Travancore-Dutch Relations (An Old and Rare Book)

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This work deals with the emergence of Travancore as a powerful and Independent state during the eighteenth century and Its Impact on the politics and trade of contemporary Malabar. Along with the rise of Travancore, the events leading to the decline of Dutch dominance and the end of their monopoly over Malabar pep-per are also traced in detall. The organisation of the state trading in pepper Introduced by Travancore in 1743 is dealt with in the last chapter. I wish to acknowledge my deep obligation to Jeanne Van Hacht S.J. of Thirumalai Asram Social centre. Nagercoil for teaching me Dutch. Her unstinted help made it possible for me to obtain a work-Ing knowledge of the language. For the study of Dutch manuscripts In Tamil Nādu archives, Maria Van Hielegem S.J. of Little flower Convent, Madras assisted me a lot with her expertise in midieval Dutch. I wish to thank her for the invaluable help.

I wish to thank my supervisor Dr.T.K.Ravindran for the un-failing support he gave me at every stage of the project and for his precious guidance throughout.

Mr.Thulaseedharan Nair, of Central Archives, Trivandrum was responsible for enlightening me about the records relating to Travancore's pepper monopoly. My thanks are due to him and his efficient colleagues for preparing the copies of the numerous cadjan leaf records, which have not been deciphered previously. Since no other copies of the same are extant I have reproduced some of the Important among them.

I wish to thank In particular De Stiching Nederlands Centrum Buitenlanders, utrecht and Messrs Martinus Nijhoff, the Hague for supplying me the necessary Dutch books.

I thank Sri.M.Easwaran. Editor, and Smt.M.Girija. Proprietor, CBH Publications for undertaking the publication of the thesis and producing them in a good manner.

It was the constant support of my wife Shanta that enabled me to get over the hurdles during the research of the thesis and its completion in time.

It was Arthur Galletti, a distinguished member of the I.C.S.. who pioneered the study of the activities of the Dutch East India Co. in Malabar. Along with Rev. A.J Van der Burg and Rev. P. Groot. he brought out the publication of a number of Dutch records relating to Malabar during 1908-11. In his scintillating Introduction to the English translation of the Memories of Stein Van Gollenesse and Adrian Moens, two Dutch Governors of Cochin, Galletti outlined the history of the Dutch in Malabar. Beginning with the Dutch con-quest of the Portuguese strongholds like Cochin in 1663, he traced the expansion of Dutch Influence over Malabar and the subsequent changes in Dutch fortunes in the eighteenth century. The conflict between the Dutch and Travancore, the salient features of the Company's organization, the profitability of the export trade in Malabar pepper etc. were referred to in brief by Galletti. Unlike later writers like Dr.T.I.Poonen, Galletti rightly discerned the intimate connection between pepper trade and the politics of Malabar. "The Dutch settlements in Malabar were maintained primarily in order that pepper, on which the profit was very large. might be collected for the European market. The amount of pepper collected by the Company, varied in accordance with the relations with the native princes from whom it obtained the spice at rates very much below the market value. But Galletti does not give the details of the events leading to the confrontation between Travancore and the Dutch East India Co. In 1739, nor does he seem to consider the results of the struggle as having any impact on the decline of Dutch power in Malabar. Dr.T.I. Poonen has closely followed the pattern of events, as delineated by Galletti. No new light Is shed by him on the expansion of Travancore during 1729-39 and he totally ignores the political implications of pepper trade. Malabar trade is given its due Importance in the study of Dr.A.Das Gupta. The change in the trade circuits of eighteenth century with the rise of Calicut as a free port and the impact of Travancore's pepper monopoly are highlighted in it. The Travancore records on the State Monopoly do not seem to have been consulted by him.

Nagam Alya. T.K. Velu Pillai, and Dr. A.P. Ibrahim Kunju, the historians of Travancore, do not elaborate upon the expansion of Travancore. Though the Travancore records were brought into limelight in 1940 Itself, Velu Pillai and Dr.Kunju do not appear to have made full use of them. Highly partisan in his approach. Velu Pillai's conclusions lack credibility. Alagappa Mudaliyar is pictured by him as a deus ex machina from nowhere and his version of the battle of Colachel is a figment of Imagination. Dr.Kunju's reference to Travancore records and Dutch records are not exhaustive and so his study does not add much to the findings of earlier writers.

Colonialism made its debut in Malabar in the sixteenth century, with the arrival of the Portuguese on the Coast. A swarm of European merchants followed in the trail, set ablaze by Vasco de Gama's successors, and landed in Malabar in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In all these instances the attraction was in-variably Malabar pepper. A strange paradox is that this spice. which had lured scores of foreign merchants to the shores of Malabar for centuries together, lost all its prestigious Importance by the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the eighteenth century the Dutch East India Co. reigned masters over Malabar, radiating their dominance from Cochin. The closing years of the age witnessed their final exit from the scene and the rise of British power in Malabar In the process of transition, which meant more than a change of colonial masters, Malabar went through a series of gyrations. Its traditional systems in trade and politics tottered and fell down under their impact.