There are factual mistakes in the Kerala History quoted in this article. Given below is excerpts from authentic History of Travancore. For example, Marthanda Varma ruled during 1729-1758, and Velu Thampi was Divan during 1799-1809. ".......The history of Travancore begins with Marthanda Varma who inherited the kingdom of Venad, and expanded it into Travancore during his reign 1729– 1758. The rulers of Travancore were Malayala Kshatriyas belonging to Samanthan Nair caste. The Samanthan Nairs (Nambiars, Adiyodees, Pillai, Kurups etc.) followed a matrilineal system of inheritance known as "Marumakkathayam". Marthanda Varma was a powerful ruler who expanded Venad from Kanyakumari in the south to Idappally in the north during his 29 year rule. He signed a treaty with the British East India Company and with their help destroyed the power of the eight feudal land lords called Ettuveetil Pillamar and "Ettara Yogam" who supported the Thampi sons of the previous king of Venad, Rajah Rama Varma. In successive battles, Marthanda Varma defeated and absorbed the kingdoms right up to Cochin kingdom including Attingal, Kollam, Kayamkulam, Kottarakara, Kottayam, Pandalam, Poonjar and Chempakassery. He succeeded in defeating the Dutch East India Company during the Travancore-Dutch War (1739–1753), the most decisive engagement of which was the Battle of Colachel (10 August, 1741) in which the Dutch Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy was captured. On January 3, 1750, (5 Makaram, 925 Kollavarsham), Marthanda Varma virtually "dedicated" Travancore to his tutelary deity Padmanabha of Padmanabhaswamy Temple (the Trippadidaanam) and from then on the rulers of Travancore ruled as the "servants of Padmanabha" (the Padmnabha-dasans). In 1753, the Dutch signed a peace treaty with Marthanda Varma. With Battle of Ambalapuzha (3 January, 1754) in which he defeated the union of the deposed Kings and the king of Cochin kingdom, Marthanda Varma crushed all opposition to his rule. In 1757, after the Cochin Travancore War (1755–1756), a treaty was concluded between Travancore and Cochin kingdom, ensuring stability on the northern border. Marthanda Varma organised the tax system and constructed many irrigation works in his kingdom. Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy, who was captured as a prisoner of war in the famous Battle of Colachel was appointed as the Senior Admiral ("Valiya kappittan") and he modernised the Travancore army by introducing firearms and artillery. Ayyappan Marthanda Pillai served as the "Sarvadi Karykar" (Head of the Army). Marthanda Varma introduced titles such as Chempaka Raman and honours such as Ettarayum Koppum to honour the lords and his relatives who had remained faithful to him during his internal problems with the Ettuveetil Pillamar. His able Prime Minister during his entire military career was Ramayyan Dalawa. Marthanda Varma's successor Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma (1758-1798) who was popularly known as Dharma Raja, shifted the capital in 1795 from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram. Dharma Raja's period is considered as a Golden Age in the history of Travancore. He not only retained the territorial gains of his predecessor Marthanda Varma, but also improved and encouraged social developments. He was greatly assisted by a very efficient administrator, Raja Kesavadas, who was the Diwan of Travancore. Maharajah Karthika Thirunal Dharma Raja: During Dharma Raja's reign, Tipu Sultan, the de facto ruler of Mysore and the son of Hyder Ali attacked Travancore in 1789 as a part of Mysore invasion of Kerala. Dharma Raja had earlier refused to hand over the Hindu political refugees from the Mysore occupation of Malabar, who had been given asylum in Travancore. The Mysore army entered Cochin kingdom from Coimbatore in November 1789 and reached Trichur in December. On December 20, 1789 Tipu Sultan attacked the Nedunkotta from north, starting the army movement called Battle of the Nedumkotta (1789). But, before completing the battle Tipu was forced to retreat due simultaneous attacks of English at Mysore and the damp weather. Virtually, Battle of the Nedumkotta (1789) was the event lead to the Third Anglo-Mysore War. On Dharma Raja's death in 1798, Balarama Varma (1798-1810) took over crown at the age of sixteen. The Prime Ministers (Dalawas or Dewans) started taking control of the kingdom beginning with Velu Thampi Dalawa (1799-1809) who was appointed as the divan following the dismissal of Jayanthan Sankaran Nampoothiri (1798-1799). Initially, Velayudhan Chempakaraman Thampi and the English East India Company got along very well. A section of the Travancore army mutinied in 1805 against Velu Thampi Dalawa and he sought refuge with the British Resident and later used English East India Company troops to crush the mutiny. Velu Thampi also played a key role in renegotiating a new treaty between Travancore and the English East India Company. However, the demands by the East India Company for the payment of compensation for their involvement in the Travancore-Mysore War (1791) on behalf of Travancore, led to tension between the Diwan and the East India Company Resident. Velu Thampi Dalawa and the diwan of Cochin kingdom, Paliath Achan Govindan Menon, declared "war" on the East India Company. The kingdoms of both kingdoms, Travancore and Cochin kingdom, did not support the Prime Ministers openly. Initially, the rebel forces of Velu Thampi Dalawa and Paliath Achan Govindan Menon were successful and on December 18, 1808, they stormed the Residents house in Cochin. The situation changed when an assault on Cochin itself by the rebels on January 19, 1809 was forced back with heavy losses. Col. Leger led an army of the East India Company's soldiers through the Aramboli Ghat and occupied the forts of Udayagiri and Padmanabhapuram on February 19, 1809. Following this development, the king of Travancore who till then had refused to take any open part in the civil war, turned against his Prime Minister. The East India Company forces defeated Paliath Achan in Cochin on February 27, 1809. Paliath Achan surrendered to the East India Company and was exiled to Madras and later to Benaras. The Company defeated forces under Velu Thampi Dalawa at battles near Nagercoil and Kollam and inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels, following which many of his supporters deserted and went back to their homes. The allied East India Company army and the Travancore soldiers camped in Pappanamcode, just outside Trivandrum. Velu Thampi Dalawa now organised a guerilla struggle against the Company, but committed suicide to avoid capture by the Travancore army. After the mutiny of 1805 against Velu Thampi Dalawa, most of the Nair battalions of Travancore had been disbanded, and after Velu Thampi Dalawa's uprising, almost all of the remaining Travancore forces were also disbanded, with the East India Company undertaking to serve the king in cases of external and internal aggression.........."