1799
A PAN-ASIAN
PERSPECTIVE
ASIA
China
{7455/7456 – February 5}
Qianlong, the emperor of China, died. His favorite, the corrupt and
powerful Heshen who had dominated court life since 1779, was arrested and
forced to commit suicide.
On October 7, 1735, on the eve of the death of Hongli’s father, the Yongzheng emperor (r. 1722–35), Hongli was declared the heir apparent. In fact, in keeping with the wish of his grandfather, the Kangxi emperor (r. 1661–1722), Hongli had been secretly designated Yongzheng’s successor shortly after the latter had ascended the throne despite the fact that Hongli was the fourth-born son (he was, however, the eldest surviving son when he was actually named heir apparent). Kangxi had noticed the outstanding qualities of his grandson and had decided to do his best to prepare him for his future task. Hongli was given a carefully planned education, including the teachings of the eminent scholar Fumin. He then was initiated into affairs of state and, in 1733, was made a prince of the first degree. He ascended the throne on October 18, 1735, at the age of 24 (25 according to the Chinese system), and was to rule under the regnal title of Qianlong for more than 60 years.
Nearly six feet tall, Qianlong was of slender build, with an upright bearing that he kept even in old age. His vigorous constitution and love of the outdoors were widely admired. In private life, Qianlong was deeply attached to his first wife, the empress Xiaoxian, whom he had married in 1727 and by whom he had (in 1730) a son whom he wished to see as his successor but who died in 1738. His second wife, Ula Nara, was elevated to the dignity of empress in 1750, but in 1765 she renounced living at the court and retired to a monastery, doubtless because of a disagreement with the emperor. Qianlong had 17 sons and 10 daughters by his concubines.
In the 18th century, a considerable expansion of arable lands, a rapidly growing population, and good administration brought the Qing dynasty to its highest degree of power. Under Qianlong, China reached its widest limits. In the northeast, decisive results were achieved by successive military expeditions in 1755–60. Campaigns against the turbulent Turkish and Mongolian populations eliminated the danger of invasion that had always threatened the Chinese empire and culminated in the creation of the New Province (Xinjiang) in northwest China, which enlarged the empire by approximately 600,000 square miles (1,600,000 square km). In the south, campaigns were less successful, but Chinese authority was nonetheless reinforced by them. An anti-Chinese revolt at Lhasa, Tibet, was easily put down in 1752, and Qianlong tightened his grip on a Tibet where real power passed from the Dalai Lama to two Chinese high commissioners. This brought an end to incursions on the Tibetan frontiers by Gurkhas from Nepal (1790–92), who afterwards agreed to pay regular tribute to Beijing (the Qing capital). Campaigns against native tribes in rebellion from the west of Yunnan (in southwestern China) in 1748, then against Myanmar (Burmese) tribes in 1769, ended in failure, but new expeditions finally crushed the Yunnan rebels in 1776. Myanmar (Burma) itself, weakened by internal conflicts and by struggles with Siam (Thailand), agreed in 1788 to pay tribute to Beijing. In Annam (Vietnam), where rival factions were in dispute, the Chinese armies intervened in 1788–89, at first victoriously but later suffering heavy defeats. The new ruler of Hanoi was nevertheless willing to recognize that his kingdom was a tributary state. In the east, a serious rebellion on the island of Taiwan was crushed in 1787. The enormous cost of these expeditions seriously depleted the Chinese treasury’s once healthy finances.
Still more serious was the bad management, the extravagance, and the corruption that marked the last two decades of Qianlong’s reign and weakened the empire for some time to come. Qianlong was 65 years old when he noticed a young officer, Heshen, whom he was to make the most powerful person in the empire. In a few years, Heshen was given considerable responsibilities, and his son married the emperor’s favorite daughter. Under Heshen, who was intelligent but thirsty for power and wealth and completely without scruples, nepotism and corruption reached such a point, especially during Qianlong’s last years, that the dynasty was permanently harmed.
Qianlong maintained blind confidence in his favorite. The Jiaqing emperor, who succeeded Qianlong, had to wait for the old emperor’s death before he could have Heshen arrested, relieve him of all his responsibilities, order the confiscation of his property, and grant him the favor of a suicide by reason of his blood ties with the imperial family.
