![Watercolor guest house of the Raja of Coorg with fort in the background](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Watercolor_guest_house_of_the_Raja_of_Coorg_with_fort_in_the_background.jpg)
The Kingdom of Coorg (or Kingdom of Kodagu) was an independent kingdom
that existed in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
from the 16th century until 1834.
It was ruled by a branch of the
Ikkeri Nayaka. From 1780 to 1788, the kingdom was occupied by neighbouring Mysore but the Rajah of Coorg was restored by the British and became a protectorate of the British East India Company on 26 October 1790. In 1834, the then Raja of Coorg rebelled against British authority, sparking the
Coorg War
The Coorg War was fought between the British East India Company and the State of Coorg in 1834. Defiance of the Raja of Coorg (Chikka Virarajendra), a small state in South India, led to a short but bloody campaign in 1834. In February 1834, ...
. The brief conflict led to the British to annex the kingdom in the same year, who transformed the region into a
province of British India.
Early history
Although ''Rājendranāme'', a royal genealogy of the rulers of
Coorg
Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State.
It occupies ...
written in 1808, makes no mention of the origin of the lineage, its reading by historian
Lewis Rice led him to conclude that the princely line was established by a member of the Ikkeri Nayaka family, who first settled in Halerinard. Having moved south to the town of Haleri in northern Coorg in the disguise of a wandering
Jangama monk (or, by some recounting, a
Lingayat
Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as ''Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and '' Veerashaivism'' have been ...
monk
), he soon began to attract followers; with their help, or their acquiescence, he took possession of the town, and in such manner came to rule the entire country.
According to the genealogy,
the Coorg ''
raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
s'' who ruled from the early 17th century to the mid-19th century were:
Muddu Raja, the Coorg ruler from 1633 to 1687, initially ruled from the town of Haleri, but later moved his capital to
Mercara
Madikeri is a hill station town in Madikeri taluk and headquarters of Kodagu district in Karnataka, India.
Etymology
Madikeri was known as ''Muddu Raja Keri'', which meant Mudduraja's town, was named after the prominent Haleri king Muddu ...
, which he fortified and where he built a palace in 1681.
Early during the rule of his successor, Dodda Virappa (1687–1736), the army of the neighbouring kingdom of Mysore, under the orders of ''Wodeyar''
Chikka Devaraja, attacked and seized
Piriyapatna
Periyapatna is a Town located in Peiriyapatna taluka of Mysore district. The town is divided into 23 wards in which elections are held every 5 years.
Location
Periyapatna is located at . It has an average elevation of 849 metres (2769& ...
, a territory which abutted Coorg (see
Map 11), and which was then being ruled by a kinsman of Dodda Virappa.
Buoyed by the victory, the Mysore army soon attacked Coorg itself; however, it had advanced only a short distance, when, while camping overnight on the plain of Palupare, it was surprised by a Coorg ambush. In the ensuing massacre, the Mysore army lost 15,000 men, and the survivors had to beat a hasty retreat. For most of the next two decades, the western reaches of Mysore remained vulnerable to attacks by the Coorg army. In the border district of Yelusavira, the Coorg and Mysore forces fought to a stalemate and, in the end, had to work out a tax sharing arrangement.
[
In 1724, major hostilities resumed between Coorg and Mysore.Changing his ]modus operandi
A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...
from guerrilla skirmishes in the hilly Coorg jungle to open field warfare, Dodda Virappa, attacked the Mysore army in the plains. Catching it off guard, he took in rapid succession six fortresses from Piriyapatna
Periyapatna is a Town located in Peiriyapatna taluka of Mysore district. The town is divided into 23 wards in which elections are held every 5 years.
Location
Periyapatna is located at . It has an average elevation of 849 metres (2769& ...
to Arkalgud
Arkalgud, also known as Arakalagudu is a panchayat town and is one among the eight taluks of Hassan district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated 30 km from Hassan, 181 km from Mangalore and 195 km from Bangalore. The ...
. The resulting loss of revenue, some 600,000 gold pagodas
A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...
, was felt in Mysore, and several months later, in August or September 1724, a large army was sent from Seringapatam
Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city wa ...
, the Mysore capital, to Coorg. Upon the Mysore army's arrival in the western region, however, the Coorg forces, returning to guerrilla warfare, retreated into the woods. Emboldened by the lack of resistance, the Mysore forces next mounted an attack on the Coorg hills. There too, they met no resistance. However, a few days into this invasion, the Mysore forces, recalling their ignominious ambush in the 1890s, panicked and retreated during the night. Soon, the Coorg army was attacking the Mysore outposts again. This pattern of back and forth was to continue until the Mysore army was recalled, a few months later, to Seringapatam, leaving the region again vulnerable to the periodic raids of the Coorg army. According to historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam, The entire episode yields a rare insight into one aspect of war in the 18th century: the (Coorg
Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State.
It occupies ...
) forces, lacking cavalry, with a minimum of firearms, lost every major battle, but won the war by dint of two factors. First, the terrain, and the possibility of retreating periodically into the wooded hillside, favoured them, in contrast to their relatively clumsy opponents. Second, the Mysore army could never maintain a permanent presence in the region, given the fact that the Wodeyar kingdom had several open frontiers.
