History of Travancore from the Earliest Times (1878) writes, “They committed many depredations and atrocities, plundered all the valuables in the bazaars and houses of rich people”.When Marthanda Varma heard about the attack, he deployed his military commander, Rama Iyer Dalawah, to handle the situation with the Dutch. Menon mentions the Dutch also wanted to attack Varma’s palace, which was in Padmanabhapuram, but were “frustrated by Dalawah’s arrival, where he reinforced the regular infantry”.
In all his fury, Varma decided to send written complaints to the Government in Batavia, the Dutch East Indies, and the Government of Cochin. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, the French joined hands with Varma and ended up supporting him against the Dutch by making a deal that ensured that, in exchange, they would be provided with trade and commerce in Travancore. On June 6, 1741, the estranged Dutch officials and the English attacked the Dutch company at Colachel. Dujivenschot, who had joined forces with Travancore, trained all the Englishmen there and “supervised the siege of Colachel”. De Lannoy also states, “the siege was carried out in a European way with batteries, gabions, trenches, and casemates”. The regular attacks and the long siege at the Colachel Fort had a huge impact on the Dutch supplies and manpower. The soldiers were tired, without food or an arsenal, but hundreds of soldiers were being dispatched, and Varma’s keen eye did not miss the dire situation of the Dutch.
The Month of August
Now that the Dutch were finally at a disadvantage, the Travancore army began to move and make its way into Colachel. Koshy, in his book, writes that on August 5, “a burning hot bullet of the Travancore forces hit the gunpowder barrel by accident.” A huge explosion took place, and the flames gutted the food provisions. The fire raged continuously for two days, and finally, on the second day of the battle, the Dutch surrendered.
Only 24 Dutchmen survived this explosive battle and were sent to “Udayagherry and taken great care of”. There still exists a mention of nine prisoners from this war in accounts. On August 31, the Travancore army sieged Colachel fort, to which “389 muskets, with a few pieces of cannon and a number of swords were taken”, writes Menon. The non-cooperation of a fisherman owing to their steadfast loyalty to the Travancore king is what led to the ultimate defeat of the Dutch. Members of the Mukkuvar community are also known to have delayed Dutch reinforcements from reaching Colachel.
Aftermath and Conclusion
The victory at Colachel affected and provided resilience to Varma’s expansion plans and resistance to colonial rule. As for the Dutch, they never recovered from the defeat and no longer posed a large colonial threat in India. A decade later, in 1753, the Dutch signed the Treaty of Mavelikkara with Varma, thereby officially ending their political and commercial dominance on the southern Kerala coast. Henceforth, the pepper trade was taken over by the Travancore state. Some historians, though, hold the view that the episode does not merit the kind of glorification attached to it. Koshy, for instance, writes “available military records do not warrant the use of the term ‘battle’ to describe what happened at Colachel.” “Beyond an accidental shot, nothing like a continuous exchange of gunfire had taken place. It would therefore be more apposite to use the term confrontation rather than battle. The Dutch forces were compelled to surrender because their provisions had run out due to the fire.”
After the war, though, Varma treated the Dutch prisoners respectfully and made them a part of his army. Most of them served as majors, captains in Travancore. Eustachius De Lannoy trained the sepoys of Travancore in the European styles of war. Varma was very pleased with De Lannoy, and he was asked to supervise the construction of the fort at Udayagiri. He was conferred the title ‘Valia Kappithan’ (senior admiral) and served Travancore for 36 years before he died on June 1, 1777.