The role of Qianlong in the arts and letters of his time was probably a considerable one. Since it was customary to credit to the emperor many of the works produced in his reign by a variety of artists, it is impossible to determine the extent of Qianlong’s personal works, but it is clear that he wrote both prose and poetry and practiced calligraphy and painting.
Of greater significance is Qianlong’s sponsorship of a compilation of Chinese Classics. In 1772, Qianlong ordered that a choice be made of the most important texts in the four traditional divisions of Chinese learning—classical works, historical works, philosophical works, and belles lettres. The Siku-quanshu (“Complete Library in the Four Branches of Literature”) involved the scrutiny of entire libraries, both imperial and private, and was carried on for 10 years under the direction of the scholars Ji Yun and Lu Xixiong, the emperor himself intervening on several occasions in the choice of texts. Seven handwritten series of the 36,275 volumes of the Siku-quanshu were distributed, between 1782 and 1787, among the principal imperial palaces (Beijing, Jehol [Rehe, now Chengde], Mukden [now Shenyang], and Yuanmingyuan) or were placed in libraries open only to scholars. The descriptive catalog of Siku-quanshu remains an essential bibliographic guide for the study of classical Chinese literature.
However, this positive contribution to Chinese literature was accompanied by harsh censorship. In 1774, Qianlong ordered the expurgation or destruction of all seditious books—that is, all those containing anti-Manchu declarations or allusions. As the examinations of the works took place, an index was drawn up, and, between 1774 and 1788, provincial governors received renewed orders to have the public or private libraries in their provinces checked. It has been estimated that about 2,600 titles were ordered to be destroyed. Nevertheless, several hundred works were preserved because there happened to be a copy in a Japanese or Korean library or in the library of some influential Manchu. The Siku-quanshu itself was revised on several points after its completion, at the expense of the compilers, after the emperor had discovered in it some texts that he considered seditious.
The flowering of the arts that had occurred under the Kangxi and Yongzheng emperors continued with Qianlong. Architecture, painting, porcelain, and particularly jade and ivory work flourished with a final brilliance, for later Chinese artisans produced only for export.
Like his grandfather, Qianlong protected artists. He granted a reprieve to the excellent calligrapher Zhang Zhao, who was in prison awaiting execution (1736), and entrusted him with important functions. He was particularly appreciative of the painting talents of certain European missionaries who lived at the court, such as Castiglione and Jean-Denis Attiret. He also admired the knowledge and skill of the Jesuit fathers who constructed various machines and mechanical devices, though he regarded the latter as no more than a source of intellectual satisfaction and a means of creating amusing objects. Qianlong devoted great attention to the beautification of the Yuanmingyuan near Beijing. He was to reside there more and more often, and he considered the ensemble formed by its numerous pavilions, lakes, and gardens as the imperial residence par excellence. He increased the estate and erected new buildings. At his request, several Jesuit missionaries built residences and gardens in a modified Italian style (Baroque and Rococo—roughly corresponding with the 17th- and 18th-century architecture—but with Chinese roofs) around fountains like those of Versailles in France.
Qianlong maintained China’s traditional attitude to the outside world. The excellent personal relationships that he enjoyed with the Jesuits residing in Beijing did nothing to modify the imperial reserve regarding Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholic preaching remained officially forbidden after the “Rites Controversy”—a quarrel over the compatibility of ancestor worship with Roman Catholicism—that pitted the pope’s legate against the Kangxi emperor at the beginning of the 18th century. Although the work of the missionaries continued to be tolerated in the provinces, it frequently met with strong hostility from the local authorities, and the total number of congregations declined greatly. The British authorities later tried in vain to widen commercial contacts with China, but these remained confined to the port of Guangzhou (Canton). A mission extraordinary led by Lord Macartney was received by the emperor in September 1793, but the demands it presented were rejected.
After having reigned for 60 years, Qianlong, out of respect for Kangxi, whose reign had lasted 61 years, announced on October 15, 1795, that he was designating his fifth son, Yongyan, to succeed him. On February 9, 1796, the Chinese New Year, the new reign took the title of Jiaqing, but the customs of the years of the Qianlong reign were upheld in the palace until the death of the old emperor. He had, in fact, held real power until this time, which makes his actual reign the longest in all Chinese history. His tomb, located to the northeast of Beijing, is called Yuling.
