There were two important reasons for the eclipse of the Dutch; the rise of Travancore in the southern part of Kerala, with imperialist designs under Martands Varma and the appearance of rival European powers, mainly the English. The Dutch defeat at the hands of Martanda Varma shattered their prestige irrecoverably. They could no longer instill confidence in the minds of the warring chieftains who used to approach them for assistance both military and political.

Gradually the English gained strength partly by the cooperation of local powers and partly by the unsparing support from their mother country. The superior military power and diplomatic success of the English very soon put the Dutch on the defensive. The introduction of economy measures in the military expenditure of the Dutch Company too hastened their decline further.

They were unscrupulous in political dealings, evading treaty obligations whenever they proved inconvenient to them and insisting on treaty rights favourable to them only. The impervious attitude of the Dutch and their authoritarian interference in the internal politics of Cochin brought on them the contempt and hatred of many a local power. By 1825 the Dutch completely ceased to be a power in South India, where the English got, by strategy and show of force gradually but systematically, themselves established in almost all major commercial centers.