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From the Gulf of Cambay on down the Malabar Coast,
c.1700's-1850's: ports (with forts) |
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MAPS of the
Malabar
Coast during this period; *maps
of the Gulf of Cambay region*
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Nieuhoff's early depictions of
Malabarians, 1703 |
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On a promontory in southern
Gujarat was
the Portuguese fort of DIU |
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SURAT had been the Mughals' chief
port,
but it was gradually supplanted by colonial-period ports to the south
of
it (including, over time, Bombay) |
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South of Surat was the Portuguese
fort of
DAMAN |
*BOM-
BAY*
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Bombay, on the "good bay" that the
British
had acquired from the Portuguese, was growing rapidly, protected by its
Bassein Fort |
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Just a bit south of Bombay was the
Siddis' island fort of JANJIRA, which lived on
piracy and was never conquered by any Indian or colonial power
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Then, as we move further
southward, came DABUL |
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Next the small fort that Bellin
calls "Andarajapour,"
that seems to be RAJAPUR |
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Then came GERIAH, at the heart of
what was
sometimes called the "Pirate Coast"; for a vivid account see
*The Pirates of
Malabar* |
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The small port of VENGURLA was an
early
Dutch settlement (1638) |
*GOA*
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Next came the Portuguese
stronghold of Goa |
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Just to the south of it was ONORE
(modern
Honavar), an English fort besieged by Tipu Sultan in 1784 |
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BARCELORE was one of the smaller
port towns |
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MANGALORE came next |
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A bit further to the south was
CANANORE |
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TELLICHERRY was an early English
spice trading
center, from 1638 until 1794 |
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Next came the small French fort of
MAHÉ |
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Then there was CALICUT (modern
Kozhikode),
a longstanding and important trading center, though by this time on the
decline |
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Then came CRANGANORE
[Kodungallor]; near
it once lay *Muziris*,
an important Roman trading port |
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COCHIN was, like Goa, Daman, and
Diu, an
early Portuguese trading center |
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QUILON was one of the last links
in the
chain, before Cape Comorin |
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Finally came ANJENGO, another
early English
trading center like Tellicherry (1684) |
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