The
reign of Jiaqing began. He attacked
corruption, cut government expenses, and attempted administrative reforms. His era saw a temporary lessening of tensions
with the west, as Europe was caught up in the Napoleonic Wars. His reign ended in 1820.
Gu Taiqing (1799-c. 1876), a Chinese poet, was born. {See A Female Perspective.}
*Yang Lu-ch’an (1799-1872), a Chinese martial arts master and founder of the Yang style tai chi chuan, was born.
Yang Lu-ch'an or Yang Luchan (1799-1872), also known as Yang Fu-k'ui (Yáng Fúkuí), was born in Kuang-p'ing (Guangping). He was an influential teacher of the soft style martial art tai chi chuan in China during the second half of the 19th century. He is known as the founder of Yang style tai chi chuan.
Yang Lu Chan’s family was a poor farming/worker class family from Hebei Province, Guangping Prefecture, Yongnian County. Yang would follow his father in planting the fields and, as a teenager, held temporary jobs. One period of temporary work was spent doing odd jobs at the Tai He Tang Chinese pharmacy located in the western part of Yongnian City, opened by Chen De Hu of the Chen Village in Henan Province, Huaiqing Prefecture, Wenxian County. As a child, Yang liked martial arts and studied Chang Chuan, gaining a certain level of skill.One day Yang reportedly witnessed one of the partners of the pharmacy utilizing a style of martial art that he had never seen before to easily subdue a group of would-be thieves. Because of this, Yang requested to study with the pharmacy's owner, Chen De Hu. Chen referred Yang to the Chen Village to seek out his own teacher—the 14th generation of the Chen Family, Ch'en Chang-hsing.
After mastering the martial art, Yang Lu Chan was subsequently given permission by his teacher to go to Beijing and teach his own students, including Wu Yu-hsiang and his brothers, who were officials in the Imperial Qing dynasty bureaucracy. In 1850, Yang was hired by the Imperial family to teach Taijiquan to them and several of their élite Manchu Imperial Guards Brigade units in Beijing's Forbidden City. Among this group was Yang's best known non-family student, Wu Ch'uan-yü. This was the beginning of the spread of Taijiquan from the family art of a small village in central China to an international phenomenon. Due to his influence and the number of teachers he trained, including his own descendants, Yang is directly acknowledged by 4 of the 5 Taijiquan families as having transmitted the art to them.
After emerging from Chenjiagou, Yang became famous for never losing a match and never seriously injuring his opponents. Having refined his martial skill to an extremely high level, Yang Lu Chan came to be known as Yang Wu Di (Yang the Invincible). In time, many legends sprang up around Yang's martial prowess. These legends would serve as the basis for various biographical books and movies.
When Yang Lu Chan first taught in Yung Nien, his art was referred to as Mien Quan (Cotton Fist) or Hua Quan (Neutralising Fist). Whilst teaching at the Imperial Court, Yang met many challenges, some friendly some not. But he invariably won and in so convincingly using his soft techniques that he gained a great reputation.
Many who frequented the imperial households would come to view his matches. At one such gathering in which Yang had won against several reputable opponents, the scholar Ong Tong He was present. Inspired by the way Yang moved and executed his techniques, Ong felt that Yang's movements and techniques expressed the physical manifestation of the principles of Taiji (the philosophy). Thereafter, Yang’s art was referred to as Taijiquan and the styles that sprang from his teaching and by association with him was called Taijiquan.
***
*Heshen
(1750-1799), an infamous Chinese courtier, died (February 22).
At the age of 25, Heshen was an imperial bodyguard. His handsome features, affable manner, and clever wit made a great impression on the 65-year-old emperor. Within a year, Heshen had assumed the highest ministerial positions in the empire and had gained control of the disbursement of revenue and the recruitment of personnel. His son was married to the emperor’s youngest and favorite daughter.
