Eustachius Benedictus de Lannoy (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. 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 Kolachal. 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. The Dutch force had to engage the Travancore Army; however, was defeated at the Battle of Colachel by the Travancore army. 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. De Lannoy trained the Travancore army on European lines and, in the course of time, became a valiant and successful commander of the very same foreign 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. His role as military commander of the Travancore army was instrumental in the later military successes and exploits of Travancore under Maharaja Marthanda Varma 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 and is an ancestor of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Early life De Lannoy was born on December 30, 1715, in Arras, France. He belonged to the de Lannoy family, an immigrant noble family from the Franco-Belgian border town of Lannoy. He was a Roman Catholic and early in his life he joined the Dutch East India Company. Over time, he became an expert in constructions for fortifications. He arrived in Colombo, Ceylon (present Sri Lanka) in 1737, where General Imhoff was stationed. General Imhoff had a liking towards De Lannoy and he took him to Travancore in 1739. Battle of Colachel Background The Dutch East India company wanted to acquire and monopolize the trade of pepper and other spices, which was sourced from the Kingdom of Kayamkulam and sold in the European markets