Kottayam literally means the interior of a fort  Kotta+Akam. Rulers of  Munjanad and Thekkumkur had their head quarters at Thazhathangadi in the present Kottayam town. Marthanda Varma of Travancore attacked Thekkumkur and destroyed the palace and the Thaliyil fort. The remnants of palaces and forts are still seen here.

         The present Kottayam district was previously a part of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. Earlier, the Travancore State consisted of two revenue divisions viz., the southern and northern divisions, under the administrative control of a 'Diwan Peshkar' for each. Later in 1868 two more divisions Quilon (Kollam) and Kottayam were constituted. The fifth division Devikulam came next but for a short period, which in course of time, was added to Kottayam. At the time of the integration of the State of Travancore and Cochin (Kochi) in 1949, these revenue divisions were renamed as districts and the Diwan Peshkars gave way to District Collectors, making the birth of the Kottayam District in July 1949.

        The beginning of the ninth Century A.D is the age of the Kula- sekharas. At that time, Kottayam was a part of the Vempolinad, which belonged to the Kulasekhara Empire (1090 - 1102 A.D.). The Vembanad lake itself derives its name from Vempolinad.The Kingdom of Vempolinad split itself into the Kingdom of Thekkumkur and Vadakkumkur by about 1100 A.D. and later these two kingdoms were annexed by Marthanda- Varma of Travancore between 1749 and1754. The Portuguese and the Dutch had their business relations with both Thekkumkur and Vadakkumkur Kingdoms, pepper and other spices being the main attractions. In addition to Thekkumkur and Vadakkumkur, Marthanda Varma brought two more small principalities in Kottayam under his control - Poonjar and Meenachil.

        After Marthanda Varma Dharma Raja (1758-1798) placed Kottayam in a key position in the new defence strategy against Haider Ali and Tippu Sultan of Mysore. Apart from this, Kottayam afforded asylum to a number of refugee  princes who left Malabar in the wake of Mysore invasions.

        Kottayam occupied a predominant position in the cultural life of the Travancore princely court,the main reason being migration of Ramapurathu Warrier, the famous poet of Vadakkumkur to Thiruvananthapuram following the annexation of Kottayam by Marthanda Varma.

        Kottayam has played its role in all the political agitations of modern  times. The 'Malayali Memorial' agitation may be said to have had its origin in Kottayam. The Malayali Memorial sought to secure better representation for educated Travancoreans in the Travancore civil  service against persons from outside. The Memorial, which was presented to the Maharaja Sri Mulam Thirunal (1891) was drafted at a public meeting held in the Kottayam Public Library. The event marked the beginning of the modern political movement in the state.

        It was here that the famous Vaikom Satyagraha (1924 -25) an epic struggle for eradication of untouchability, took place. Scheduled castes and other backward classes in Travancore were not only denied entry into temples, but also access to temple roads. Vaikom, the seat of a celebrated Siva Temple, was the venue of the symbolic satyagraha. It is of immense historic significance that national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, C. Rajagopalachari, Acharya Vinoba Bhave and E.V. Ramswami Naykar, associated with the struggle.

        The Nivarthana agitation of the early thirties, to secure adequate representation for the non-caste Hindus, Christians and Muslims in the State Legislature, enjoyed considerable support from the district.

        The district was also a centre of the agitation led by the State Congress for responsible Government in Travancore. The agitation had a triumphant end, with the overthrow of Sir. C.P. Ramaswami Iyer, the then Dewan of Travancore.