Quilon
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Quilon
(Kollam) Town and port in the. of the same name, Travancore State, Madras, situated in 8 53' N. and 76 36' E. Popu- lation (1901), 15,691. It is one of the oldest towns on the coast and was refounded in A.D. 1019. Its natural situation and consequent commercial importance made it coveted by every foreign power, and subjected it in its early days to many political vicissitudes. Towards the middle of the eighteenth century the State of Quilon, also called Desinganadu, was annexed to Travancore. It was formerly one of the greatest ports on the west coast, but has now fallen to a very con- siderable extent from its high estate. With the opening of the Tinne- velly-Quilon Railway, however, Quilon, as the terminal station, now finds itself placed in direct communication with the Madras Presidency and should revive once more. A railway siding has been made to the edge of the backwater. The palace of the Maharaja of Travancore is on the borders of the Quilon lake, called by General Cullen the Loch Lomond of Travancore, which possesses enchanting scenery.
The town also contains a Residency, the office of the Diwan Peshkar, the District and subordinate courts, high schools, hospitals, and other institutions. Cotton-weaving and spinning and the manufacture of tiles are the chief industries. A cotton-spinning mill has been opened recently. The chief exports are coffee, tea, fish, timber, pepper, and coir; and the chief imports are salt and tobacco. The customs revenue averages about Rs. 10,000. The tonnage of vessels of all classes which call annually at the port is 22,000 The sanitation and conservancy of the town are attended to by a town improvement committee.
The ancient history of Quiion goes back to the earliest times of the old Syrian Church in India. The Nestonan Patriarch Jesujabus of Adiabene noted in the seventh century that Quiion was the southern- most point of Christian influence, It appears in Arabic as early as A.D. 851 under the name Kaulam-Mall, when it was already frequented by ships from China. It is the Coilum of Marco Polo, and was an important place in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Portu- guese had a factory here, which was captured by the Dutch in 1662. From them, it passed to the English East India Company. The portion now in the possession of the British Government is known as TANGASSERI.
