Which king of South India defeated the Dutch East India Company in the year 1741 at the Battle of Colachel?

Correct option is C

The correct answer is (c) Marthanda Varma

Explanation:

• Marthanda Varma was the ruler of the Kingdom of Travancore (in modern-day Kerala) and is celebrated for defeating the Dutch East India Company at the Battle of Colachel in August 1741.

• This victory is historically significant as it marked the first time an organized Asian power decisively defeated a European naval power in a major engagement.

• The battle effectively ended Dutch colonial ambitions in the Indian subcontinent and led to the decline of their influence on the Malabar Coast.

• Following the defeat, the Dutch commander Eustachius De Lannoy was captured; he later joined the Travancore army and helped modernize its infantry and artillery.

• According to NCERT Class 8 (Our Pasts - III), this period was marked by the expansion of local kingdoms against the backdrop of European commercial rivalries.

Information Booster:

• To commemorate the victory, a victory pillar (Colachel Pillar) still stands at the site of the battle in Kanyakumari district.

• Marthanda Varma is also famous for the Thrippadidaanam, a ceremony where he dedicated his entire kingdom to the deity Lord Padmanabha, ruling thereafter as "Padmanabha Dasa."

Additional Knowledge:Veerapandiya Kattabomman (Option a)

• He was an 18th-century Polygar (Palayakkarar) from Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu.

• He is known for his resistance against the British East India Company rather than the Dutch.

• He was captured and hanged by the British in 1799.

Raja Raja Chola (Option b)

• He was one of the most powerful emperors of the Chola Empire, reigning from 985 to 1014 CE.

• His era was centuries before the arrival of the Dutch East India Company in India.

• He is best known for constructing the Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur.

Hyder Ali (Option d)

• He was the Sultan and de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in the mid-18th century.

• While he fought several wars (the Anglo-Mysore Wars), his primary adversaries were the British, the Marathas, and the Nizam of Hyderabad.

• He did not lead the forces at the Battle of Colachel.