When the Bailian Jiao (White Lotus Society) revolted in central and western China in 1796, Heshen was put in charge of suppressing the rebels. Together with several of his friends, he prolonged the campaign and channeled much of the money for the war effort into their own pockets. As a result, the troops took to looting the populace, and the authority of the dynasty was severely undermined.
With the death of the Qianlong emperor in 1799, Heshen was removed from power, capable generals were appointed, and in 1804, after five more years of fighting, the rebellion was brought to an end. In 1799, Qianlong’s successor, the Jiaqing emperor (r. 1796–1820), had Heshen arrested and forced him to commit suicide. The official records, which may have been somewhat exaggerated by Heshen’s enemies, claimed that the wealth confiscated from his estate included 60,000,000 ounces of silver, 75 pawnshops, 70,000 furs, and a gold service of 4,288 pieces.
Luo
Ping (1733-1799), a Qing dynasty painter, died. {See A Humanist Perspective.}
India
{1720/1721 – April 6}
Ranjit
Singh (r. 1793-1839) began his conquest of northern Sikh territories with the
capture of Lahore from Afghanistan and campaigned into the northern hill
kingdoms. His army of forty thousand
included many European mercenaries.
Sikh power reached its zenith during Ranjit Singh’s
reign. By 1809, he controlled most of
Punjab, consolidating his rule with Mughal administrative structures and
reviving Punjabi agriculture and commerce, especially its trade in salt, grain,
and textiles.
The
Carnatic (modern Karnataka) and Mysore, India, were placed under British
administration.
The
Kingdom of Mysore was divided between Britain and Hyderabad. {See
also A Muslim Perspective.}
The
British imposed censorship on newspapers to control dissemination of
information about wars.
Jalaram
Bapa, a Hindu saint, was born. {See A
Hindu Perspective.}
Raghunatha Tondaiman (1799-1839), a ruler of the princely state of
Pudukkottai, was born.
Raghunatha Tondaiman (1799 - 1839) was the ruler of the princely state of Pudukkottai from June 1825 to July 13, 1829. Raghunatha Tonadiman was conferred with the title His Excellency by the British Government. He planned in 1830 to bring the Cauvery water to Pudukkottai through a new canal but could not succeed due to paucity of funds. Raghunatha Tondaiman was succeeded by his son.
Veerapandiya
Kattabomman, an Indian chieftain who fought the British, died.
Veerapandiya Kattabomman, also known as Kattabomman, fought against the British. He was an 18th century Indian polygar chieftain from Panchalankurichi of Tamil Nadu who belonged to the Telugu speaking KAVARA caste.His ancestors migrated from areas in present day Karnataka like Bellary during the Vijayanagar period. Kattabomma Naicker was one of the earliest to oppose British rule. He waged a war with the British six decades before Indian War of Independence which occurred in 1857 in Northern parts of India. After a bloody war with the British he was captured by the British and was hanged in 1799. His fort was destroyed and his wealth was looted by the British army. Today Panchalankurichi is a historically important place in the present day Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu state, India.
Veerapandiya Kattabomman was born to Jagaveera Kattabomman and Arumugattammal on January 3, 1760. He had two younger brothers Dalavai Kumarasami and Duraisingam. Veerapandiyan was fondly called ‘Karuthaiah’ (the black prince) and Dalavai Kumarasami was nicknamed ‘Sevathaiah’ (the white prince) and since Duraisingam was a good orator he was nicknamed ‘Oomaithurai’ meaning the dumb (speech impaired) Prince. The name could be attributed as VEERAM in Tamil means Bravery and Veerajakkadevi a Hindu God worshiped by his family.
Azhagiya Veerapandiapuram (Ottapidaram of today) was ruled by Jagaveera Pandiyan. He had a minister Bommu, also a brave warrior, who had migrated from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu during the Vijaynagar times. He was known as Gettibommulu in Telugu after the god Sastha Ayyanam Swamy to describe his strength and fighting qualities which over a period of time, became Kattabomman in Tamil. Kattabomman ascended the throne after Jagaveera Pandiyan, who had no issue, as Adi Kattabomman, the first of the clan of Kattabomman.
Legend has it that during a hunting trip into the forests of Salikulam (close to Azhagiya Pandiyapuram) one of the Kattabommans was amazed to see a hare chasing seven hounds. Believing that the land possessed the power to instill courage in his people, he built his fort there and named it Panchalankurichi.
