Cotiote War

The Cotiote War (Kottayathu war) refers to a series of continuous struggles fought between the Cotiote king, Pazhassi Raja Kerala Varma, and the East India Company across a span of thirteen years between 1793 and 1806. Pazhassi Raja aimed to preserve the independence and unity of his kingdom while the East India Company was determined to annex and dismember it. His own desire for independence and sense of betrayal by the East India Company on their earlier promise to respect his country's independence, combined with constant exhortations of two of his noblemen, Kaitheri Ambu and Kannavath Sankaran, led to outbreak of Cotiote War. It is the longest war waged by the East India Company during their military campaigns on the Indian subcontinent – much longer than the Anglo-Mysore Wars, Anglo-Maratha Wars, Anglo-Sikh Wars and Polygar Wars. It was one of the bloodiest and hardest wars waged by the East India Company in India – Presidency army regiments that participated suffered losses as high as eighty percent in 10 years of warfare. The Cotiote army waged guerrilla warfare, chiefly centred in the mountain forests of Aralam and Wynad, and larger zone of conflict extended from Mysore to the Arabian Sea, from Coorg to Coimbatore. Warfare peaked in early 1797, 1800 to 1801, and 1803 to 1804 and due to constant reverses, Bombay regiments were withdrawn and instead Madras regiments were deployed with an increase in troop numbers - from 8,000 in 1803 to 14,000 in early 1804. The Cotiote War ended within months of the death of Cotiote leader, Pazhassi Raja in a skirmish on 30 November 1805. Following this war, the kingdom of Cotiote was annexed into the district of Malabar in the Madras Presidency.

The East India Company military had 6,000 men in the beginning, which was increased to 8,000 in 1800 and to 14,000 in 1804. Arthur Wellesley was in charge of operations between 1800 and 1804. The Cotiote army manpower is not exactly known - estimates vary between 2,000 and 6,000. The Cotiote army was well equipped with fire-locks, but ran short of musket ammunition after 1799 and so used bows and swords widely. 10 years of war had caused an 80 percent loss in the East India Company ranks - both European officers and Sepoys. No estimate is available regarding the death toll in the Cotiote armies.