The ruler was succeeded by his grandson, Chikka Virappa, whose unremarkable rule lasted until 1768, when Coorg was conquered by Haidar Ali
Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...
, the new sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
of Mysore.
Later history
In 1780, Coorg was invaded by Hyder Ali of Mysore and the state was annexed. For eight years, Coorg was a part of Mysore. In 1788, through British intervention, the Raja of Coorg regained his kingdom. He signed a treaty bringing Coorg under the protection of the British.
From 1790 to 1834, Coorg remained a protectorate of British India. In 1834, the then Raja of Coorg tried to shake off his allegiance to the British which resulted in the Coorg War
The Coorg War was fought between the British East India Company and the State of Coorg in 1834. Defiance of the Raja of Coorg (Chikka Virarajendra), a small state in South India, led to a short but bloody campaign in 1834. In February 1834, ...
. The state was eventually annexed and became the Coorg Province.
British rule
Under British rule, the natives of Coorg were encouraged to join the Indian army. Even today most of the soldiers from Karnataka are from this land.
Coorg is flooded with coffee estates it is the major attraction for tourists. Coffee plantations in the Coorg were introduced by the British government to boost the beauty of the place. Because of its eternal beauty, Coorg became one of the major tourist spots in south India with the best resorts like Coorgmisty
Coffeecadu estate stay
The windflower
and more.
Legacy
The present day Madikeri
Madikeri is a hill station town in Madikeri taluk and headquarters of Kodagu district in Karnataka, India.
Etymology
Madikeri was known as ''Muddu Raja Keri'', which meant Mudduraja's town, was named after the prominent Haleri king Muddura ...
was formerly known as ''Muddu raja keri'' (meaning Mudduraja's town) and was named after the prominent king, Mudduraja who ruled Coorg from 1633-1687. The present day Virajpet
The town of Virajpet also spelled as Virajapete is the second town of the district of Kodagu (Coorg), in Karnataka. It is the main town of the ''Virajpet taluka'', south of the district, in the Kerala-Karnataka border. The name is an abbreviatio ...
derived from ''Virarajendrapete'' was the town established by Haleri king Dodda Veerarajendra, after whose name the city derives its name.
Chikka Virarajendra
Chikavira Rajendra or Chikka Vira Rajendra (Kannada: , ''cika/cikka vīrarājendra'') (also in other variations, including Chikkaveera Rajendra), was the last ruler of the Kodagu (Coorg) kingdom in South India. His actual name was Vira Rajendra ...
was the last ruler of Coorg. Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
litterateur and Jnanpith Award
The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...
recipient, Masti Venkatesha Iyengar
Masti Venkatesha Iyengar (6 June 1891 – 6 June 1986) was a well-known writer in Kannada language. He was the fourth among Kannada writers to be honored with the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honor conferred in India. He was popularly re ...
, wrote a critically acclaimed book, ''Chikavira Rajendra'', based on the life and times of that ruler. King Dodda Veerarajendra built the Nalknad Palace
Nalknad Palace or Nalkunadu ( kn, ನಾಲ್ಕುನಾಡು ಅರಮನೆ, Nalkunadu / Nalnad aramane), called ''Naalnaad Aramane'' in the local Kodava language, is a palace located in the Kodagu district of the Indian state of Karnataka. ...
.
Gallery
Image:Edward Nash - Portrait of Mooda Maji of Coorg.jpg, A daughter of Dodda Vira Rajendra
Image:The temple tank of Omkareshwara Temple of Madikeri.jpg, Omkareshwara Temple built by King Linga Raja in Madikeri
File:Nalaknad_(6).jpg, Nalknad Palace
Nalknad Palace or Nalkunadu ( kn, ನಾಲ್ಕುನಾಡು ಅರಮನೆ, Nalkunadu / Nalnad aramane), called ''Naalnaad Aramane'' in the local Kodava language, is a palace located in the Kodagu district of the Indian state of Karnataka. ...
at Madikeri
Madikeri is a hill station town in Madikeri taluk and headquarters of Kodagu district in Karnataka, India.
Etymology
Madikeri was known as ''Muddu Raja Keri'', which meant Mudduraja's town, was named after the prominent Haleri king Muddura ...
File:Portrait of Chikka Veera Rajah, the last King of Coorg.jpg, Chikka Vira Rajendra, The last King of Coorg (circa 1805)
File:Princess Gouramma.jpg, Princess Gouramma, who would later become Victoria Gouramma, the daughter of Chikka Virarajendra
Chikavira Rajendra or Chikka Vira Rajendra (Kannada: , ''cika/cikka vīrarājendra'') (also in other variations, including Chikkaveera Rajendra), was the last ruler of the Kodagu (Coorg) kingdom in South India. His actual name was Vira Rajendra ...
, the last king of Coorg, was adopted to be taken care by Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
.
References
Citations
Bibliography
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Further reading
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{{Karnataka topics
History of Mysore
History of Kodagu district
History of Karnataka
Coorg