On February 2, 1790, Veerapandiyan, 30, became the king of Panchalankurichi as Veera Pandia Kattabomman supposedly the 47th ruler of the region and the 5th ruler from the Kattabomman clan and a Palya-karrar (or Polygar) of the Madurai Nayak kingdom.
Following its collapse in the mid-16th century, the Tamil governors of the Vijayanagara Empire broke away from the empire and established independent kingdoms. The old Pandiya country came to be governed by Naicker rulers in Madurai, who in turn divided their territories into 72 Palayams. These 72 Palayams were franchised to Palayakarrars (Tamil word) or Polygars or Poligars (a British Term), who had to administer their territories, collect taxes, run the local judiciary, and maintain a battalion of troops on behalf of the Naicker rulers of Madurai. Their function was a mixture of military governance and civil administration.
The regional/local chieftains and rulers who were earlier subordinates to the Madurai Kings became Polygars (or Palaya-karrar).
The Nayak rule in Madurai which controlled the entire West Tamil Nadu after two centuries came to an abrupt end in 1736 when Chanda Sahib of Arcot seized the Madurai throne from the last queen of Madurai in an act of treason. Chanda Sahib was later killed after the Carnatic Wars and the territory came under the Nawab of Arcot. The Palaya-karrars of the old Madurai country refused to recognize the new Muslim rulers driving the Nawab of Arcot to bankruptcy, who also indulged in lavishes like building palaces before sustaining his authority in the region.
Finally the Nawab resorted to borrowing huge sums from the British East India Company, erupting as a scandal in the British Parliament. The Nawab of Arcot finally gave the British the right to collect taxes and levies from the southern region in lieu of the money he had borrowed. The East India Company took advantage of the situation and plundered all the wealth of the people in the name of tax collection. They even leased the country in 1750’s to a savage warrior Muhammed Yusuf Khan (alias Marutha Nayagam), who defeated and killed many of the Polygars and later got himself killed by the Arcot - British forces.
Many of the Polygars submitted, with the exception of Katta-bomman and a few others who formed an alliance with the Maruthu Brothers of Sivagangai.
Kattabomman refused to pay his dues and for a long time refused to meet Jackson Durai the Collector of the East India Company. Finally, he met Jackson at Ramalinga Vilasam, the palace of Sethupathi of Ramanathapuram. The meeting turned violent and ended in a skirmish in which the Deputy Commandant of the Company’s forces, Clarke was slain. Kattabomman and his men fought their way to freedom and safety, but Thanapathi Pillai, Kattabomman’s secretary was taken prisoner.
The Commission of Enquiry that went into the incident fixed the blame on Jackson and relieved him of his post, thinking the Company’s plan to take over the entire country gradually could be marred by Jackson’s fight with Veerapandiya Kattabomman.
The new Collector of Tirunelveli wrote to Kattabomman calling him for a meeting on March 16, 1799. Kattabomman wrote back citing the extreme drought conditions for the delay in the payment of dues and also demanded that all that was robbed off him at Ramanathapuram be restored to him. The Collector wanted the ruling house of Sethupathis to prevent Kattabomman from aligning himself with the enemies of the Company and decided to attack Kattabomman.
The British also instigated his long time feuding neighbor Ettayapuram Poligar to make provocative wars over Kattabomman on their long pending territorial disputes.
Kattabomman refused to meet the Collector and a fight broke out. Under Major Bannerman, the army stood at all the four entrances of Panchalankurichi’s fort. At the southern end, Lieutenant Collins was on the attack. When the fort’s southern doors opened, Kattabomman and his forces audaciously attacked the corps stationed at the back of his fort, and slew their commander Lieutenant Collins.
The British after suffering heavy losses, decided to wait for reinforcements and heavy artillery from Palayamkottai. Sensing that his fort could not survive a barrage from heavy cannons, Kattabomman left the fort that night.
A price was set on Kattabomman’s head. Thanapathi Pillai and 16 others were taken prisoners. Thanapathi Pillai was executed and his head perched on a bamboo pole was displayed at Panchalankurichi to demoralise the fighters. Soundra Pandian Nayak, another rebel leader, was brutally done to death by having his head dashed against a village wall.
