TRAVANCORE, a principality in the extreme S.W. part of the Peninsula. of India, nded by a maharaja of the Kshatriya race. At the close of the 17th and commencement of tbe 18th century, the preseut territory was under several petty chiefships called Etadda Pulleyrnar, the capital of one of which was Tirnvancod, between Udia gherri and Anjengo. The present race of ruling sovereigns claim descent from Cheraman Perumal, who was reigning in the south about A.D. 352. During the 16th and 17th centuries they continued steadily to suppress the smaller states, the last of which were swept away by Wanji Perumal, who reigned from 1729 for 30 years.
No authentic history of Travancore in early times is extant ; but tradition states that the whole Malayalam coast was reclaimed from the sea by Parasurama, and colonized by certain Brahmans, known as Narriburi, whose rule, after lasting for a considerable time, terminated in B.c. 68. The Brahmans then elected Kshatriya chiefs to rule for periods of twelve years. This system of elect ing a new ruler every twelve years lasted for four centuries. The last and greatest of these rulers, Cheraman Perumal (Viceroy of Chera kings), at his death divided his dominions among his vassals. Travancore is also called Veynad, also Tirupapur Swarupam; the eastern coast people call it Kerala, also Malealarn ; and it is also called Kurrna Bhumi, in contradistinction to the east coast, which is styled Jnana Bhumi, also Punnea Bhumi. The uterine brothers of the maharaja are designated princes by the British, with the honorific prefix of Highness. There are ten titular designations in that kingdom, all hereditary; they are suffixed to the names of the personsholding them. The revenue in 1877-78 amounted to Rs. 55,26,199, of which the land revenue furnished Rs. 16,32,012, and the customs Rs.12,26,661. The tenures by which lands are held are Janm, Madambimar, and Sirkar. The Janm is a hereditary freehold, but lapses on sale to the Government. The Madambimar are free hold, but held at raja bogum or sovereign's plea sure.
Travancore was overcome by Tipu in Decem ber 1798, but he withdrew from it on learning the approach of Lord Cornwallis to Seringapatam. From that time until 1808 there were internal dissentions, but in that year a war broke out against the British, which was suppressed, and in 1811 the Resident, Colonel Munro, assumed the duties of a Dewan, until 1814. •
There are several seaport towns, but Anjengo and Tanguncherry belong to the British. The Perriar is the finest river in all the western coast. It is navigable for small craft for sixty miles, but during the dry season its mouth is closed. There is a succession of marine lagoons connected by navigable canals extending for 200 miles along the Travancore, Cochin, and British coast, from Chowghat to Trevandrum, and to connect these, after the middle of the 19th century, the Travan core State began to cut throug,h a promontory 6 miles in breadth.
It is a fertile, well-watered country. The raja resides at Trevandrum. The main chain of moun tains runs southward for 150 miles to Cape Comorin, with occasional deep depressions, and terminates in a bold, precipitous mass 3000 to 4000 feet high, within three miles of the cape itself. They are loftiest at the extreme north of the district, where they stretch east and west for sixty to seventy miles, separating the districts of Dindigul and Madura, and rising into peaks of 8000 to 9000 feet, which overhang the plain of Coimbatore, and they retain an elevation of 5000 to 6000 feet throughout their extent to the south ward. The southernmost peak of note is the sacred Agasteshwara Malai, the source of the Tarnbra parni river. At the head of the Travancore Hills stands Anaimudi (8837 feet), the highest peak south of the Himalayas, and near it are several other peaks of 8000 feet. South of this group is the lower region of the cardamom hills ; even south of this, although the hills become lower and narrower, the country is thinly inhabited almost to Cape Comorin. Here, on the Paralai and Kodai, there are anicuts constnicted by Pandiyau kings. There are eighty-two distinct castes in the State, including subdivisions, and Brahmans amount to about one-fiftieth part of the whole population, the Sudras forming nearly one-third of it. The agricultural class amount to about three-fourths of the entire population. 83 per cent. of the population speak Malayalam, 17 per cent. Tamil.