City History  The present Thiruvananthapuram district was part
of the erstwhile Travancore State. According to historical
records, the State of Travancore was divided into three
administrative units during the reign of Maharaja Rama Varma
(a.d.1758-1798) – Vadakkemukkom, Patinjaremukhom and
Tekkemukkom. Tekkemukhom roughly corresponds to the present
district of Thiruvananthapuram, also one of the most preferred
holiday destination in Kerala.  The history of modern Travancore
begins with Marthanda Varma who inherited the Kingdom of Venad
and expanded Travancore by conquering kingdoms Attingal, Kollam,
Kayamkulam, Kottarakara, Kottayam, Changanassery, Meenachil,
Poonjar and Ambalapuzha. Marthanda Varma defeated the Dutch in
the Battle of Colachel [1741]. He captured the Dutch Admiral who
was later on appointed as the Senior Admiral it was he who
modernised the Travancore army by introducing firearms and
artillery. The kingdom of Travancore was dedicated by Marthanda
Varma to his deity Sri. Padmanabha (Lord Vish