The Kingdom of Travancore, also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor or later as Travancore State, was an Indian kingdom that lasted from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of the south of modern-day Kerala and the southernmost part of modern-day Tamil Nadu with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in the neighbouring Kingdom of Cochin. However Tangasseri area of Kollam city and Anchuthengu near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram were parts of British India.
A Canal scene in Travancore.
Sree Padmanabha Swamy was the national deity of the Kingdom of Travancore.
Thambiran Vanakkam was printed at Kollam, the capital of Venad in 1578, during the Portuguese Era. It holds the record of the first book printed in any Indian language. It was written in the language Lingua Malabar Tamul, which was spoken in southern Kerala (Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari area) during the medieval period.
The British Residency in Quilon, where the resident of Travancore resided
The Travancore royal family was the ruling house of the Kingdom of Travancore.The Travancore royal family signed a treaty with the British in 1788, thereby adopting British dominance. Later, in 1805, they revised the treaty, leading to a diminution of royal authority and the loss of political independence for Travancore. They had to give up their ruling rights over the common people in 1949 when Travancore were forced to merge with Independent India and their political pension privileges were abolished in 1971.
Travancore royal family
The Maharani of Travancore - Painting by Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906)
Padmanabhaswamy Temple dedicated to the patron deity of the family
Maharani Bharani Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi was adopted from the related Kolathiri royal family