Thoothukudi

Thoothukudi stands on the Gulf of Mannar, along a coast renowned for its pearl fisheries. Paravar fishing communities worked the offshore banks, and their catch drew merchants and rulers seeking valuable pearls. The port gave access to the Tamil hinterland as well as the sea routes to Sri Lanka and beyond.

Portuguese influence expanded on the coast in the sixteenth century, when many Paravars embraced Christianity and sought Portuguese protection. Missionaries including Francis Xavier worked among the coastal communities. The Dutch displaced the Portuguese at Thoothukudi in 1658 and sought to control the pearl trade, though religious divisions complicated their relations with the Catholic Paravars. Control of the port and fisheries later passed to the British, as European companies competed for the commerce of southern India.