59-623: Eustachius Benedictus de Lannoy (also sometimes called 'Captain De Lannoy') (30 December 1715 – 1 June 1777, Udayagiri Fort ) was a skilled military strategist and commander of the Travancore army, under Maharaja Marthanda Varma . De Lannoy, originally a Dutch naval officer, arrived with a Dutch naval force at Colachel in 1741 sent by the Dutch East India Company , or Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) with
118-495: A city. Thus "Thenga+pattanam" became Thengapattanam in the later years. Also, acclaimed Malayalam/Arabic novels on Islamic history refers to this town as Naariyal pathathan, Naariyal meaning "coconut", and pathathan is an Arabic word for town. Capital of "Thenga Nadu" Chilappathikaram, the Tamil epic refers thengapattanam as the capital of "thenga nadu" – one of the 48 countries of lemuria, otherwise known as ‘kumari kandam’, where
177-480: A local chief. The fort covers an area of three and a half acres. The fort is enclosed by walls 25 to 26 feet high, including the parapet, 29 feet thick at the front, 18 feet at the corners and 6 feet at the rear. Inside the fort, there are watch towers which measures from 3 to 6 feet. THere are holes on the walls for the guns and ramps inside the ramparts for the cannons to be moved. This fort was built of stone and lime and it covered an area of 171800 square feet. The fort
236-471: A military base during the reign of Marthanda Varma which was supervised by Captain De-Lannoy He built a factory to produce war materials such as cannon balls. These were heavy artillery materials made of pure iron. The weight of such cannon balls ranged from 30 kgs to 1800 kgs. De Lannoy repaired and strengthened the old fort that was built by Pandya kings. Vattakottai Fort is a specially built fort on
295-438: A minority of people speaks Malayalam . Many People are bi-lingual who speak both Tamil and Malayalam. English is also spoken and understood. Tamil is spoken with Malayalam accent. Tamil spoken here is difficult to understand for other Tamils of the state. Some words originated from the influence of various cultures, such as Olungu (mosquito) etc. is spoken and understood only by the natives. The impact of Malabar Muslim culture
354-598: Is 45 km away from here, whereas Nagercoil is 35 km away. It shares borders with Erayumanthurai, and Amsi villages on either side. The mean elevation of the town is 9 ft (2.7 m) with the highest point Chentapalli Rock being 50 ft (15 m) high above sea level. The Thamirabarani River wraps around most parts of the Kanyakumari district and becomes Kuzhithurai River before reaching Thengapattanam Estuary. The AVM Canal ( Anantha Victoria Marthandam Canal ) commissioned by Marthanda Varma Maharaja in
413-480: Is a main hub here for the localers and surrounding villagers for their business and trade activities. Religious Antiquity Thengapattinam has the unique and rare distinction of being one of the few first places in India where Islam was propagated and accepted during the time of Muhammad. Islam got firmly rooted here due to the peaceful propagation of the great spiritual leader malik ibn deenar who came from Arabia in
472-533: Is a major tourist attraction in the Kanyakumari districtknown for its sea, river, canal, paddy fields, rocky mountains and lush green groves. The water way mooted by the then travancore government popularly known as avm canal originates from Mangalore in Karnataka and reaches Thengapattinam without any hurdles. Even now passengers and goods are ferried through this canal to places like Poothurai, Thoothoor, Vallavilai, Neerodi, Kollencode and Poovar. The merger of
531-637: Is a town which has close links with nearby towns as Thuckalay, Thiruvithancode, Colachel, Midalam, Enayam, Enayam Puthenthurai, Poothurai, Nambali and Poovar in the nearby Kerala State. Marriage and social relations thrive among the people of these towns. Other than the above, Thengapattinam has closely connected by trade and social relations with Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala State. A big number of people from Thengapattinam engage in various trade activities in Trivandrum. Houses, here, are built with separate compounds for each house. Sweet drinking water
590-428: Is in plenty with each house a separate well in it. A proportionate number of people pursue trade and business activities whereas a large chunk has moved to various Gulf countries to earn their livelihood. 'Gulf' is craze here that it is not uncommon to hear that a male member of a house is working in U.A.E., Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Families living here are inter related that they celebrate family gatherings with
