Each region is governed or ruled by Nair landlords or leaders with titles such as Pillai, Kurup, Kaimals, etc.

[9][10] Marthanda Varma agreed to spare the Dutch captain's life on the condition that he joined his army and trained his soldiers on modern lines.

[15] The Battle of Colachel was fought on 10 August 1741 between the Indian kingdom of Travancore and the Dutch East India Company.

Upon arriving at Paravur, the Travancore commander, on the advice of General de Lannoy, decided upon a direct attack on Thrissur from two sides.

For this purpose, the army was divided into two divisions, one under Ayyappan Marthanda Pillai and the other under General de Lannoy.

This battle was fought between Tipu Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysore and Dharma Raja, Maharaja of Travancore.

The Mysore army attacked the fortified line in Thrissur district at the Travancore border known as the Nedumkotta.

During the second battle in April 1790, Vaikom Padmanabha Pillai played an active role in the defeat of Tipu Sultan at the hands of the Travancore Army.

Later, after 1809 with the strengthening of English East India Company, and with Travancore signing a treaty handing over defense to the Company's army, the Nair Brigade headcount was reduced to 700 [24]soldiers without arms and discipline, which was later increased to 1200[25] in number by request of then resident queen of Travencore, Gowri Parvati Bayi[24] in 1819.

Parameswaran Pillai, the GOC of the Travancore Nair army, became the commandant of the unified forces.

The unified force was divided into five infantry battalions (Travancore - I, II, III and IV, Cochin I).

The Brigade's name was changed in 1945 to Cochin State Forces by Kerala Varma and allowed non-Nairs also to be admitted into his army.