In the sixteenth century the tract that is now Cherthala taluk was **Karappuram**, comprising two principalities recorded as Moothedath and Iledath. It was a tributary of Cochin rather than an independent kingdom, held semi-autonomously by local chiefs under only nominal Cochin authority — and it mattered to Europeans because of what grew here. The Dutch signed treaties with the rajas of Purakkad, Kayamkulam and Karappuram, and built factories and warehouses across this district to store pepper and ginger.
It ended when Marthanda Varma of Travancore turned north. That much is agreed. When it ended is not.
Four sources, three years
What the sources give for the Karappuram transfer
| Year | What it is attached to |
|---|---|
| 1753 | Commonly given for the transfer from Cochin’s orbit to Travancore |
| 1755 | An annexation carried out by Ramayyan Dalawa at Marthanda Varma’s instance, after which Kumbalam became Cochin’s southern boundary |
| 1762 | Accounts in which the area remained part of the Kingdom of Cochin until this year |
| — none — | The Alappuzha district administration’s own history page, which lists the annexation of Kayamkulam, Ambalappuzha, Thekkumkur, Vadakkumkur and Karappuram in one breath and dates none of them |
They are probably not in conflict
A tributary territory changing hands in this period was rarely one event with one date. There is the campaign; there is the submission; there is the formal settlement with the displaced overlord; and there is the administrative absorption. Those can be years apart, and a source dating one of them is not contradicting a source dating another.
That is very likely what is happening here. But we have not found the source that lays the sequence out, and manufacturing one would be exactly the kind of tidy-looking invention this site exists not to publish. **Treat the transfer as a process of the 1750s, and be suspicious of anything that states a single year without saying what it is dating.**
Where we still carry a year, and why we are telling you
Our own guide to the Thanneermukkom bund says Karappuram and Alangad passed to Travancore in 1753. That sentence was itself a correction of a worse one: an earlier version had Travancore attacking in 1753 and annexing Karappuram under the Treaty of Mavelikkara, which was wrong three separate ways.
- The Treaty of Mavelikkara, signed at Mavelikkara on 15 August 1753, was an agreement with the DUTCH about non-intervention, alliances, a pepper quota and arms. It did not concern Karappuram.
- The battle at Purakkad is 1755, and was fought against the ZAMORIN, not the Dutch.
- The residual 1753 for the Karappuram transfer does not stand as firmly as we would like. Rather than quietly change it, we have flagged it in the code and we are telling you here.
One more thing the sources compress
Karappuram is not another name for Cherthala town. It is described as comprising two principalities which together correspond to the present Cherthala **taluk** — a district-sized block of coconut country, not a town. Where you see Karappuram used as a synonym for the town, that is a compression. The old name has, incidentally, outlived the map: Karappuram coir and coir products still carry the name commercially, long after it left the administrative record.
Frequently asked questions
What was Karappuram?
The tract corresponding to the present Cherthala taluk, comprising two principalities recorded as Moothedath and Iledath. It was a tributary of Cochin, held semi-autonomously by local chiefs, and the Dutch signed treaties with its raja.
When did Karappuram become part of Travancore?
The year is not settled. 1753 is commonly given; 1755 is given for an annexation by Ramayyan Dalawa; some accounts have the area remaining part of Cochin until 1762; and the Alappuzha district administration gives no year. These may date successive stages of one process.
Did the Treaty of Mavelikkara transfer Karappuram to Travancore?
No. The treaty, signed at Mavelikkara on 15 August 1753, was an agreement with the Dutch about non-intervention, alliances, a pepper quota and arms. It did not concern Karappuram.
Is Karappuram the old name for Cherthala town?
Not exactly. It is the old name for the tract that is now Cherthala taluk. Using it as a synonym for the town is a compression.