649-664: Is located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from Nagercoil in Thuckalay Town, Kanyakumari District on the Thiruvananthapuram - Nagercoil National highway at Puliyoorkurichi . This was the most important military barracks of the rulers, when Padmanabhapuram was their capital. Originally built in the 17th century, the fort was rebuilt by Maharaja Marthanda Varma of Travancore in the 18th century. Spanning about 90 acres (36 ha), including an isolated 260 feet (79 m) hillock. The fort contains an old foundry which
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#1732771832178708-483: Is situated nearly one kilometer away from Thuckalay. De-Lannoy reconstructed and fortified the fort at Udayagiri, which was built in 1742 A.D. The Udayagiri Fort walls and ramparts which are 18 feet high and 15 feet thickness with parapets averaging 4 feet in height are faced with huge blocks of well arranged granite. The space between the inner and the outer ramparts consisted of mud. Besides the gateway there are smaller doors near three bastions. The Udayagiri Fort served as
767-479: Is the main mode of transport in this town. This town has bus services from Marthandam , Nagercoil , Kanyakumari , Trivandrum . Taxis are also available there for short trips. Autos are available mostly. Most of the people use scooters and bikes. The nearest railway station to Thengapattanam is at Kuzhithurai which is 12 km away. The nearest airport to the Thengapattanam is at Trivandrum which
826-513: Is very much felt here. One example for this is the usage of Arabi-Malayalam (Malayalam language written in Arabic script) which can only read by those who know Arabic and understood only by those who know Malayalam. Thengapattanam is famous for fisheries , sea products and coconut trees . Thengapattanam's economy has been increasing after the start of harbour construction. Fishing harbour plays an Important role in its economy. Road transport
885-515: The Battle of Colachel . De Lannoy, who was captured in the battle, subsequently earned the trust of the king, Maharaja Marthanda Varma , who made him an officer in the Travancore military. De Lannoy trained the army on European lines and, in the course of time, became a valiant and successful commander of the same army that had defeated his Dutch forces. Captain de Lannoy, who joined his service,
944-752: The Delano family or de Lannoy family . De Lannoy was born on December 30, 1715, in Arras , France . He belonged to the de Lannoy family , an immigrant noble family from the Franco-Belgian border town of Lannoy. He was a Roman Catholic and early in his life he joined the Dutch East India Company. Over time, he became an expert in constructions for fortifications. He arrived in Colombo, Ceylon (present Sri Lanka) in 1737, where General Imhoff
1003-643: The Nedumkotta , a line of fortifications in the North of the Kingdom, known as the Travancore Lines. This fortification proved immensely useful in defending the kingdom against the attacks of Tipu Sultan and other marauders. The Wall was well-fortified and garrisoned. It had mounds, underground tunnels, barracks, arsenals and supply depots. It was a great stoppage to any invader coming from the north. It
1062-557: The 1730s, prior to the Battle of Colachel and the arrival of De Lannoy, Maharaja Marthanda Varma had annexed some territories to the north of his Kingdom and was also at confrontation with Kayamkulam . The Dutch governor at Cochin , M.A. Maten, took sides with the Maharaja's adversaries. This put the Dutch on a direct confrontation course with Marthanda Varma . Marthanda warma was bent on annexing Kayamkulam which would become futile for
1121-514: The 1860s to facilitate smooth trade, and navigation, passes through this town, the waterway lost its signiface and consequently had to cess operation in the 1980s following the establishment of roadways, unmitigated moderation, and unlawful encroachments adjoining the canal. The Canal, while it functioned, merged with Thamirabarani River River at Thengapattanam, and formed a basin known as Valiyar. The development project mooted to revive AVM Canal Waterways would link Thengapattanam with Kanyakumari in
