page_title: Military history of India
section_title: Travancore Kingdom
hierarchical_section_title: Military history of India / The Medieval era / Travancore Kingdom
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 predecessors to the contemporary Army of India were many: the sepoy regiments, native cavalry, irregular horse and Indian sapper and miner companies raised by the three British presidencies. The Army of India was raised under the British Raj in the 19th century by taking the erstwhile presidency armies, merging them, and bringing them under the Crown. The British Indian Army fought in both World Wars.
  The armed forces succeeded the military of British India following India's independence in 1947. After World War II, many of the wartime troops were discharged and units disbanded. The reduced armed forces were partitioned between India and Pakistan. The Indian armed forces fought in all three wars against Pakistan and a war with the People's Republic of China. India also fought in the Kargil War with Pakistan in 1999, the highest altitude mountain warfare in history. The Indian Armed Forces have participated in several United Nations peacekeeping operations and are presently the second largest contributor of troops to the peacekeeping force.
context_section_description: King Marthanda Varma inherited the small feudal state of Venad in 1723 and built it into Travancore, one of the most powerful kingdoms in southern India. Marthanda Varma led the Travancore 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 petty principalities of the native rulers who had allied with the Dutch against him.
  During Dharma Raja's reign, Tipu Sultan invaded Travancore, but commander-in-chief Raja Kesavadas led Travancore to victory despite being outnumbered. This attack led to Travancore joining the British against Tipu in the Third Battle of Carnatic. Pazhsi Raja, Velu Thampi Dalava and Paliath Achan, later leaders of Travancore, fought the British East India Company but lost. Travancore became a British ally in 1805 following a treaty between Colonel Charles Macaulay and Diwan Velu Tampi.
caption: Eustachius De Lannoy of the Dutch East India Company surrenders to Maharaja Marthanda Varma of the Kingdom of Travancore after the Battle of Colachel. (Depiction at Padmanabhapuram Palace)
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