Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Trichinopoli

TRICHINOPOLI, a district of British India, in the Madras presidency, lying between 10° 37′ and 11° 30′ N. lat. and 78° 12' and 79° 30′ E. long. Its area is 3561 square miles. It is bounded on the north and north-west by Saleru, on the north and north-east by South Arcot, on the east and south-east by Tanjore, on the south by Pudukottai state and Madura, and on the west by Coimbatore. The surface is generally flat, though diversified by masses of crystalline rock, of which the Trichinopoli rock in the fort is a well-known example. The district is well wooded, though nothing worthy of the name of forest is to be found in it. The only mountains are the Pachaimalais, which rise to 2500 feet and extend into Salem district. The Kaveri (q.v.) and its branch the Colerun are the only rivers of any importance. Trichinopoli has numerous roads, and the South Indian Railway traverses it from east to west. The climate is very hot, and not liable to great variations; the annual average rainfall is about 38 inches.

In 1881 the population of the district was 1,215,033 (males 586,434, females 628,599), of whom Hindus numbered 1,119,434, Mohammedans 34,104, and Christians 58,809. The only town with a population exceeding 10,000 is Trichinopoli, the capital, with 84,449 inhabitants. This city is chiefly noticeable for its strong fort, perched on a granite peak 500 feet high, and the group of temples and temple buildings situated on and around it. The town next in importance is Srirangam (q.v.). The chief crops of the district are rice, cotton, tobacco, indigo, sugar-cane, cocoa-nut, plantain, areca-nut, and chillies; and the most important local industries are weaving and the manufacture of cigars. The principal exports are grain of all kinds, especially rice; the imports, tobacco and salt. In 1885-86 the gross revenue of the district was £225,896, the land-tax yielding £185,889. Trichinopoli district, along with the rest of the Carnatic, of which it formed part, passed to the British by treaty in 1801.