Mangalore

Mangalore is a port on the Kanara coast near the mouths of the Netravati and Gurupura rivers. Its harbour connected the wooded Western Ghats and the Deccan interior with shipping on the Arabian Sea. Pepper, rice and other goods passed through the port, attracting merchants and competing powers. The town’s temples and religious communities reflect a coast linked to many parts of the Indian Ocean.

Portuguese forces established a foothold at Mangalore in the sixteenth century, but control of the town changed repeatedly. In the eighteenth century it became a stronghold of Mysore under Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. British forces took the town in 1768 and again in 1781. Tipu then besieged the British garrison, which surrendered in 1784 after a long defence. The Treaty of Mangalore ended the Second Anglo-Mysore War that year. The port remained in Mysorean hands until Tipu’s defeat and death in 1799, when it passed to the British. Its harbour had become a prize in a struggle reaching across southern India.