Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Trincomalee

TRINCOMALEE, a seaport, naval station, and harbor on the N. E. coast of Ceylon; 110 miles N. E. of Kandy. The town is built on a bold peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbors. Here the Malabar invaders of Ceylon built the "Temple of a Thousand Columns," to which pilgrims flocked from all parts of India. This celebrated shrine was demolished in 1622 by the Portuguese, who fortified the heights with the materials derived from its destruction. It was next held by the Dutch, and subsequently by them and the French alternately, till the capture of Ceylon by the British in 1795. The Bay of Trincomalee is landlocked; the harbor is renowned for its extent and security; unlike every other in the Indian seas, it is accessible to every description of craft in every variation of weather, but it lies out of the course of trade, Colombo having in this respect a great advantage over it. Pop. about 12,000.