The Company remitted half of the subsidy for two years, so that the king could make military budget cuts to raise the funds to pay it in full afterwards.

[citation needed] Resident Macaulay attributed the government's refusal to pay the subsidy by making military cuts to Dalawa Velu Thampi, and said that the king was satisfied with the subsidiary arrangements.

[citation needed] He held secret meetings with the Americans, the Calicutites and the French, the latter of whom gave assurances of military support from Mauritius, including 500 artillerymen to land on the Malabar coast in January 1809.

The British garrison in Cochin, under Lieutenant Colonel John Chalmers, found itself under attack by thousands of militia as well as the state forces of Travancore.

[5] In a dispatch to the Resident, Major Hewitt described the action: ... the detachment HM's 12th Regiment, and the six companies 1st Battalion 17th Regiment under my command, were attacked by three columns of the enemy on three different points about 6 o’clock this morning, and after a very severe engagement of three hours, we repulsed them on all sides with considerable slaughter, and captured their two guns ... from what I could observe in the field of action, the enemy's forces appeared about 3000 excellent disciplined troops, but from what I can collect from report, they amounted to much more.

I despatched Captain Jones with a company to take them on their right flank, (which he did with great value) ... they ran in all directions ... their loss amounts in killed and wounded to about 300 men.

In the meantime, following Thampi's Kundara Proclamation on 11 January 1809, some British civilians and their native supporters were executed by the rebels in Travancore.

The army marched to Trivandrum, the capital of Travancore and camped at the suburb of Pappanamcode, while another force entered Cochin and chased away the remaining rebels.

[citation needed] The Rajas of both the states had not openly supported the rebels and at these turn of events, the Maharaja of Travancore defected to the East India company and appointed a new Dalawa.