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 The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

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 The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

– much longer than the Anglo-Mysore Wars, Anglo-Maratha Wars, Anglo-Sikh Wars and

Polygar Wars The Polygar Wars or Palaiyakkarar Wars were wars fought between the Polygars (''Palaiyakkarars'') of the former Tirunelveli Kingdom in Tamil Nadu, India and the British East India Company's Madras Regiment between March 1799 to May 1802 or Jul ...

. 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 Warfare peaked in early 1797, 1800 to 1801, and 1803 to 1804 and due to constant reverses, Bombay regiments were withdrawn and instead Madras regiments were deployed with an increase in troop numbers - from 8,000 in 1803 to 14,000 in early 1804.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 Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

. 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. Pazhassi's Cave, located in Cherambadi on the Nilgiri-Wayanad border, is believed to have been a strategic hideout and observation post used during the Cotiote War (1793–1806) led by Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja. The cave's remote location amidst dense forests made it ideal for

Guerrilla tactics Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

employed by the Cotiote forces against the British

around 1800. On 28 February 2025, Kochu Thampuratty Subha Varma, the great-granddaughter of Pazhassi Raja, visited the site with her husband Dr. Kishore and formally named it "Pazhassi's Cave" in honor of its historic significance. The visit renewed local interest in Pazhassi Raja's legacy and the cave's role in India's early resistance against colonial rule.

References

{{British colonial campaigns Battles involving the British East India Company History of Kerala 1790s in India 1800s in India 1792 in India 1806 in India Colonial Kerala