Thalassery

Thalassery (Malayalam: [t̪ɐlɐʃ(ː)eːɾi] ^ⓘ) (also called Tellicherry) is a city and municipality on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahe and Kozhikode. Thalassery municipality has a population of just under 100,000 as of 2011 census. Thalassery Heritage City has an area of 23.98 square kilometres (9.26 sq mi). Thalassery has an altitude ranging from 2.5 to 30 metres (8 ft 2 in to 98 ft 5 in) above mean sea-level. It is located 25 km (15 mi) from Vadakara, 15 km (10 mi) from Mahé and 22 km (13 mi) from Kannur.

Tellicherry municipality was formed on 1 November 1866 according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in City act 1850) of the British Indian Empire, making it the second oldest municipality in the state. At that time, the municipality was known as Tellicherry Commission and Tellicherry was the capital of North Malabar. G. M. Ballard, the Malabar collector, was the first president of the municipal commission. A European barrister, A. F. Lamaral, would later become the first Chairman of Thalassery municipality. Thalassery grew into a prominent place during European rule, due to its strategic geographic location. Thalassery has played a significant historical, cultural, educational and commercial role in the history of India, especially during the colonial period. On 9 February 2014, Thalassery taluk was split in two and Iritty taluk was formed. The northeastern hilly region of the former Thalassery Taluk, including Peravoor, Aralam, Ayyankunnu, Kottiyoor, and Kelakam, are within the Iritty Taluk area.

The name Thalassery likely originated from a combination of the Dravidian words Thala (Head) and cheri (low lying settlement), meaning 'starting place of a settlement' or 'head of a settlement'. It could also have emerged from Talakkathe cheri, a combination of Talakkathe (upper or north) and Cheri (settlement).

The second volume of the 1885 administration manual of the former Madras Presidency cites, which includes information on the research of regional legends and folklore, indicates that the name Thalassery in ancient Sanskrit literature was Shwetaranyapura.

Thalassery was a trade hub where Dutch, British, Portuguese, Chinese, Arab, and Jewish traders had considerable influence in the spice market.

The British established a trading post and built a factory at Tellicherry in 1694, having gained permission from Vadakkalankur, the prince regent of the Raja of Kolathunad. They had already been trading on the Malabar coast for much of that century, buying pepper from merchants, and had established a similar post at Travancore ten years earlier.

In 1761, the British captured Mahe, which lies adjacent to Thalassery, and the settlement was handed over to the ruler of Kadathanadu. The British restored Mahe to the French as a part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris. In 1779, the Anglo-French war broke out, resulting in the French loss of Mahe. In 1783, the British agreed to restore to the French their settlements in India, and Mahe was handed over to the French in 1785.

After the annexation of Malabar, the British called upon Thalassery, the royal families and other major Nair and Namboothiri feudal lords to return, but this was heavily opposed by some local rulers. Along with heavy taxation and laws that curbed free movement, the appeal resulted in multiple uprisings against the British with heavy casualties to British forces. Thousands of soldiers were killed, but the resistance was eventually defeated.