Class 6

Kerala History
DHARMARAJA OF TRAVANCORE
• Karthika thirunal rama varma (1758-1798)
who is known to history as the dharma raja,
succeeded Marthanda Varma on the throne of
Travancore.
• Like Marthanda Varma, he was also an able
administrator and patron of learning and art.
• Shifted the capital from Padmanabhapuram to
Thiruvananthapuram.

• longest serving king of Travancore.

• Dharmaraja was also known as kizhavan raja.

• Inn order to prevent Mysore attack against
Travancore, Dharmaraja built the famous “
nedumkotta” of the border of Travancore and
Cochin.
• To safeguard the border, dharmaraja
purchased the Pallippuram and kodungallur
forts from the Dutch.
• The dharma raja provided asylum in
Travancore to a large number of princes,
Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Nairs, Ezhavas etc who
had fled from north Malabar in the wake of the
Mysore invasions and gave them all facilities to
settle down in his different parts of his
territory.
• Travancore came to be called
“dharmarajyam” or “land of charity” and its
ruler the dharma raja in the wake of these acts
of charity.
 Administration.
• The period of dharmaraja was an epoch of
administrative and cultural progress. The raja
was served by to chief ministers, viz.,
ayyappan marthandan pillai and raja
kesavadas.
• Ayyappan marthandan pillai was the first
minister of dharmaraja.
• The credit for the reorganisation of the
revenue department and the division of the
state in to three revenue units,
“thekkemugham”,”vadakkemugham”, and
“padinjaremugham” goes to
marthandanpillai.
• Varkala was developed in to the nucleus of a
flourishing town by ayyappan marthandan
pillai.
• Raja kesava das was the first chief minister
assumed the title “diwan”.
• He was respectfully referred to by his
countrymen “valia divanji”.
• Kesavadas proved himself to be a talented
administrator.
• He took special steps to develop agriculture
and industries.
• The existing ports like colachel and punthura
were improved.

• Vizhinjam was developed in to a small port

where ships too were built for the promotion of
commerce.
• The greatest of the achievements of kesava das
was the opening of new port of Alleppy .
traders from such places as Bombay,
Saurashtra, Surat also come down to Alleppy,
attracted by facilities offered to them by the
government.
• The modern chalai bazar, the main shopping
centre in the city, owes its origin to his vision
and organizing ability.
• The treaty of 1795 concluded between Travancore
and the English east India company was
negotiated by him and it provided the basis on
which the future relations between the English
and the state of Travancore were developed.
• It was in the recognition of his great abilities and
the meritorious services rendered by him that the
governer-general , lord mornington, conferred on
the diwan the title “raja”.
 Cultural progress
• The kulashekhara mandapam noted for its
wonderful stone sculpture and musical pillars,
was his contribution to the temple complex. The
Travancore court under the dharmaraja was
adorned by some of the greatest luminaries in
Kerala's literary firmament. The great poets,
kunjan nambiar, unnayi warrier, enjoyed his
benevolent patronage.
• Deeply interested in the promotion of “kathakali”,
he founded the kottaram kathakali yogam. The
raja was himself a great scholar and poet and he
enriched Malayalam literature by his numerous
literary works. The well-known treatise on the
“natyashasthra” of bharathamuni known as
“balarama bharatham” was composed by him.
The dharma raja has claims to be regarded as one
of the greatest rulers of Travancore.
MALABAR IN 18TH CENTURY
HTDER’S INVASION
• In 1761, become the ruler of Mysore.
• Taking advantage of the conditions of north
Kerala, haider marched his army in to north
Kerala(1766), and conquered the kingdoms of
kolathunadu, kottayam, kadathanadu, and
kurumbranadu and reached the gates of
Calicut.
• The zamorin agreed to pay a war indemnity to
haider and leave the palghat fort in the
possession of Mysore.
• The First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–69) saw
Hyder Ali enjoy some measure of success
against the British, almost capturing Madras.

• However, Hyder's attack towards Madras

resulted in the Madras government suing for
peace, and the resultant Treaty of Madras
• In 1773 haider ali embarked on his second invasion
of Kerala through the Thamarasseri pass. The
Mysore army captured all territories up to Thrichur.
The cochin ruler sent emissaries to
srirangapattanom and secured the withdrawal of the
Mysore troops by agreeing to pay tribute to Mysore.
The Travancore lines also known as “nedumkotta”
built by dharmaraja of Travancore on the initiative
of his diwan kesava das blocked the further onward
advance of Mysore troops.
• It was at this critical stage that hyder decide to
send his son tipu to Kerala in another bid to re
establish Mysorean authority. Haider ali
passed away (1782) and tipu left Kerala in
haste to occupy the throne of Mysore.
TIPU SULTAN
• Known as the tiger of Mysore. In 1783 the
English captured the palghat fort and left it in
the zamorin’s charge. This provoked tipu to
embark on another military adventure in
Kerala and conquer the whole of south
Malabar up to the kotta river..
• Tipu secured some gains from the treaty of
Mangalore (1784) which concluded the second
Mysore war. The English gave up their claims
on Malabar and declared the rulers of Kerala
to be the friends and allies of tipu.
• He gave priority to the transfer of the capital of
the malabr from calicut to farookabad on the
south bank of beypore river. He built a strong
fort at this place known as “tippu fort”.
• Kuttippuram proclamation: tipu now applied
himself to the task of radical re-organization of
the social structure of Kerala. The peculiar
customs like polyandry and the matrilineal law of
inheritance made the social system of Kerala look
primitive and obsolete in the eyes of the sultan. In
a proclamation issued from kuttipuram in
kadathanadu to the people of Malabar (1788) he
withdrew these kind of social systems.
• Tipu decided to enter cochin territory from
Coimbatore in 1789. The sultan devastated the
territories through which he marched and in
December 14 ,1789 sultan arrived with his army in
thrichur. Thrissur become the headquarters of a new
collectorate of Mysore. From thrichur, tipu proceeded
in the direction of the Travancore lines. The tipu’s
army attacked and captured forts like kodungallur
and azhikotta. But the outbreak of the monsoon upset
all his plans and he was forced to withdraw.
• In the meanwhile the news arrived that the
English company forces were going to attack
Mysore and tipu had to return to protect his
own territory(the third anglo-mysore war).
Lord Cornwallis managed to secure the co-
operation of the Malabar princes against tipu
by promising to restore territory to the
respective ruler.
• With this, the whole Malabar came under the
domination of the English east India company.
• The raja of cochin already accepted the
supremacy of the English. The war ended after
the 1792 Siege of Seringapatam and the signing
of the Treaty of Seringapatam, according to
which Tipu had to surrender half of his
kingdom to the British East India Company
and its allies.