the assassination of the ambassador of the Resident in the court. The Maharajah had communicated his discontent with the Dalawa to this ambassador, Sthanapathy Subba Iyer, and this information was known to the Maharajahs wife, Arumana Amma, a noblewomen of the Arumana Ammaveedu family. She was a lady of influence, who apparently communicated Royal secrets to the Dalawa, and she informed the Dalawa of the Maharajah's intention to dismiss him, with support from the Resident. This increased the anger of the Dalawa against the British who felt that the Resident, in addition to demanding impossible amounts of money and had now started interfering with the internal affairs of the state.. Following this, Subba Iyer, the envoy of the Resident, who had met up with the Dalawa for discussions, was found dead, ostensibly due to a snake bite. At the same time, in the neighbouring Kingdom of Cochin, Paliyath Govindan Achan, the powerful Dalawa of Cochin, was involved in feuds with some of the other ministers. He had the commander-in-chief and a previous minister seized and drowned in the river at Chanamangalom and attempted to kidnap his rival and sworn enemy, the finance minister Nadavarampathu Kunju Krishna Menon. The Maharajah of Cochin was forced to give Nadavarampathu Kunju Krishna Menon refuge in his own palace at Vellarapilli and then sent for Col. Macaulay and requested him to protect Kunju Krishna Menon. Col. Macaulay took Kunju Krishna Menon to Cochin under his protection. The Paliyath Achan then decided to kill both Kunju Krishna Menon and as well his protector Col. Macaulay. Insurrection Velu Thampi Dalawa and the Paliath Achan, Govindan Menon, met and decided on the extirpation of the British Resident and end of British supremacy in their respective states. Dalawa Velu Thampi organised recruits, strengthened forts and stored up ammunition while similar preparations was made by the Paliath Achan in Cochin. Velu Thampi appealed to the Zamorin of Calicut and to the French for assistance, but both did not acknowledge the request. The plan of the Paliath Achan and Velu Thampi was to unitedly attack the Fort of Cochin and murder the British Resident Col. Macaulay and Kunju Krishna Menon. Under the leadership of Vaikom Padmanabha Pillai, troops from the garrisons at Alleppey, Alangad and Paravoor were transferred stealthily through the backwaters in covered boats to Kalvathy where they met up with four thousand of Paliyath Achan's followers. On the night