Hailed as the first victory of Asians over the Europeans, the Battle of Colachel had far- reaching consequences for the erstwhile Travancore kingdom and its king Marthanda Varma, who shaped it into a modern unitary state. The warrior who helped to realise his dream was Eustachius de Lannoy, a Dutchman, who after his surrender following the Colachel battle trained the Travancore army in modern warfare and arms.
The Indian Army in Thiruvananthapuram regularly celebrates the victory of the Travancore forces over the Dutch East India Company at Colachel in Kanniyakumari district in 1741. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan unveiled the Colachel Victory Warrior at the Colachel War Memorial at the Pangode Military Station in June this year.
New evidence, however, suggests that the Travancore army had in its service a German sergeant, Carl August Duijivenschot, who had deserted the Dutch East India Company at Kanniyakumari. He played a significant role in the battle of Colachel against the Dutch and their defeat.
A reward for services
“Martanda Varma rewarded Duijvenschot appointing him a general in recognition of his services in the siege of Colachel and his successful enlistment of Europeans for the Travancore army. He was then in command of 30,000 soldiers, 4,000 or 5,000 of whom were armed with European firearms. They were spread all over the country but could unite within two days in Attingal,” writes Mark de Lannoy of Leiden University in his book, The Kulasekhara Perumals of Travancore: History and State Formation in Travancore from 1671 to 1758.
According to him, Eustachius de Lannoy was born in the French city of Arras, though he was called a Dutchman or even Belgian.
Writing about the war, historian P. Shungoonny Menon says that in the course of a few hours, the fort was taken and the enemy was driven to their ships which sailed to Cochin. In this siege, 389 muskets, with a few pieces of cannon and a number of swords, were taken by the Travancoreans from the Dutch. The English had supplied Travancore with gunpowder.
What happened at the Colachel fort was the culmination of a continuous confrontation between the Travancore army and the Dutch East India Company, which was against Marthanda Varma’s expansionist policy and the annexation of Elayadathunaud, Quilon and other areas.
VanImhoff seeks help
Dutch Governor of Ceylon VanImhoff believed that Marthanda Varma was acting under the hostile counsel of the English, and that for the commercial interests of the Dutch, a proper balance of power among native princes should be maintained.
“There being no prospects of an amicable settlement, VanImhoff had no alternative left but to proceed against Travancore. He wrote to Ceylon for a detachment of infantry and artillery and prepared for his force at Quilon for immediate action,” writes Menon.
The Dutch reinforcement from Ceylon landed at Colachel and commenced the attack. They went on the rampage in nearby villages and fortified a place near the port with wooden posts and garrisoned a portion of a Dutch force in it. Another section attacked the Travancore outposts on the coast, such as Thengapattinam, Midalum and Kadiyapattinam, before marching to Eraniel, a commercial town of Travancore.
All the villages between Colachel and Kottar came under the control of the Dutch by the time Marthanda Varma arrived at Kalkulam. He also agreed to a treaty with the French for military assistance against the Dutch in return for land at Colachel and other parts of the coast for building factories.
Leading in person
According to Menon, Marthanda Varma led the war in person, and the battle of Colachel was commenced by the Travancore line. “Ramayyan Dalawa, the principal advisor and prime minister of Travancore, charged the Dutch line, which was drawn up in fighting order against the Travancoreans,” he says.
The Dutch lacked cavalry, found it difficult to resist the Travancore forces and made a hasty retreat to the fort. Several Dutch soldiers were killed, wounded and taken prisoners. “Of the last there were 24 consisting of both officers and privates, who were sent to Udayagiri and taken care of. The names of only nine of these prisoners are found in Malayalam accounts of this war,” says Menon. This was followed by the siege of the Colachel fort which signalled the end of the Dutch presence in Travancore.
Menon claims the king, being a good physiognomist, was struck by the appearance of Eustachius de Lannoy and Donadi, two of the prisoners of the Colachel battle, and selected de Lannoy to train the army and made him his bodyguard. But Mark de Lannoy argues that this legend is not proved by historical documents.
“What we know for sure is that Eustachius de Lannoy, 11 days after his desertion, successfully negotiated the surrender of Colachel on 13 August 1741. Hereafter, he fought under Duijvenschot on the side of the Travancoreans against the Dutch. He also served as instructor in the use of flintlocks,” he writes.
According to Mark de Lannoy, at the end of 1742, de Lannoy reorganised the king’s palace guard which he trained in three months.
Madurai troops sent home
“The Travancore soldiers were already so well-trained that Martanda Varma could send home the Madurai troops, thus saving 60,000 rupees per month. Thenceforward, the palace guards were armed and dressed like Europeans. Martanda Varma was so satisfied with his new guard that he made de Lannoy commander of it and successor of Duijvenschot as ‘Venattu Kappittan’,” he writes.
Finally, de Lannoy earned the title, ‘Valia Kappitan’. After the death of Marthanda Varma, he served his successor Dharmaraja. After 36 years of service to Travancore, de Lannoy died at Udayagiri on June 1, 1777, where he was buried in the Roman Catholic chapel he had built after the death of his son Joannes.
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