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Travancore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the historical Indian princely state. For the suburb named Travancore in
Australia, see Travancore, Victoria.

Kingdom of Travancore????????????Princely state of Pre-Colonial India


Princely state of the British Indian Empire

Anthem
Vancheesamangalam (Hail the Lord of Vanchi)

CapitalPadmanabhapuram (17291795)
Thiruvananthapuram (17951949)LanguagesMalayalam, TamilReligionHinduism, Christianity, Isla
mGovernmentMonarchyMaharaja 17291758 (first)Marthanda Varma 18291846
(peak)Swathi Thirunal 19311949 (last)Chithira ThirunalResident 17881800 (first)George
Powney 18001810Colin Macaulay 18401860 (peak)William Cullen 1947 (last)Cosmo Grant
Niven EdwardsHistorical eraAge of Imperialism Established1729 British vassal1795 Indian
vassal1947 Disestablished1949Area 194119,844 km (7,662 sq mi)Population 1941
est.6,070,018
Density305.9 /km (792.2 /sq mi)CurrencyTravancore rupee
Kingdom of Travancore in India

Venad

Travancore-Cochin

Today part ofIndiaPrincely stateSalute state


British paramountcy

Chamber of Princes
Jagir
Agencies of British India
Residencies of British India?
Doctrine of lapse
Political pensioner
Privy Purse
Standstill agreement
Instrument of AccessionIndividual residenciesHyderabad
Indore (Holkar)
Jammu and Kashmir
Mysore (Maisur)
Travancore
SikkimAgenciesBagelkhand
Baluchistan
Baroda and Gujarat States
Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States
Bhopawar
Bundelkhand
Central India
Deccan States
Eastern States
Gilgit
Gwalior Residency
Jaipur Residency
Madras States
Mahi Kantha
Malwa
Mewar (Udaipur) Residency & Western Rajputana Agency
North-West Frontier
Palanpur
Punjab States
Rajputana
Rewa Kantha
Western India StatesListsStates by region
States by name
Brahmin States
Rajput States
Maratha Statesv
t
eThe Kingdom of Travancore (/?trv??k??
r/; Malayalam: ????????????, Tamil: ???????????? [t?i?u?it?a?mku?r]) was an
Indian kingdom from 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal
Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its
zenith, the kingdom covered most of modern-day central and
southern Kerala with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda in the

neighbouring Kingdom of Cochin,[1] as well as the district of Kanyakumari,


now in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The official flag of the state was red
with a dextrally-coiled silver conch shell (Turbinella pyrum) at its center. In
the early 19th century, the kingdom became a princely state of the British
Empire.[citation needed] The Travancore Government took many progressive
steps on the socio-economic front and during the reign of Maharajah
Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, Travancore became the second most
prosperous princely state in British India, with reputed achievements in
education, political administration, public work and social reforms. [2][3]

Contents
[hide]

1Name
2Geography
3Administrative divisions
4History of Travancore
4.1Venad Swaroopam
4.2Formation and Development of Travancore
4.3The Mysore invasion
4.4Velu Thampi Dalawa's rebellion
4.5Cessation of mah?danams
4.619th and early 20th centuries
4.7Formation of Kerala
5Politics
5.1Rulers of Travancore
5.2Prime Ministers of Travancore
5.2.1Dalawas
5.2.2Dewans
6Demographics
7Culture
8See also

9References
10Further reading
11External links

Name[edit]
When the region was once part of the Chera empire, it was known
as Thiruvazhumkode (?????????????, tiruv??u?k???).[4] It was contracted
to Thiruvankode (????????????, tiruv??k???), and anglicised by the English
to Travancore.[4][5]
In course of time, the Ay (or Aayi) kingdom, part of the Chera empire, which
ruled the Thiruvazhumkode area, became independent, and the land was
called Aayi desam or Aayi rajyam, meaning 'Aayi territory'. The Aayis
controlled the land from present day Kollam district in the north,
through Thiruvananthapuram district, all in Kerala, to the Kanyakumari district.
There were two capitals, the major one at Kollam (Venad
Swaroopam or Desinganadu) and a subsidiary one at Thrippapur (Thrippapur
Swaroopam or Nanjinad). The kingdom was thus also called Venad. Kings
of Venad had, at various times, travelled from Kollam and built residential
palaces in Thiruvithamcode and Kalkulam. Thiruvithamcode became the
capital of the Thrippapur Swaroopam, and the country was referred to
as Thiruvithamcode by Europeans even after the capital had been moved in
1601 to Padmanabhapuram, near Kalkulam.[6] By the time of King Marthanda
Varma, the southern half of the kingdom had become dominant. During his
reign, it absorbed the north and Thiruvithamcode or Travancore became the
official name.[citation needed]

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