Veerapandiya Kattabomman hid in so many places including Thirumayam, Virachilai and finally stayed at Kolarpatti at Rajagopala Naicker’s house where the forces surrounded the house. Kattabomman and his aides fled from there and took refuge in the Thirukalambur forests close to Pudukkottai. Bannerman ordered the Raja of Pudukkottai to arrest Kattabomman. Accordingly, Kattabomman was captured and on October 16, 1799 the case was taken up (nearly three weeks after his arrest near Pudukkottai).
After a summary trial, Kattabomman was hanged unceremoniously on a Tamarind tree in Kayathar (near Thirunelveli). Some of the other noteworthy persons who were hanged along with Kattabomman were Veeraghechayan Naicker, Dali Ethalappa Naicker and Palayakarrars of Kaadalkudi, Nagalapuram Puthur, Vripachy, and Sivagangai.
The Fort of Panchalankurichi was razed to the ground and all of Kattabomman’s wealth was looted by the English soldiers. A few years later, after the second Polygar war, the site of the captured fort was ploughed up and sowed with castor oil and salt so that it should never again be inhabited by the orders of the colonial government.
In subsequent years, a good deal of legend and folklore developed around Kattabomman and the Marudu Brothers. Kayatharu, where Kattabomman was executed, has remained a place of political pilgrimage.
Kattabomman became thus the pivot of the emerging feeling of Tamil nationhood. His story is celebrated in many legends and epic poetry in Tamil. Kattabomman is today recognized by the government as one of the earliest independence fighters opposing the British and has been hailed as the inspiration behind the first battle of independence of 1857, which the British called the Sepoy Mutiny.
In 1974, the
Government of Tamil Nadu constructed a new Memorial fort. The Memorial Hall has
beautiful paintings on the walls depicting the heroic deeds of the saga which
gives a good idea about the history of the period. A cemetery of British
soldiers are also seen near the fort.
The remnants of the old fort are protected by the Archaeological Survey
of India.
At Kayathar, near
Tirunelveli on the present day NH7, the place where Kattabomman was hanged, there
is a memorial for him.
To commemorate the
bicentennial of his execution on October 16, 1799, the Government of India
brought out a postage stamp in Kattabomman’s his honour.
India's premier
communication nerve center of the Indian Navy, at Vijayanarayanam, is named as
INS Kattabomman
Veerapandia
Kattabomman Panpattu Kazhagam (Veerapandia Kattabomman Cultural association) is
an organization named in Kattabomman’s honor.
The district
administration celebrates `Veerapandia Kattabomman festival' at Panchalankurichi
on his anniversaries.
Much of the modern currency of the legend of Kattabomman comes from the 1959 motion picture starring Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan in lead role portraying the life of Veerapandiya Kattabomman. The Movie was directed by B.R. Panthulu and Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan got a wide international recognition and earned many international awards for his electrifying performance and is one movie the Thespian is most remembered for in his 45 years in filmdom. The film received rave reviews and adjudjed the best film at the Cairo International Film Festival and Sivaji received the best actor prize from Col. Nasser, the then president of Egypt.
Raja
Kesavadas (1745-1799), the Dewan of Travancore, died (April 21).
Raja Kesavadas (March 17, 1745 – April 21, 1799) was the Dewan of
Travancore during the reign of Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma.
He was born Raman Kesava Pillai, nephew of Raman Pillai, in a small hamlet called Kunnattoor, at the Keertimangalam House on March 17, 1745, in Travancore. Amongst the Nair community who followed a matrilineal system, it was the uncle's name which was used as a prefix. Although he did not receive a formal education, through his formidable talent, he was employed by a local merchant Poku Moosa Marackar as a tally clerk.
Kesava impressed the King with his behavior during a visit of the Marackar to the Palace. The king gave him a job in his administrative staff. Kesava Pillai climbed the lower rungs of the official ladder and in 1789 he was appointed as the Dewan of Travancore. He was given the title Rajah by the British Governor Mornington, in appreciation of his administrative talents. It is said that out of humility he linked his name with the word Dasan (servant) and liked to be called Rajah Dasan (servant of the King), but the name Raja Kesavadas stuck.
