There are a million stories in every place on earth and each unique in its own history and culture. We often need to bypass the beaten track and explore the not so explored avenues to be regaled to tales of heroism, betrayal, determination and success to name a few adjectives. Often we find comfort in looking at destinations that are a million miles away failing to fathom that a fascinating story lies just round the corner to where you stay.
The chance rendezvous with a very old friend put a little idea in my head to find out more about a guy called De'Lannoy. My friend had a different thought on the matter and his one line was, "think of a man imprisoned in a foreign land and later had to fight against the very people he grew up with". Hmmm. Now this got me thinking on the kind of person this was and what is the story behind the person. Getting a fair estimate as to where this happened I return home with one nagging thought. De'Lannoy! Now like the North Indians like to say, its a Keeda that won't go away.
Sitting up late into the night and reading up on De'Lannoy a lot of new developments come to light. To name a few; he was a Dutch admiral, he fought in the Battle of Colachel, he lost the battle and was taken prisoner by the Travancore army, he joined the Travancore army, thought the Travancore army to think like the Europeans and build counter measures to ward of enemy attack, regrouped the entire Travancore region of the then King Marthanda Varma, loyal to the last and breathed his last in the very soil that he fought for, lost and united. This was the story of the Admiral in a nutshell.
The very next morning being a Sunday provided a perfect opportunity to head out and visit the tomb of this famous Admiral. Stopping and asking for directions at every juncture brought me to the famed Padmanabhapuram Palace. This famous palace is unique in two senses; one its merged with a lot of traditional styled Kerala and European architecture and two its been a place that a lot of us have seen portrayed in a plethora of movies in the late 80's and early 90's. Facing the palace gates I ask the guards to the route to Udayagiri Fort. The guards guide me to a little gully just right for a single car and ask me to go on for about a kilometre and a half and turn left. Taking the directions i head to the fort. This fort is in the State of Tamil Nadu while the more famous palace is under the Govt. of Kerala.
As instructed I reach a the granite walls of an old fort. The walls are maintained well which is encouraging but on entry you realise that its only the wall that remain and most of the rest has been destroyed, plundered and looted over the centuries. Although that was to be expected and decided upon earlier as the previous days plotting and prodding had prepared me for this and the only thing I was interested upon was the tomb of Eustachius De Lannoy.
Why would one who was the most trusted captain in the Travancore army stay away from the main Palace complex? Well we have to remember that the year is 1741 and the cultural practices prevalent at the time was that of caste differentiation and De Lannoy being a Christian was not allowed to stay in the Palace complex. The Captian although did not have a problem staying in the Udayagiri Fort and he constructed for the few Christian people a church in the premises and it was within this church that the venerated captain was laid to rest.
Starting from the beginning, what brought De Lannoy to India? The Dutch who were the first to come to India enjoyed a very profitable trade relation with the state of Kerala for spices, especially Pepper. Pepper even today known as Black Gold was brought at a pittance in India and sold several times over in Europe. When Marthanda Varma ascended the throne he started making reforms within the state and these reforms effected the areas of Kayamkulam, Alapuzha, Cochin to a large extent. These were the kingdoms that were the trading points for the Dutch. Sensing this the Dutch governor from Sri Lanka had a few meetings with the King asking for changes to these states. This infuriated the king and he annexed the kayamkulam kingdom and asked the Dutch to stay out of the affairs of the state. The Dutch governor went against the Kings advise and instilled the former princess to the throne of Kayamkulam. This was the last straw in the kings patience and he declared war against the Dutch. The dutch Governor sent in an armada led by Admiral De Lannoy to secure their interests in the Kingdom.
De Lannoy landed in Colachel and he was met by the Travancore forces and was ultimately defeated and taken prisoner in what is today known as the Battle of Colachel in 1741. This battle is significant because this was the first battle we won against a European country long before our fight for independence against the British. After this battle to commemorate the victory the Travancore ruler erected a victory pillar that to this day stands on the spot the battle was fought in. Every year on 31st July the Army Comes to the spot and celebrates this victory.
We should have just taken a cue from this battle on what was to come and probably had a better and more developed nation.
Getting back to De Lannoy, after the battle the admiral was imprisoned and the King realising valour of the admiral in battle invited him to join forces with the Travancore army and be free. The admiral accepted and thus began his work with the Travancore army. He led to many reforms in strategies for battle of the Travancore army. teaching them more advanced fighting techniques and also lead to the construction of a wall much like the great wall in present day Cochin. Vestiges of which are probably around. This wall was one of the major factors for deterring the advancement of the army of Tipu Sultan to the south after having conquered the Malabar regions.
De Lannoy also brought about changes in the armaments used in war and also did construct several forts and fortifications around the kingdom at vantage points. All this earned him the trust of Marthanda Varma. De Lannoy fought several wars and it would just make us sit back and wonder exactly what my friend had wondered which brought me to search for the story of a brave admiral Eustachius De Lannoy who came a Foreigner, became a native and fought against foreigners for a foreign king.
