Pazhassi Raja

The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 is considered to be the first organized revolt against British rule and as the first step in India's struggle for independence. But more than half a century prior to that, Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja of the Padinjare Kovilakom of the Kottayam family, irked by the unpopular revenue policy followed by the East India Company in Malabar, threatened to cut down all the pepper vines if the Company persisted in revenue collection. A determined but futile attempt was made by the British to capture the Raja in his own palace at Pazhassi in April 1796.

Subsequently a proclamation was issued forbidding people from supporting the Raja, threatening confiscation of their property if they did so. In January 1797 the Raja's men launched daring attack on the security personnel stationed at Pazhassi, exterminating the entire party save one. In pitched battles fought over three days, the Raja's men using swords, spears, bows and arrows, overpowered the British forces armed with muskets. The British had to sign a temporary truce.

When the occupying forces broke the terms of the truce, the Raja revolted again, but by then the British had control over most of the south. The Raja, accompanied by his wife and immediate attendants, took refuge in the jungles. In 1804 the Raja's properties were confiscated and a reward was proclaimed for his head. Towards the end of 1805, the Raja was surrounded and shot dead by the side of a stream.