It was under Raja Kesavadas' direct command that a comparatively small army humbled and defeated the invading army of Tipu Sultan near the Nedumkotta.
Raja Kesavadas is considered the chief architect of Alapuzha town. The area which Alapuzha now occupies was once a coastal area which was uninhabited and filled with large weeded plants. He found Alapuzha to be a good location for a port. He constructed two parallel canals for bringing goods to the port. For the building of Alapuzha town he was ably assisted by one of his ministers, Thachil Matthoo Tharakan. Raja Kesavadas offered infrastructural facilities to merchants and traders from Surat, Mumbai and Kachchh to start industrial enterprises and trading and cargo centers. Alapuzha attained progress and became the financial nerve center of Travancore during his time.
He also constructed the Main Central Road (now State Highway No.1) from Thiruvananthapuram to Karukutty, near Angamaly which is still the main road in the hinterland areas of Kerala. The originating junction of this road - Kesavadasapuram - is derived from his name.
The continuous threat of attack from Tipu Sultan made Raja Kesavadas request that the King send a request for British help. This request for help finally allowed the British to have control of the kingdom and later led to the installation of a regent under British rule (although this happened after Raja Kesavadas’ death). Raja Kesavadas’ tenure as Dewan ended with demise of Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal in 1798. Balarama Varma, his successor (aged fourteen) became the crown prince. Raja Kesavadas was subsequently proclaimed to be a traitor and kept under house arrest. Later his family assets were confiscated and he was poisoned to death on April 21, 1799.
Ningthou Ching-Thang Khomba [Bhagya Chandra] (1748-1799), a Manipuri
monarch who invented the Ras Lila dance – the “Dance of Divine Love”, died. {See A
Hindu Perspective.}
Paremmakkal
Thoma Kathanar (1736-1799), the author of Varthamanapusthakam,
the first travelogue in the Indian language and the Administrator of the
Archdiocese of Cranganore, died (March 20). {See A Humanist Perspective.}
Ram
Charan Maharaj (1720-1799), the founder of a unique religious tradition called
Ram Snehi Sampradaya, died. {See A
Hindu Perspective.}
Rani Velu Nachiyar, the first
Tamil Queen to fight against the British, is believed to have died in this
year. {See A Female Perspective.}
Sundaralinga Kudumbanar, a
military leader who fought the British East India Company, died.
Sundaralinga Kudumbanar (d. 1799), also known as "Veeran" Sundaralingam, was an 18th century (of the Christian calendar) general from Tamil Nadu, India. He was born in Gavarnagiri village in Tuticorin district. He was a general of the Poligar Veerapandiya Kattabomman in his fight against the British East India Company. He belonged to the Pallar (Devendra Kula Vellalar) community. According to a majority of the accepted historical accounts, he was killed in 1799, while fighting for Kattabomman during the First Polygar War. Another view is that he was killed in the Second Polygar War (1800-1) while assisting Kattabomman's younger brother Oomaithurai. In recent years he has been claimed by the Pallar caste based political party Puthiya Tamizhagam as their cultural icon. In 1997, when the Government of Tamil Nadu tried to rename a division of the state owned bus transport corporation based in southern Tamil Nadu, caste clashes broke out because of the objection of Mukkulathors. This led to the government dropping the names of all leaders and personalities from the names of districts and state owned companies of Tamil Nadu. In 2009, the Tamil Nadu government issued a policy note to build a memorial for Sundaralingam at Gavarnagiri.
Japan
{2458/2459 – February 5}
The shogunate established direct
control over Ezo (southern Hokkaido).
Hanaya Yohei (1799-1858), a Japanese culinary innovator known for his
development of sushi, was born. {See A
Humanist Perspective.}
Tanaka Hisashige (1799-1881),
a Japanese engineer and inventor whose engineering firm was the precursor to
Toshiba Corporation, was born. {See A Humanist Perspective.}
Maeda Toshiyasu (1799-1859), a Japanese
naturalist, was born. {See A Humanist Perspective.}
Makino Tadamasa
(1799-1858), a Japanese daimyo, was born (December 2).
