How Marthanda Varma Defeated Dutch in Battle and Crushed their Indian Expansion

How Marthanda Varma Defeated Dutch in Battle and Crushed their Indian Expansion

Who was Raja Marthanda Varma? Except few from Kerala and Tami Nadu, the rest of India hardly knows about this brave son of Bharat Mata from Travancore. He was one of the first Asian kings to badly defeat a robust Dutch army in a naval battle at Colachel. As per the bookBattle of Colachelby Frederic P. Miller, Agnes F. Vandome, and John McBrewster,it was the earliest example of defeat of an European power in Asia. It was 1741. Marthanda Varma captured all the Dutch forts and crushed their expansion in India. Had Marthanda not checked or destroyed their expansion, there would have been an extended Dutch rule in India like the British! Marthanda Varma is also known as the ‘maker of modern Travancore’. Sadly, his name is in oblivion in our national History textbooks.

It was…