Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore Thiruvithaamkoor Rajyam | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1729–1949 | |||||||||
| Motto: ധർമോസ്മത്ത് കുലദൈവതം Dharmōsmat Kuladaivatam (English: "Charity is our household divinity") | |||||||||
| Anthem: വഞ്ചീശ മംഗളം Vancheesha Mangalam (1937–1949) (English:"Hail the Lord of Vanchi") | |||||||||
Location of the kingdom of Travancore (in red) in India (in green) | |||||||||
| Common languages | Malayalam (official) Tamil (Minority) | ||||||||
| Religion | Majority: Hinduism (official) Minority: Chiefly Christianity and Islam Small communities of Jews, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Maharaja | |||||||||
• 1729–1758 (first) | Marthanda Varma | ||||||||
• 1829–1846 (peak) | Swathi Thirunal | ||||||||
• 1931–1949 (last) | Chithira Thirunal | ||||||||
| Diwan | |||||||||
• 1729–1736 | Arumukan Pillai | ||||||||
• 1838–1839 (peak) | R. Venkata Rao | ||||||||
• 1947–1949 (last) | P. G. N. Unnithan | ||||||||
| Historical era | Age of Imperialism | ||||||||
• Established | 1729 | ||||||||
• Subsidiary alliance with the East India Company | 1795 | ||||||||
• Vassal of India | 1947 | ||||||||
• Merger with kingdom of Cochin | 1 July 1949 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1949 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1941 | 19,844 km2 (7,662 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1941 | 6,070,018 | ||||||||
| Currency | Travancore Rupee | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | India | ||||||||
The kingdom of Travancore (/ˈtrævəŋkɔːr/), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor (Malayalam: [t̪iɾuʋid̪aːŋɡuːr]) or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of the south of modern-day Kerala (Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram districts, major portions of Ernakulam district, Puthenchira village of Thrissur district) and the southernmost part of modern-day Tamil Nadu (Kanyakumari district and some parts of Tenkasi district) with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in the neighbouring kingdom of Cochin. However Tangasseri area of Kollam city and Anchuthengu near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram were parts of British India.
Malabar District of Madras Presidency was to the north, the Madurai and Tirunelveli districts of Pandya Nadu region in Madras Presidency to the east, the Indian Ocean to the south, and the Arabian Sea to the west.
Travancore was divided into five divisions: Padmanabhapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Quilon, Kottayam, and Devikulam. Padmanabhapuram and Devikulam were predominantly Tamil speaking regions with small Malayalam speaking minorities. The divisions of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Kottayam were predominantly Malayalam speaking regions with small Tamil speaking minorities.
King Marthanda Varma inherited the small feudal state of Venad in 1723, and built it into Travancore. Marthanda Varma led the Travancorean forces during the Travancore-Dutch War of 1739–46, which culminated in the Battle of Colachel. The defeat of the Dutch by Travancore is considered the earliest example of an organised power from Asia overcoming European military technology and tactics. Marthanda Varma went on to conquer most of the smaller principalities of the native rulers.
The Travancore royal family signed a treaty with the British in 1788, thereby adopting British dominance. Later, in 1805, they revised the treaty, leading to a diminution of royal authority and the loss of political independence for Travancore. They had to give up their ruling rights over the common people in 1949 when Travancore were forced to merge with independent India.