page_title: History of Kerala
section_title: Dutch period
hierarchical_section_title: History of Kerala / Colonial period / Dutch period
caption_attribution_description: Depiction at Padmanabhapuram Palace of De Lannoy's Surrender at the Battle of Colachel English: Self-made photograph&#160;; Author's Name&#160;: Infocaster
context_page_description: The term Kerala was first epigraphically recorded as Ketalaputo in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by emperor Ashoka of Magadha. It was mentioned as one of four independent kingdoms in southern India during Ashoka's time, the others being the Cholas, Pandyas and Satyaputras. The Cheras transformed Kerala into an international trade centre by establishing trade relations across the Arabian Sea with all major Mediterranean and Red Sea ports as well those of the Far East. The early Cheras collapsed after repeated attacks from the neighboring Cholas and Rashtrakutas.
  During the early Middle Ages, Namboodiri Brahmin immigrants arrived in Kerala and shaped the society on the lines of the caste system. In the 8th century, Adi Shankara was born at Kalady in central Kerala. He travelled extensively across the Indian subcontinent founding institutions of the widely influential philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. The Cheras regained control over Kerala in the 9th century until the kingdom was dissolved in the 12th century, after which small autonomous chiefdoms, most notably Venadu, arose.
context_section_description: The weakened Portuguese were ousted by the Dutch East India Company, who took advantage of continuing conflicts between Kozhikode and Kochi to gain control of the trade. The Dutch Malabar (1661–1795) in turn were weakened by their constant battles with Marthanda Varma of the Travancore Royal Family, and were defeated at the Battle of Colachel in 1741, resulting in the complete eclipse of Dutch power in Malabar. The Treaty of Mavelikkara was signed by the Dutch and Travancore in 1753, according to which the Dutch were compelled to detach from all political involvements in the region. In the meantime, Marthanda Varma annexed many smaller northern kingdoms through military conquests, resulting in the rise of Travancore to a position of preeminence in Kerala. Hyder Ali of Mysore conquered northern Kerala in the 18th century, capturing Kozhikode in 1766.
caption: Dutch commander De Lannoy surrenders to Marthanda Varma at the Battle of Colachel (1741). Depiction at Padmanabhapuram Palace.
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