History
Kasargod was known to the Arabs by the name Harkwillia. Many Arab travelers who visited Kerala between the 9th and the 14th centuries visited Kasaragod, which was an important trade centre then. Duarte Borbosa, the Portuguese traveler who visited Kumbla, near Kasaragod in 1514, recorded rice being exported for coir to Maldives.
Kasargod was part of the Kumbala Kingdom in which there were 64 Tulu and Malayalam villages. When the Vijayanagara empire attacked Kasargod, it was still under the Kolathiri Raja who had Nileshwaram as one of his capitals. During the decline of the Vijayanagara empire, the administration of this area was vested with Ikkery Naiks. At the onset of collapse of the Vijayanagara empire, Venkappa Naik declared independence to Ikkery. Kumbla, Chandragiri and Bekal are considered to be the chain of forts constructed or renovated by Shivappa Naik.
Francis Buccanan, the family doctor of Arthur Wellesley, visited Kasargod in 1800. In his travelogue, he recorded information on places like Athiraparambu, Kavvai, Nileshwaram, Bekal, Chandragiri and Manjeshwaram. In 1763, Hyder Ali conquered Bedanoor (Bidnur), the capital of the Ikkery Naiks. His son Tippu Sultan conquered much of Malabar. As per the Sreerangapattanam Treaty of 1792, Tippu surrendered Malabar, except Tulunadu (Canara) to the British. The British got Tulunadu only after the death of Tippu Sultan.
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