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Parangipettai ((タミル語:பரங்கிப்பேட்டை)), historically called Porto Novo ("New Port" in Portuguese) is a panchayat town in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Parangipettai is located on the north bank of the mouth of the Vellar river at a distance of 30 km from Cuddalore. From the capital city of Chennai, Parangipettai can be reached through the National Highway NH45A stretch between Cuddalore and Chidambaram. Due to its strategic location on the Coromandel Coast, Parangipettai has long been a major trading centre. In particular, it was an important trading destination for the Arabs, especially the Yemenis. During the colonial era the Portuguese, Dutch and English successively colonized the area. The first iron and steel industry in India was constructed in Porto Novo in the year 1830 (). Till today the iron pillars in The Egmore railway station, Chennai, Tamil Nadu have the imprint ' Made in Porto Novo'. Today, Parangipettai has evolved into a well-developed town with nearly all basic necessities such as healthcare, education and transport. It also hosts a Marine Biology Station affiliated with the Annamalai University. Parangipettai is an important pilgrimage centre for both Hindus and Muslims. ==History== Through history, Parangipettai has taken many different names. One was 'Portonovo' during the period of Portuguese colonial rule. Other names were 'Muthukrishna puri' when the nayakkars ruled, 'Mohammed banthar' during the era of the Mughal Empire. In Tamil, ''Parangi'' refers to Europeans, while ''Pettai'' means place. Thus, Parangipettai literally translates to ''the pettah'' or ''abode of the parangis'' or ''Europeans'' in Tamil. The Portuguese were the ones who actually named this place "Porto Novo" ("New Port" in Portuguese) as they set up a port here and made it their trading stronghold. Muslims living in Parangipettai have a unique ancestry. Tamil is their mother tongue but it has been heavily influenced by Urdu and Arabic. Previously, especially during the Tamil Chola rule of Tamil Nadu, Arab traders used to heavily trade around the Coromandel coast in which Parangipettai is located in. Some traders, throughout time decided to settle down here. And hence, Muslims of Parangipettai tend to resemble Arab features. During the Muslim rule of India under the Mughal Empire, Muslims from Hyderabad also started settling down in Parangipettai. Thus the Islamic culture in Parangipettai was influenced by Urdu and Mughal practices. The Battle of Porto Novo was fought here in 1781 during the Second Anglo-Mysore War. The conflict pitted the forces of the Kingdom of Mysore under ''Karim Khan Sahib'', accompanied by his father Hyder Ali, against forces belonging to the British East India Company under Sir Eyre Coote. Though they were outnumbered 5 to 1, the British prevailed. The town flourished as a sea port with connections to southeast Asia and as an industrial centre during British rule, when iron made here was exported to England. The powerful Nawab of Arcot had his mint at Porto Novo and the gold coins struck in this mint came to be called the Porto Novo Pagoda. Later the English followed the same design when they minted the 'Negapatam' (Nagapatnam) Pagoda; the Dutch minted their coin in the same design at Tuticorin and Colombo mints. There is a Gandhian connection also. A European disciple of Mahatma Gandhi established a school, "Seva mandhir", based on Gandhian principles. In early 1875 Meir was born to later lead the great revolution to appoint hockey as the National Sport of India 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Parangipettai」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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