1180-502: The 7th century a.d. through kodungalloor in kerala. His Arabic team built a big mosque here made of hard rocks which is known here as ‘valiapalli’. The ancient Arabic history book ‘rihlathul muluk’ states that the headquarters of syed ubaithath kazhi’ appointed as the religious propaganda secretary of the district was located here. Many Islamic religious scholars later came to this place to propagate Islam. The mosque built of hard rocky stones knows as malik ibn dinar palli or valia palli,
1239-560: The Archaeological Department of India. 8°14′35″N 77°20′06″E / 8.243°N 77.335°E / 8.243; 77.335 Thengapattanam Thengapattanam (also referred to as "Thengapattinam", thennaipattinam" and "thenpattinam" ), named after dense coconut grooves, is a major trade and tourism centre in the painkulam panchayath along the coastal plains of Kanyakumari district . Thengapattanam, once part of Travancore and later Kerala ,
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#17327718321781298-497: The Dravidian civilizations known as the ‘cradle of civilizations’ flourished. The world renowned historical research traveler ‘dalami’ refers this place as a ‘harbour town’ in this book written in ad 100. The king of ‘thenga nadu’ karunan thadangal is said to have ruled from here. Dutch Invasion This area, once under the domain of chera, pandya and nayakkar kings, was later ruled by the kings of travancore. Attingal queen got
1357-466: The Dutch company. During a visit to Cochin in 1739, the Dutch governor of Ceylon , Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff , made a report to his government on the interferences of the Maharaja in the affairs of the smaller Malabar kingdoms. The subsequent year, the Governor gave a direct warning to the Maharaja, threatening an invasion of Travancore territories. In 1741, the Dutch also restored to the throne,
1416-523: The Dutch settlements in Ceylon . Thus, Eustachius De Lannoy and his Dutch naval expedition went on a mission to defeat the Maharaja and take over his territories. His forces landed near Colachel, at Thengapattanam , Midalam and Kadiapattinam . At this time, Marthanda Varma and the main part of his army were away in the northern territories. The Dutch forces initially took over the lands from Colachel to Kottar (in present-day Nagercoil ). Their next aim
1475-618: The Maharaja of Travancore. De Lannoy was entrusted with the job of training a Regiment of the army in European tactics of war and discipline. De Lannoy performed this task to the satisfaction of Marthanda Varma who appointed him captain. Donadi also was given a high military post. De-Lannoy gave attention to the reorganization of the army of Travancore which consisted of 50,000 troops of all branches such as infantry, cavalry, artillery and irregular troops, trained and drilled on Western lines under his direction and supervision De Lannoy organized
1534-532: The Northern kingdoms up to Cochin over a period of time. They defeated and annexed Quilon , Kayamkulam , Kottarakkara , Pandalam , Ambalapuzha , Edappally , Thekkumkoor and Vadakkumkoor with Travancore . Captain De Lannoy's military skills and loyalty were recognised not only by the king and his state officials, but also by the subjects of Travancore, who called him by the nom de guerre " Valiya Kappithaan ", meaning 'The Great Captain'. De Lannoy built
1593-544: The Tamiraparani River here with the Arabian Sea is considered to be especially beautiful. This has also been used to describe the merger of the river with sea (estuary / firth) known as "Pozhi" in local vernacular. As one of the few picnic spots in the district, the town contains tiny hill-tops where cool wind blows throughout the year. Thengapattanam totally has 6 mosques . The six mosques, including
1652-501: The Travancore army on European lines, introduced gunpowder and firearms, hitherto not used in the kingdom, and increased the regiments and improved defence fortifications. Captain De Lannoy was a skilled military strategist. His military skills, combined with the tactics of the Dewan of Travancore, Ramayyan Dalawa , and statesmanship of Maharaja Marthanda Varma proved very effective in the future military exploitations and annexations of
1711-470: The Valiya Palli, the landmark of this beautiful town, are situated at five vital areas, making it convenient for all the people to come and offer their prayers. The Valiya Palli, which is at the centre of Thengapattanam, is surrounded on the four sides at the north near the bus stand by Rifai Masjid, at the west byKuzhathu Palli, at the west on the river bank of Valiyar by Attupalli, which is situated on
