Indian High Sea

These waters lie northeast of Lanka, between the Jaffna Peninsula and the sea routes of the Bay of Bengal. The peninsula was the heart of the Jaffna kingdom until the Portuguese conquest of 1619. Across the water to the north, the Coromandel coast drew European merchants to ports including Pulicat and Masulipatnam. Ships travelling between the island and the mainland moved through a sea shared by kingdoms and trading companies.