a town and seaport of India, on the coast of Malabar, the capital of a small district of the same name. It stands about three miles up a river, five leagues to the north of Cochin, and is only accessible for small vessels. It is an ancient place, and the Jews assert that they were in possession of it as early as the year 490, when the descendants of those who had escaped the final destruction of Jerusalem obtained permission from the local sovereign to form a settlement on the western coast of India. It was seized by the Portuguese in 1505, and retained by them till the year 1663, when it fell to the Dutch, who fortified it. But as they were unable to defend it against Tippoo, they sold it to the raja of Travancore—a proceeding which occasioned a war between these two potentates. On the 8th May 1790, the troops of the sultan took possession of Cranganore; but the English, regarding this attack on an ally as an act of hostility against the British government, commenced military operations, and retook the place in 1791. At the general pacification in the ensuing year, which closed the war provoked by the sultan's attack, Cranganore was ceded to the British, in whose possession it still continues. Lat. 10.14. Long. 76.16.