The chance rendezvous with a very old friend put a little idea in my head to find out more about a guy called De'Lannoy. My friend had a different thought on the matter and his one line was, "think of a man imprisoned in a foreign land and later had to fight against the very people he grew up with". Hmmm. Now this got me thinking on the kind of person this was and what is the story behind the person. Getting a fair estimate as to where this happened I return home with one nagging thought. De'Lannoy! Now like the North Indians like to say, its a Keeda that won't go away.
Sitting up late into the night and reading up on De'Lannoy a lot of new developments come to light. To name a few; he was a Dutch admiral, he fought in the Battle of Colachel, he lost the battle and was taken prisoner by the Travancore army, he joined the Travancore army, thought the Travancore army to think like the Europeans and build counter measures to ward of enemy attack, regrouped the entire Travancore region of the then King Marthanda Varma, loyal to the last and breathed his last in the very soil that he fought for, lost and united. This was the story of the Admiral in a nutshell.
The very next morning being a Sunday provided a perfect opportunity to head out and visit the tomb of this famous Admiral. Stopping and asking for directions at every juncture brought me to the famed Padmanabhapuram Palace. This famous palace is unique in two senses; one its merged with a lot of traditional styled Kerala and European architecture and two its been a place that a lot of us have seen portrayed in a plethora of movies in the late 80's and early 90's. Facing the palace gates I ask the guards to the route to Udayagiri Fort. The guards guide me to a little gully just right for a single car and ask me to go on for about a kilometre and a half and turn left. Taking the directions i head to the fort. This fort is in the State of Tamil Nadu while the more famous palace is under the Govt. of Kerala.
As instructed I reach a the granite walls of an old fort. The walls are maintained well which is encouraging but on entry you realise that its only the wall that remain and most of the rest has been destroyed, plundered and looted over the centuries. Although that was to be expected and decided upon earlier as the previous days plotting and prodding had prepared me for this and the only thing I was interested upon was the tomb of Eustachius De Lannoy.
Why would one who was the most trusted captain in the Travancore army stay away from the main Palace complex? Well we have to remember that the year is 1741 and the cultural practices prevalent at the time was that of caste differentiation and De Lannoy being a Christian was not allowed to stay in the Palace complex. The Captian although did not have a problem staying in the Udayagiri Fort and he constructed for the few Christian people a church in the premises and it was within this church that the venerated captain was laid to rest.
Starting from the beginning, what brought De Lannoy to India? The Dutch who were the first to come to India enjoyed a very profitable trade relation with the state of Kerala for spices, especially Pepper. Pepper even today known as Black Gold was brought at a pittance in India and sold several times over in Europe. When Marthanda Varma ascended the throne he started making reforms within the state and these reforms effected the areas of Kayamkulam, Alapuzha, Cochin to a large extent. These were the kingdoms that were the trading points for the Dutch. Sensing this the Dutch governor from Sri Lanka had a few meetings with the King asking for changes to these states. This infuriated the king and he annexed the kayamkulam kingdom and asked the Dutch to stay out of the affairs of the state. The Dutch governor went against the Kings advise and instilled the former princess to the throne of Kayamkulam. This was the last straw in the kings patience and he declared war against the Dutch. The dutch Governor sent in an armada led by Admiral De Lannoy to secure their interests in the Kingdom.
De Lannoy landed in Colachel and he was met by the Travancore forces and was ultimately defeated and taken prisoner in what is today known as the Battle of Colachel in 1741. This battle is significant because this was the first battle we won against a European country long before our fight for independence against the British. After this battle to commemorate the victory the Travancore ruler erected a victory pillar that to this day stands on the spot the battle was fought in. Every year on 31st July the Army Comes to the spot and celebrates this victory.
We should have just taken a cue from this battle on what was to come and probably had a better and more developed nation.
Getting back to De Lannoy, after the battle the admiral was imprisoned and the King realising valour of the admiral in battle invited him to join forces with the Travancore army and be free. The admiral accepted and thus began his work with the Travancore army. He led to many reforms in strategies for battle of the Travancore army. teaching them more advanced fighting techniques and also lead to the construction of a wall much like the great wall in present day Cochin. Vestiges of which are probably around. This wall was one of the major factors for deterring the advancement of the army of Tipu Sultan to the south after having conquered the Malabar regions.
De Lannoy also brought about changes in the armaments used in war and also did construct several forts and fortifications around the kingdom at vantage points. All this earned him the trust of Marthanda Varma. De Lannoy fought several wars and it would just make us sit back and wonder exactly what my friend had wondered which brought me to search for the story of a brave admiral Eustachius De Lannoy who came a Foreigner, became a native and fought against foreigners for a foreign king.
 |
| Eustachius De Lannoy's Tomb |
 |
| A fort built by De Lannoy, used as a hospital |
 |
| Victory Pillar erected after the battle of Colachel |
