Eustachius De Lannoy

Eustachius Benedictus de Lannoy^{[needs IPA]} (also sometimes called 'Captain De Lannoy') (30 December 1715 – 1 June 1777, Udayagiri Fort) was a skilled military strategist and commander of the Travancore army, under Maharaja Marthanda Varma.^[1]

De Lannoy, originally a Dutch naval officer, arrived with a Dutch naval force at Colachel in 1741 sent by the Dutch East India Company, or Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) with the objective of instituting a trading post for the company at Colachel. The company was the world's first joint-stock company and was the largest multinational company. It was a very rich corporation and had its own naval fleet to protect its trade and maritime establishments.^[2]

In order to establish the trade post, the Dutch force had to engage the Travancore army. They subsequently defeated the Dutch naval force at the Battle of Colachel.^[1]

De Lannoy, who was captured in the battle, subsequently earned the trust of the king, Maharaja Marthanda Varma, who made him an officer in the Travancore military.^[1] De Lannoy trained the army on European lines and, in the course of time, became a valiant and successful commander of the same army that had defeated his Dutch forces. Captain de Lannoy, who joined his service, was promoted to the Senior Admiral (Valiya Kappithan), and modernised the Travancore army by introducing firearms and artillery.^[3]

His role as military commander of the Travancore army was instrumental in the later military successes and exploits of Travancore under Maharaja Marthanda Varma^[1] and Dharmaraja.

Though he served the Dutch, the origin of Captain de Lannoy was from France. He was part of the Delano family or de Lannoy family.^[4]