Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).
Marthanda Varma defeated the Dutch East India Company forces at the Battle of Colachel in 1741. He also put an end to the Ettuveetil Pillamars and the Ettara Yogam council and took full power as a king. The Yogakars and Pillamars were always against the Royal Family of Venad (Padmabhaswamy Temple Judgement page :16) He then adopted a European mode of discipline for his army and expanded his kingdom northward (to what became the modern state of Travancore). He built a sizeable standing army of about 50,000 nair men, as part of designing an "elaborate and well-organised" war machine, with the role of the travancore army and fortified the northern boundary of his kingdom (Travancore Lines). His alliance in 1757 with the ruler of Kochi (Cochin), against the northern Kingdom of Calicut, enabled the kingdom of Kochi to survive.
Travancore under Marthanda Varma made a deliberate attempt to consolidate its power by the use of Indian Ocean trade. It was the policy of Marthanda Varma to offer assistance to Syrian Christian traders (as a means of limiting European involvement in ocean trade). The principal merchandise was black pepper, but other goods also came to be defined as royal monopoly items (requiring a license for trade) between the 1740s and the 1780s. Eventually, Travancore challenged and broke the Dutch blockade of the Kerala coast.
Trivandrum became a prominent city in Kerala under Marthanda Varma. He undertook many irrigational works, built roads and canals for communication and gave active encouragement to foreign trade. In January, 1750, Marthanda Varma decided to "donate" his kingdom to the last Tiruvadi Sri Padmanabha (Vishnu) and thereafter rule as the deity's "vice-regent" (Sri Padmanabha Dasa). Marthanda Varma's policies were continued in large measure by his successor, Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja").
Early life
Marthanda Varma was born in 1706 to queen Karthika Thirunal Umadevi, the Queen of Attingal, and Raghava Varma of Kilimanoor Palace. Queen Karthika Thirunal Uma Devi - an adoptee from the northern Kolathunadu ruling family - was the senior queen of Attingal at the time. His father Raghava Varma Koil Thampuran died of severe fever when he was one year old.
At the time of Varma's birth, Trippappur Swaroopam (Thiruvithamkoor or Travancore) was a small chiefdom extending from Edava in the north to Aralvaimozhi in the south. The fundamental politico-economic structure of medieval Kerala was going through a crisis.
The power of the king of Venad was very weak and he could not sustain his control over his territory. The old political structure of the medieval Kerala was going through a crisis in the beginning of the 18th century.
Decentralized state (complex feudal and political relations). Influence of the local land lords (the Ettuveetil Pillamar) and the barons (landlords known as Madampimar). The authority of the throne was also curbed by the Council of Eight and a Half (the Yogakkar), the managing committee of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. There was no standing army. European monopoly in Indian Ocean spice trade. The constant Dutch blockade of the Malabar Coast. Trade with the Europeans was an important source for augmenting the financial reserves of the Kerala kingdoms. Quarrels and open warfare among the various royal lineages (increased the dependence of the royals on their warriors and collectors of dues). Trade rivalries between the Dutch and English companies had a role in intensifying the conflict among the branches.
An English East India Company factory was established at Vizhinjam in 1644. The Ajengo Fort was established in 1695. The ruler Rama Varma (1721/22 - 1729) entered into treaties with the English East India Company (1723) and the Madurai Nayaks with the aim of strengthening his position (in the fight against the nobles and other hostile elements in Tranvancore). The role played by Marthanda Varma in these moves are highlighted by P. Shungoonny Menon, the 19th-century Travancore court historian. The Dutch Company positioned themselves against the emerging Travancore by helping Quilon and Kayamkulam. The English Company became an ally of Travancore against the Dutch.