Travancore

Travancore (Tiruvankod), a protected state in the extreme south of India, bounded on the N. by Cochin, on the E. by British territory, and on the W. by the Indian Ocean. The state pays a yearly tribute of £80,000 to Britain, and is politically connected with the province of Madras. Area, 6730 sq. m.; pop. (1881) 2,401,158; (1891) 2,557,840, mainly Hindus, belonging to 420 castes, from Brahmins to Negroid hill-men. Nairs are over a fourth of the total, Mohammedans only 7 per cent. There are many native Christians of the Syrian rite (see THOMAS, CHRISTIANS OF ST), and some black Jews. At the southern extremity of the state is Cape Comorin; the Western Ghāts run along the eastern side. The physical appearance of the higher part of the country, which is varied and picturesque, is described at GHĀTS. Westward of the hill-foots is a level belt, 10 miles wide, covered with cocoa-nut and areca palms. On the elevations the soil is light and gravelly; in the valleys it is in general a deep black mould. The lagoons or backwaters along the coast, which Travancore shares with Cochin, are explained at COCHIN. The chief produce is copra, coir, tobacco, nut-oil, areca-nut, ginger, pepper, cardamoms, beeswax, coffee, and timber. The rajahs are intelligent, have been faithful to the English alliance, cherish education, and govern well. The capital is Trivandrum; other principal places are Aulapolai and Quilon. See Mateer, Native Life in Travancore (1883).