At the tip of the Indian Subcontinent, Venad was a former state traditionally ruled by rajas known as the Venattadis. It was a small Principality in the Ay Kingdom until the end of the 11th century AD. The Ays were the earliest ruling dynasty in southern Kerala, ruling over a region from Nagercoil in the south to Trivandrum in the north at their zenith. Their capital was in Aykudi during the first Sangam age and later at Quilon towards the end of the 8th century A.D. Though a series of attacks by the resurgent Pandyas triggered the decline of the Ays between the 7th and 8th centuries, the dynasty remained strong till the beginning of the 10th century.
When the Ay power diminished, Venad became the Second Chera Kingdom's Southernmost Principality. Kollam was destroyed in 1096 by an invasion of the Cholas into Venad. However, the capital of Chera, Mahodayapuram, also fell in the subsequent Chola attack which forced the King of Chera, Rama Varma Kulasekara, to move his capital to Kollam. Therefore, Rama Varma Kulasekara, the last emperor of the Chera dynasty, is possibly the founder of the Venad royal house, and the Chera kings' title, Kulasekara, was henceforth retained by Venad's rulers. Thus the end of the 12th century Second Chera dynasty marks Venad 's independence.
Travancore's history began with Marthanda Varma, who inherited the Kingdom of Venad (Thrippappur), and during his reign (1729–1758) expanded it to Travancore. After crushing a union of feudal lords and maintaining internal peace, during his 29-year reign, he extended the Kingdom of Venad through a series of military campaigns from Kanyakumari in the south to the Kochi borders in the north. This reign also included Travancore-Dutch War (1739–1753) between the Dutch East India Company, which had been affiliated with some of these kingdoms and Travancore.
Successor of Marthanda Varma, Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma (1758–1798), popularly known as Dharma Raja, moved the capital from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram in 1795. Dharma Raja 's time in Travancore 's history is considered a Golden Age. Not only did he retain his predecessor Marthanda Varma 's territorial gains but he also improved and promoted social development. He was greatly assisted by Raja Kesavadas, a very effective administrator who was Travancore's Diwan. Balarama Varma came after karthika thirunal.
On 27 February 1809, the forces of the East India Company defeated Paliath Achan in Cochin. Having surrendered to the East India Company, Paliath Achan was exiled to Madras and later to Benaras. Under Velu Thampi Dalawa the Company defeated forces in battles near Nagercoil and Kollam and inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels, after which many of its supporters deserted and returned to their homes.
The army of the allied East India Company and the soldiers from Travancore camped in Pappanamcode, just outside Trivandrum. Velu Thampi Dalawa has now organized a guerrilla war against the Company, but committed suicide to avoid the Travancore army being captured. Following the 1805 mutiny against Velu Thampi Dalawa, most of Travancore's Nair battalions had been disbanded, and following the uprising of Velu Thampi Dalawa, nearly all remaining Travancore forces were also disbanded, with the East India Company undertaking to serve the king in cases of external and internal aggression.
In 1936, Chithira Thirunal, Travancore's last king, issued the Temple Entry Proclamation, abolishing the ban on low caste people from entering Hindu Temples. Concurrently, C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, the Prime Minister of Chithira Thirunal, is recalled for the brutal repression of a Communist-organized popular uprising, known as the Punnapra-Vayalar Uprising.
The king of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal, issued a declaration of independence on June 18, 1947 when Britain accepted demands for a partition and announced its intention to quit India.
They decided in favor of accession to the Indian Union on July 23, 1947, pending the king's approval. An attempt by the Communists at assassination on the diwan on July 25, 1947 hastened Travancore State's accession to the Indian Union. On 1 July 1949 Travancore and the princely state of Cochin merged to form the Travancore-Cochin Indian state. Later, on 1 November 1956, Travancore-Cochin left the Madras State district of Malabar (modern day Tamil Nadu) to create the Indian state of Kerala.