1770-465: The aatttupalli built on the rocky mountains by the shores of the sea and river bank, the mohideen palli located near the canal in thoppu, the chenta palli built on kuntadipattan paarai, the rifai palli located close to the bus station and the khaja palli located by the shores of the Arabian sea are the mosques of this tiny town. Linguistic demography (2011) Tamil is the major language here and
1829-538: The east and Kasargode in the north-west in Kerala, when it becomes operational. Thengapattanam is classified under the Seismic Zone III , indicating a moderate risk of damage from earthquakes. The climate here is classified under Köppen–Geiger climate classification system as As/Aw/Am, as an implication the town experiences moderate tropical climates ranging from monsoon to Savannah dry influenced by
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1888-695: The fort and a chapel was built at his burial site. De Lannoy's tombstone lies within the walls of the ruined chapel. The inscriptions on his stone are both in Tamil and in Latin. His wife and son were buried by his side. Recently, officials of the Department of Archaeology found a tunnel within the fort. Presently, the fort has been turned into a bio-diversity park by the Tamil Nadu forest department, with sites of historical importance, such as De Lannoy's tomb, remaining as protected archaeological sites under
1947-531: The fort for some time. In 1810, the East India Company 's Army under Colonel Leger marched into Travancore through the Aramboly Pass ( Aralvaimozhi ) to quell a rebellion under the leadership of Velu Thambi Dalava. In later years, English East India Company troops were stationed at the fort until the middle of the 19th century. A foundry for the manufacture of guns, mortars, and cannonballs
2006-627: The help of each other not feeling the absence of male-members. Though the majority of men fold is in 'Gulf', their hears go out to reach the dear and near ones in time of happiness and distress. It is common here to see a handful of men enjoying their vacation from Gulf every day. Thengapattinam is a main commercial hub for more than 50 small surrounding places, to name a few are, Mulloor Thurai, Raman Thurai, Enayam, Enayam Puthen Thurai, Erayumman Thurai, Poothurai, Panankal Mukku, Arasa Kulam, Keezhkulam, Chentharai, Amsi, Painkulam, Parakkani, Maniyaran Kunnu etc. A daily market locally known as "Anthi Kadai"
2065-646: The king, they got well acquainted. Neelankanta Pillai took the baptised name of Devasahayam Pillai . Devasahayam became a martyr of the Christian faith in 1752. The Roman Catholic church under Pope Benedict XVI made Devasahayam Pillai a beatified laity of the church in 2012, and was made a saint on 15 May 2022 by Pope Francis Thus, De Lannoy had an important role in the conversion and Christian life of saint Devasahayam Pillai . Maharaja Marthanda Varma died in 1758, and De Lannoy served as military chief to his successor Dharma Raja . De Lannoy died in 1777 and
2124-500: The month of May to late June, is tropical dry and may reach a peak of 34 °C. The average Humidity in summer is around 74% percentage, while in June the humidity surfaces the 90% mark. The temperature during winter, on the other hand, reaches a low of 20 °C as the night falls. The winter season is marked by high precipitation and moderate rainfall. Thengapattanam has a long seashore with ferry services available. Thengapattanam
2183-421: The objective of instituting a trading post for the company at Colachel. The company was the world's first joint-stock company and was the largest multinational company. It was a very rich corporation and had its own naval fleet to protect its trade and maritime establishments. In order to establish the trade post, the Dutch force had to engage the Travancore army. They subsequently defeated the Dutch naval force at
2242-529: The orders of the Maharajah, the local fisherfolk had made cannon replicas, diverting the attention of the Dutch. This battle is important as it marked the decline of Dutch influence in India. In all, twenty-four Dutch officers were imprisoned, including De Lannoy and Donadi, while the rest of the Dutchmen either retreated to their ships or were killed. The Dutch prisoners expressed their willingness to serve
2301-549: The right to rule this area in ad 1700. During this time in the middle of the 17th century, the naval forces headed by the Dutch colonel nicolfwar besieged this town and gained control of it. The Dutch records of ‘wrin-de-herik’ state that after the take over a Dutch infantry division, a go down and a church were established here in ad 1678. In ad 1694, the forces attingal queen fought the Dutch, chased them out and regained its control. The rule of Venad The Dutch again attacked thengapattinam, when it became part of ‘venad’ under
