Eustachius De Lannoy

Eustache Benoît (Eustachius Benedictus) de Lannoy (also spelled "Lennoy" and sometimes called 'Captain De Lannoy') ( 1715 – 1 June 1777, Udayagiri Fort) was a Belgian (Southern Netherlands) naval commander of the Dutch East India Company, who was sent by the company to help establish a trading post at Colachel, Southern India, but was defeated at the Battle of Colachel by the Travancore army under Maharaja Marthanda Varma in 1741, and subsequently became a valiant and successful commander of the same foreign army that had defeated him. His role as military commander of the Travancore army was instrumental in the later military successes and exploits of Travancore under Marthanda Varma.

In August 1741, de Lannoy arrived at the port of Colachel, near the southern tip of India, as commander of a naval fleet, sent by the Dutch East India Company, or Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), with the objective of capturing Travancore from Marthanda Varma, the King who was not on friendly terms. It was the world's first Joint stock company and the largest multinational company at the time. It was a very rich corporation and had its own naval-fleet to protect its trade and maritime establishments.

The company was interested in acquiring and monopolizing the trade of pepper and other spices from the Malabar kingdoms, which was sold by it in the European markets at exorbitant prices. Earlier negotiations with the Travancore Government under the king Maharaja Marthanda Varma had proved futile, and it was thus decided to use military pressure to subdue the king since Marthanda Varma was bent on annexing the Kingdoms to the north of his country. The Dutch Governor of Ceylon had installed a Princess in a small northern kingdom called Elayidathu Swaroopam Kottarakkara against the wishes of Marthanda Varma, in spite of a severe warning issued by him to Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff, the Dutch Governor of Ceylon to look after their own affairs and not interfere in the affairs of that kingdom. An enraged Marthanda Varma attacked and annexed the kingdom, whereas the Princess escaped to Cochin and lived there under the protection of the Dutch. Van Imhoff wanted to teach Marthanda Varma a lesson. The Dutch were uneasy about the growing business and political clout of the English company who had a trading post and fort at Anjengo in Travancore. They assessed the situation and acted. It was with these intentions that a powerful Dutch naval force was dispatched from the nearest Dutch settlement of Galle in Ceylon.

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