Coringa, Kakinada district
Coringa
Korangi | |
|---|---|
 Dynamic map | |
.svg)  Coringa Location in Andhra Pradesh, India  Coringa Coringa (India) | |
| Coordinates: 16°48′N 82°14′E / 16.800°N 82.233°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Andhra Pradesh |
| District | East Godavari District |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Telugu |
| Time zone | IST |
| Vehicle registration | AP |
| Nearest city | Kakinada |
| Sex ratio | female ♂/♀ |
| Climate | The average temperatures range from 76-90 degrees Fahrenheit, and the annual rainfall can be anywhere between 34 and 64 inches per year. (Köppen) |
Coringa, also known as Korangi by natives,[1] is a tiny coastal village of the Kakinada district, in Andhra Pradesh, India. Coringa consists of the village and one adjacent island, which was whimsically named Hope Island by British officials in the hope that it would be protected from environmental disasters.
The French-flagged ship Harmonie, on a voyage from the Île Bourbon (now Réunion) to Pondicherry, was wrecked at Coringa in October 1834. Her crew were rescued.[2] The current Coringa is established by Westcot, a British resident of Injaram around 1757 within some distance from Old Coringa village. Now these two villages exist on the opposite sides of the Coringa River.[3] Historically, Coringa was a key migration point, with people from various parts of Andhra travelling through its seaport to countries like Burma and Malaysia, where they were called "Coranghees," after the port.[4][5]
History
[edit]In 1759, the British established a shipbuilding and repair facility in the area, which came to be known as Coringa Town, located on the Coringa River, a branch of the Godavari River. The town soon became a significant seaport and shipbuilding hub on the Coromandel Coast. In 1802, a dock was constructed to repair Royal Navy and other vessels, becoming the only wet dock between Bombay and Calcutta. Historically, Coringa was the only location between Calcutta and Trincomalee capable of docking and repairing large ships.[6] The area, including Cape Cori (now known as Hope Island), gained international recognition for its shipbuilding and repair capabilities.[7]
The town's coastal location, however, made it vulnerable to frequent storms and inundations. In 1784, a sea rise caused vessels to drift as far inland as Rajahmundry.[6] Coringa also suffered significant damage from various storms, including a devastating storm in 1787 that claimed 20,000 lives, and another in May 1832 that further damaged the area.[8][9] The most catastrophic of these was the cyclone of 25 November 1839, which had a storm surge estimated at 40 feet. This cyclone completely destroyed the port and around 20,000 vessels.[10][11][12] This event was one of the first to be cited by Henry Piddington, who coined the term "cyclone" to describe such phenomena.[13]
After the 1839 disaster, Coringa's port never fully recovered, and homes were relocated further inland.[13] By the 1870s, the river had become too shallow, and the approaches too difficult, limiting the town's role to servicing only small craft. Despite this decline, Coringa continued to maintain some trade connections, particularly with Moulmein and Rangoon.[14] By 1901, silting in the estuary rendered the port inaccessible to large ships, and by 1905, shipbuilding activities ceased, leading to the eventual closure of the port.[15][16]
References
[edit]- ^ "Korangi · Andhra Pradesh 533461, India". Korangi · Andhra Pradesh 533461, India. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Shipping Intelligence". Caledonian Mercury. No. 17721. 4 February 1835.
- ^ Henry Morris (1878). "A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Godavery District in the Presidency of Madras". Trübner. pp. 52–53.
- ^ W. W. Hunter (1885). The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Vol. IV. Trübner & Company. pp. 42–43.
- ^ Satyanarayana, Adapa (2008). "Telugu Diaspora in South East/West Asia, 1871-1990". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 69: 904–914. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44147252.
- ^ a b Morris, Henry (1878). A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Godavery District in the Presidency of Madras. Trübner & Co. p. 40.
- ^ Sankar, K.N. Murali (20 July 2016). "Coringa's relic of the past". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- ^ Horsburgh, James (1841). The India Directory, Or, Directions for Sailing to and from the ..., Volume 1. Wm. H. Allen and Co. pp. 602–603. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- ^ Hoiberg, Dale (2000). Students' Britannica. India: Select essays. Encyclopedia Britannica (India) Pvt. Ltd. p. 409. ISBN 0-85229-762-9. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
shipbuilding in Coringa.
- ^ Reid, William (1849). The progress of the development of the law of storms... J. Weale. p. 105.
- ^ Balfour, Edward (1885). The cyclopaedia of India and of eastern and southern Asia. Vol. 2. B. Quaritch. p. 125.
- ^ Chambers, William (1851). Chambers's Papers for the people. p. 15.
- ^ a b 1839 Coringa destroyed by cyclone. Knappily Books. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- ^ W. W. Hunter (1885). The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Vol. IV. Trübner & Company. pp. 42–43.
- ^ "Coringa". Knappily Books. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ Frowde, Henry (1908). Imperial Gazeteer of India. Vol XI (PDF). Oxford at the Clarendon Press. p. 51. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
External links
[edit]- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 146–147.