2360-479: The rocky hill and on the south close to the beach by Muhiyuddin Masjid. Chenta Palli, the ruins of which are present on the hilly rock at the eastern side is still considered as a holy place. Thengapattanam also has Christians which each coastal area has one church from mullorthurai to kodi munnai. Not only in coastal areas amsi, maniyaramkuntru, arasakulam also has churches. Hindus are less in thengapattanam. It
2419-407: The rule of marthanda varma maharaja. during this battle fought to chase out the Dutch, many Muslims lost their lives. The ‘kuntadipattan paarai’ which came under the heavy attack of the Dutch cannons stand out to be a ‘living memorial’ today. Later, due to the ‘Tamil nadu liberation movement’ this part was annexed to Tamil Nadu in 1956. It is worth mentioning here that the famous raja kesavadas,
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2478-399: The sea coastline on the southern tip of India. It was set up as the southern most sea coast defense area by the Dutch. Its a Rectangular shaped fort made of granite stones. As the corners are curved it presents itself as a circular shape and hence the name vattakkottai (Circular fort) The fortification of Vattakottai was completed under the supervision of De-Lannoy assisted by Marthanda Pillai,
2537-608: The spirited defence by the Cadres, for the loss of just a few soldiers of Travancore. Many other forts like the Vattakottai Fort facing the sea near Kanyakumari , the hill-forts of Savakkotta, and the Marunnu Kotta (Ammunition fort) near Padmanabhapuram were built under De Lannoy's supervision. De Lannoy is also credited with the erection of some other small forts and tunnels. The palace fort of Padmanabhapuram
2596-574: The strength and fear of his armies he subjugated all kingdoms from Kayangulam [Kayamkulam] to Cochin. He lived 62 years and 5 months and died first day of June 1777. May he rest in peace." Udayagiri Fort There are two forts named Udayagiri Fort in South India. Udayagiri Fort in Andhra Pradesh was constructed by Langula Gajapathi, chieftain to Gajapatis of Odisha approximately between 1434 and 1512 CE. The fort in Tamil Nadu
2655-543: The then divan of the king Rama varma of travancore was brought up in his youth in the well known ‘puthen veedu" here. Thengapattanam is located in the South western coast of India bordering the Arabian Sea to the west, western ghats to the north, and vast fertile plains with intermittent Rocky hills to the east. The town is 11 km into the Tamil Nadu border from Kerala . The Kerala state capital Thiruvananthapuram
2714-659: The vicinity to Thermal equator . The town has been an annual recipient of unusually high rainfall from both the North-East and South-west monsoons. The South-western monsoon spans the months of June till September, and the North-Eastern monsoon period commences by the October and winds up in the mid or late December. On an average, the Town receives 2100mm of rainfall with 104 rainy days. The summer here, spanning from
2773-543: The young princess of Elayadathu Swarupam who had been deposed by the Maharaja. When this came to the knowledge of the Maharaja, he attacked the Elayadathu Princess and the Dutch. The Dutch were defeated and the Princess fled to Cochin . Maharaja Marthanda Varma also attacked and captured the Dutch forts in Travancore . The Dutch now planned for an attack on Travancore . They called for reinforcements from
2832-486: Was added to Tamil Nadu on 1 November 1956 along with some parts of today's Kanniyakumari District. Thengappattanam derives its name from the abundance of coconut groves sprout along the vast estuary, meaning the town/city with coconut trees in abundance. The word Thenga(i) is found in Malayalam/Tamil refers to coconut/palm; The suffix "pattanam" is derived from "pattinam", a Tamil word which means coastal town or
2891-446: Was better equipped and trained, but was no match to the tactics and aggressiveness used by the Travancore forces at the Battle of Colachel . Legends states that a tiny spark to the gun powder stock in their ship buried all their rice reserves. The foodless army had no other go than surrendering to the Travancore contingent. Further, the Dutch were helpless against the cavalry of Travancore. The local legends state that, in accordance with
