WEAVERS WORLD / COIMBATORE / HISTORY

WEAVERS WORLD / COIMBATORE / HISTORY

The city of Coimbatore is a major textile, industrial, commercial, educational, information technology, healthcare and manufacturing hub of Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore is often referred to as the Manchester of South India, due to its cotton production and textile industries. Coimbatore is also referred to as "the Pump City" as it supplies two thirds of India's requirements of motors and pumps. The city also known as ‘Kovai’, is one of the largest exporters of jewellery, wet grinders, poultry and auto components and the term "Coimbatore Wet Grinder" has been given a Geographical indication

Coimbatore is located on the banks of the river Noyyal surrounded by the Western Ghats. Once the capital city of Konga Nadu, ruled by the Cheras, it served as the eastern entrance to the principal trade route between the West Coast and Tamil Nadu. It was also part of the Roman trade route till South India. The medieval Cholas conquered Konga Nadu in the 10th century. In the 15th century the region was ruled by the Vijayanagara empire and later by the Nayaks. Somewhere in the 18th century Coimbatore happened to come under the Kingdom of Mysore. Following the defeat of Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore at the hands of the British, Coimbatore was annexed to the Madras Presidency in 1799. In the 19th century the cotton mills at Mumbai (then Bombay) experienced a sharp decline and simultaneously Coimbatore experienced a boom. Since then Coimbatore has become a very prosperous region for cotton textiles in India. After Independence, Coimbatore remained part of Madras State now known as Tamil Nadu.