Eustachius De Lannoy
[1] 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.
Captain de Lannoy, who joined his service, was promoted to the Senior Admiral (Valiya Kappithan), and modernised the Travancore army by introducing firearms and artillery.
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 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.
[9] 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.
[8] The subsequent year, the Governor gave a direct warning to the Maharaja, threatening an invasion of Travancore territories.
[8] Thus, Eustachius De Lannoy and his Dutch naval expedition went on a mission to defeat the Maharaja and take over his territories.
[1] But soon the Travancore forces arrived from the North under the direct command of Marthanda Varma and his minister, Ramayyan Dalawa.
[10] 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.
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.
De Lannoy was entrusted with the job of training a Regiment of the army in European tactics of war and discipline.
[1] 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.
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.
Just before returning to Mysore after his failed attempt, he spent six days to demolish the lines which he called the 'Contemptible Wall'.
The Udayagiri Fort served as a military base during the reign of Marthanda Varma which was supervised by Captain De-Lannoy[18] He built a factory to produce war materials such as cannon balls.
[23][24] 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 [25] Thus, De Lannoy had an important role in the conversion and Christian life of saint Devasahayam Pillai.
[26] Maharaja Marthanda Varma died in 1758, and De Lannoy served as military chief to his successor Dharma Raja.
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 the strength and fear of his armies he subjugated all kingdoms from Kayangulam [Kayamkulam] to Cochin.
