(2002 est. district pop. 356,000; est. city pop. 82,600). Since the British seized the island of Sri Lanka in 1796, Trincomalee has been the main city and center of the district of the same name. It is located in the north of the Batticaloa District of Eastern Province and to the south of the Mullaitivu District of Northern Province. From the time of the medieval South Indian Chola dynasty that ruled over northern Sri Lanka in the eleventh century, the district was overwhelmingly populated by Hindu Tamils. The city of Trincomalee was established at an extensive and nearly circular natural harbor, which the British considered the best and most beautiful in Asia. From medieval times, the city was therefore well suited to attract long-distance trade. The Cholas established a Siva temple dedicated to Trikoneshvara on the promontory of the bay. It is from this temple, which was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1624 in order to build fortifications, that the city and district derive its name. When the Vereenigte Ostindsche Companie (Dutch East India Company) drove the Portuguese from the island, the Dutch erected commanding fortifications at the site, and since British times the city prospered as the island's second and most important harbor and as a trade center dominated by local Hindu Tamils and Muslim merchants. Since the 1950s, however, because of Sinhalese colonization, the nationalization of the harbor, and the establishment of industrial plants, the ethnic balance has shifted in favor of Sinhalese farmers and workers. In the early 2000s, the district population consists of 34 percent Sinhalese, 37 percent Tamils, and 29 percent Muslims.
Further Reading
Ballou, Maturin M. (1894) The Pearl of India. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
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