Makino Tadamasa (December 2, 1799-November 30, 1858) was a Japanese
daimyo (territorial lord) of the Edo period. The Makino were identified as one
of the fudai or insider daimyō clans which were hereditary vassels or allies of
the Tokugawa clan, in contrast with the tozama or outsider clans.
The fudai Makino clan originated in 16th century Mikawa province. Their elevation in status by Toyotomi Hideyoshi dates from 1588. They claim descent from Takechiuchi no Sukune, who was a legendary statesman and lover of the legendary Empress Jingu.
Tadamasa was part of the senior branch of the Makino which was established at Tako Domain in Kōzuke province in 1590. In 1616, their holdings were moved to Nagamine Domain in Echigo province. From 1618 through 1868, this branch of the Makino remained at Nagaoka Domain (74,000 koku) in Echigo province.
Tadamasa was the 10th-generation head of this senior line of the Makino. The head of this clan line was ennobled as a "Viscount" in the Meiji period.
Tadamasa served as the Tokugawa Shogunate's forty-eighth Kyoto shoshidai (Shogun’s deputy) in the period spanning February 15, 1840 through December 23, 1843.
Tadamasa held a variety of positions in the Tokugawa shogunate, including rōjū (elder). A staunch supporter of Abe Masahiro, when Tadamasa became a rōjū, he was placed in charge of organizing coastal defenses. He resigned shortly after Hotta Masayoshi replaced the recently deceased Abe. Tadamasa himself died the following year.
Ota Sukemoto (1799-1867), a Japanese daimyo, was born (August 28).
Ōta Sukemoto (August 28, 1799 - June 20, 1867) was the 5th Ōta daimyō of Kakegawa Domain in Tōtōmi Province, (modern-day Shizuoka Prefecture) in late-Edo period and Bakumatsu period Japan and a high-level office holder within the Tokugawa shogunate. His courtesy title was Dewa-no-kami.
Ōta Sukemoto was the third son of Hotta Masazane, the daimyō of Omi-Miyagawa Domain. He married the daughter of Ōta Suketoki, and was adopted as head of the Ōta clan and daimyō of Kakegawa Domain on Suketoki’s death in 1810. At the time, he was only eleven years old.
Under Shogun Tokugawa Ienari, Ota Sukemoto was appointed as Jisha-bugyō on July 17, 1822 and Osaka jōdai on November 22, 1828, followed by the post of Kyoto Soshidai (official Shogunal representative to the Court in Kyoto) from July 4, 1831 through May 19, 1834).
On May 6, 1837 Ōta Sukemoto became a Rōjū (Senior Councilor), in which position he often clashed with senior Rōjū Mizuno Tadakuni over the provisions of the unpopular Tenpo Reform, especially the Agechi-rei which was to have daimyō in the vicinity of Edo and Ōsaka surrender their holdings for equal amounts of land elsewhere, thereby consolidating Tokugawa control over these strategically vital areas. After Mizuno was deposed from office, Sukemoto promoted the interests of Tokugawa Nariaki. However, one of Nariaki’ first actions was to replace Sukemoto, who was asked to retire on July 20, 1841.
On his forced retirement, Sukemoto turned the Kakegawa domain over to his eldest son Ōta Sukekatsu. However, upon Shogun Tokugawa Ienari’s death, he returned to serve as rōjū again from June 23, 1858 through July 23, 1859 together with Matsudaira Noriyasu and Manabe Akikatsu. He returned again for a brief third term from April 27-May 14, 1863.
Sukemoto died on June 20, 1867. His grave is at the Ōta clan temple of Myōhokke-ji in Mishima, Shizuoka.
Asada
Goryu (1734-1799), a Japanese astronomer, died (June 25). {See A Humanist Perspective.}
Konoe
Tsunehiro (1761-1799), a kugyo (Japanese court noble), died.
Konoe Tsunehiro (1761-1799), son of regent Uchisaki, was a kugyō or Japanese court noble of the Edo period (1603–1868). Konoe Motosaki was his son. He also adopted a daughter of Satsuma Shigehide, eighth head of Satsuma Domain, who later became a consort of shogun Tokugawa Ienari.
Sri
Lanka
The
Supreme Court was established.
Torture
was prohibited in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
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