Eustachius De Lannoy
Eustachius Benedictus de Lannoy 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 with 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 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, was promoted to the Senior Admiral, 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 the Delano family or de Lannoy family.
Early life
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 in 1737, where General Imhoff was stationed. General Imhoff had a liking towards De Lannoy and he took him to Travancore in 1739.Battle of Colachel
; BackgroundThe 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 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 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, 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 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 battle
The Dutch forces initially took over the lands from Colachel to Kottar. Their next aim 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 army,
The two forces met at Colachel on 10 August 1741. De Lannoy's military contingent was superior in that, it had firearms and artillery and 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 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.
Appointment as Travancore army commander
The Dutch prisoners expressed their willingness to serve 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 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 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'.
Forts built under De Lennoy's supervision
Nedumkotta
De Lannoy built 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 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 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 near Padmanabhapuram were built under De Lannoy's supervision.
De Lannoy is also credited with the erection of some other small forts and tunnels.