Colachel Pillar, Kanyakumari

Colachel Pillar, Kanyakumari

Colachel Pillar is a heritage structure located in Colachel Town in Kanyakumari District of Tamilnadu. Colachel was an important port city during Travancore Kingdom. Colachel was the location of the battle between the Travancore Kingdom and the Dutch East India Company forces. The Travancore Army completely exterminated the superior and better equipped Dutch Forces which landed at Colachel in July 1741 during the reign of the Travancore King, Sree Padmanabhadasa Maharajah Sree Anizham Thirunal Veera Bala Marthanda Varma Kulasekhara Perumal. In the battle of Colachel, Capt. Eustace De Lannoy, the Dutch Naval Forces Commander, was captured. To commemorate this great victory of the Travancore Army over the Dutch at Colachel, the Travancore Government installed the Colachel Pillar at the very spot where the Dutch had capitulated to the Maharaja of Travancore.

History

Colachel was the location of the battle between the Travancore (Anglicised form of Thiruvithaamkoor) forces led by King Marthanda Varma (1729–1758) and the Dutch East India Company forces led by Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy on August 10, 1741. It was the first time in Indian history that an Asian country defeated a European naval force. The Dutch marines landed in Colachel with artillery and captured the land up to Padmanabhapuram, the then capital of Travancore.

The arrival of Marthanda Varma's Nairs (the warriors) from the north forced the Dutch to take up defensive positions in Colachel, where they were attacked and defeated by the Travancore forces. Twenty-eight high level Dutch officers, including Admiral D'lennoy, were captured. To commemorate this great victory of the Travancore Army over the Dutch at Colachel, the Travancore Government installed the Colachel Pillar at the very spot where the Dutch had capitulated to the Maharaja of Travancore. The defeat of the Dutch in Colachel was the turning point of the Travancore – Dutch War.

D'lennoy went on to serve Marthanda Varma for the next two decades and was promoted to the post of the Valiya kappithan (Senior Admiral) of the Travancore forces same status like a Nair lord. He modernized the Travancore army, and built the Nedumkotta, a line of fortifications in the north of the kingdom, which held up the army of Tippu Sultan in 1791, during his ill-fated invasion of Travancore. D'lennoy is buried in the Udayagiri Fort, also known as Dillanai kotta (D'lennoy's fort) which is located 7 kilometers north of Padmanabhapuram (about 14 kilometers from Nagercoil).

The Pillar

The Colachel War Memorial / Victory Pillar is a pillar of valour and remembrance of the great victory of Travancore Army over the Dutch Forces. The granite Pillar is cylindrical in shape and 15 ft. in height excluding the pedestal. The pedestal alone is 10ft. high and the whole structure is of 25 ft. At the top of the pillar a stone conch representing the insignia of the Travancore Govt. is seen being seated on a lotus bowl.

The inscription engraved on the pedestal is in English letters as follows:

THIS PILLAR

COMMEMORATES

THE VICTORY OF

THE TRAVANCORE

ARMY

OVER THE DUTCH

AT COLACHEL ON

THE

31ST JULY 1741 A.D.

15TH KARKADACAM 916

Colachel Day is celebrated every year to commemorate the victory of Travancore Forces led by King Marthanda Varma over the Dutch in the Battle of Colachel on July 31, 1741 AD, wherein for the first time in the history of the nation, an Indian Force defeated a well-equipped European Force.

Connectivity

Colachel is located at about 4 Kms from Mandaikadu, 8 Kms from Eraniel, 19 Kms from Nagercoil, 40 Kms from Kanyakumari, 12 Kms from Muttom, 13 Kms from Thuckalay, 17 Kms from Marthandam, 21 Kms from Thiruvattaru, 27 Kms from Vilavancode, 28 Kms from Kollamkode, 29 Kms from Suchindrum and 63 Kms from Thiruvananthapuram. Nearest Railway Station is located at Eraniel and Nearest Airport is located at Thiruvananthapuram.