The Dutch came to the East in competition with the Portuguese and tried
their best to oust them from their position. The Dutch East India Company,
formed in 1592, sent Admiral Van der Hagen to India in 1603; the admiral
entered into a commercial and political treaty with the Zamorin of Calicut
who wanted to expel the Portuguese from Kerala. In 1613 the Dutch brought
the state of Cochin under their effective political control. With the help
of the Raja of Kochi, the Dutch managed to overthrow Portuguese power on the
Malabar coast by 1663. However, they soon found themselves caught up in the
war between the Zamorin and the Kochi Raja. When the Zamorin effectively
crushed the Kochi Raja, the power of the Dutch began to decrease
By the second quarter of the
eighteenth century, the power of the Dutch had diminished so much that local
powers began to challenge their supremacy. They were forced to sign treaties
and concede to humiliating demands. Taking advantage of the situation, the
Zamorin overran considerable portions of Kochi. The Mysore invasions of
Hyder Ali and the coming of the British spelled the doom of Dutch power in
Kerala. In 1795 a British force under Major Petrie from Calicut marched
against Cochin and forced the surrender of the Dutch fort of Cochin.
Marthanda Varma (1729-1758) of Travancore also crippled the Dutch power is a
series of encounters, especially in the battle of Kolachel. The Dutch
settled for peace, withdrew from Kerala, and left for the East Indies. So,
by 1802, the Malabar province passed into the hands of the British.
Like
the Portuguese, the Dutch also brought with them ideas and practices
that benefited Kerala's society. They introduced new agricultural
products and scientific techniques of cultivation. They improved the
agricultural economy of Kerala; they cultivated coconut, rice, and
indigo on extensive scale. They are most remembered for the
celebrated botanical work on the medicinal value of Kerala plants.
