Varma. The Dutch commander van Gollenesse believed that Marthanda Varma would soften his bargaining position if defeated in a battle. In July 1742, the Dutch factors in India received the news that van Imhoff would be arriving in India with a large force. However, van Imhoff's forces did not actually arrive in India. In August 1742, he sought arms and soldiers from the Dutch East India Company's Supreme Government at Batavia, stating that if this support was not provided, he would have to sign a peace treaty with Travancore on terms unfavourable to the Company. Meanwhile, Marthanda Varma had received news about the alleged impending arrival of van Imhoff's forces, and therefore, he retreated to his core territory, and started peace negotiations with the Dutch. He contacted the rulers of Cochin and Tekkumkur, asking them to mediate the Dutch and Travancore. Meanwhile, the Company's Supreme Government ordered the Dutch Command at Malabar to negotiate peace with the Travancore instead of military action. Therefore, the Dutch also requested the kings of Cochin and Tekkumkur to initiate negotiations with Travancore. However, these rulers believed that the peace between the Dutch and Travancore would be detrimental to their interests, and were unwilling to work towards such a peace negotiation. Therefore, the Dutch opened direct negotiations with Travancore, and Mavelikkara was chosen as the venue for the meeting. Marthanda Varma sent his envoy Krishna Annavy to Mavelikkara, while the Dutch were represented by Ezckiel Rahabi and Silvester Mendes, the captain of the Topasses. Meanwhile, because van Imhoff's forces did not arrive, the Dutch were unable to provide Kollam with reinforcements. Therefore, the ruler of Kollam and Kayamkulam agreed to become a tributary of Marthanda Varma, and signed a treaty to this effect in September 1742, at Mannar. The ruler ceded much of his territory to Marthanda Varma, and agreed to pay him an annual tribute of an elephant and 1,000 rupees. The negotiations at Mavelikkara progressed well, and on 6 January 1743, the English factors at Anchuthengu expressed hope that peace would be established between the Dutch and Travancore. However, by this time, Marthanda Varma learned that van Imhoff had not yet departed from Europe. He dragged on negotiations until he became certain that van Imhoff's arrival in Kerala had been postponed. He then assumed a tough bargaining position, and refused to approve that his representatives had agreed to at Mavelikkara. When the Dutch