2950-485: Was constructed for to save the palace and for the safety of the king who lived in the Padmanabhapuram palace. The fort has an area of 187 acres. The Padmanabhapuram fort was built with mud originally was disassembled and reconstructed with granite rocks. The height of the walls varies from 15 feet to 24 feet according to the inclination of the ground. The thickness of the fort wall was 35 feet. The Udayagiri Fort
3009-556: Was erased by Tipu Sultan in an act of revenge for having been defeated in his attempt to subdue Travancore in 1789. It had a length of 40 km and extended from the sea near Vypeen Island to the Western ghats. Just before returning to Mysore after his failed attempt, he spent six days to demolish the lines which he called the 'Contemptible Wall'. He had sworn to demolish it earlier after his failed attempt to breach it on 28 December 1789, and lost 2000 soldiers in that single night, due to
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#17327718321783068-501: Was established within the fort under the supervision of the resident General. The fort is built of massive granite blocks around an isolated hillock. The tombs of the Dutch Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy , (in whose honour the fort was once called Dillanai Kottai— De Lennoy's Fort), and of his wife and son can still be found inside a partly ruined chapel in the fort. De Lannoy's body was buried within
3127-513: Was interred in the chapel within Udayagiri Fort . The tombs of De Lannoy and his family can be seen inside the church. The English translation of the Latin inscription on his tombstone runs: "Stand Traveller! Here lies Eustachius Benedictus De Lannoy: who was Commander of the general Travancore Army and for nearly thirty-seven years with the greatest faithfulness served the King, to whom by
3186-513: Was prohibited from entering the king's palace at Padmanabhapuram , so he resided primarily at Udayagiri Fort , or De Lannoy Kotta (de Lannoy's Fort) as it is known locally, where he had also built a small chapel for his family and other Christians. At some point of his military career, De Lannoy got well acquainted with Neelakanta Pillai, a Nair palace official, who after learning of Christian traditions and beliefs through De Lannoy, converted to Christianity. As they both had influential roles under
3245-470: Was promoted to the Senior Admiral (Valiya Kappithan), and modernised the Travancore army by introducing firearms and artillery. His role as military commander of the Travancore army was instrumental in the later military successes and exploits of Travancore under Maharaja Marthanda Varma and Dharmaraja . Though he served the Dutch, the origin of Captain de Lannoy was from France. He was part of
3304-452: Was stationed. General Imhoff had a liking towards De Lannoy and he took him to Travancore in 1739. The Dutch East India Company wanted to acquire and monopolize the trade of pepper and other spices, which was sourced from the Kingdom of Kayamkulam and sold in the European markets at exorbitant prices . The negotiations with the Travancore the king Maharaja Marthanda Varma was futile, and it was decided to use military pressure against him. In
3363-410: Was strategically situated to carry out defensive maneuvers. This fort which is located one kilometer away from Padmanabhapuram was also built by Captain De Lannoy. It was earlier built to protect the Padmanabhapuram palace and was fortified by the Dutch captain. This fort was used to manufacture and store ammunition for the artilleries and fire arms produced at Udayagiri Fort. As a Christian, De Lannoy
3422-465: Was to proceed to capture Padmanabhapuram , the capital. But soon the Travancore forces arrived from the North under the direct command of Marthanda Varma and his minister, Ramayyan Dalawa . and commanders of the Travancore Nair army, The two forces met at Colachel on 10 August 1741 ( O.S. 31 July 1741). De Lannoy's military contingent was superior in that, it had firearms and artillery and
3481-518: Was used for casting guns. The fort was rebuilt during the reign of Marthanda Varma, between 1741-44 under the supervision of Eustachius De Lannoy , a Flemish naval commander of the Dutch East India Company, who later served as the Chief of the Travancore Army. In the early days, the fort was of strategic importance. Prisoners captured in the campaign against Tippu Sultan were confined in
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