South Canara (South Kannada) was a district of the Madras Presidency of British Raj, located at . It comprised the towns of Kasaragod and Udupi and adjacent villages, with the administration at Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas of Madras Presidency, with Tulu, Malayalam, Kannada, Konkani, Marathi, Hindustani, and Beary languages being spoken while English, Tamil and Hindustani remained the official languages. It was succeeded by the Tulu-speaking areas of Dakshina Kannada district, the Malayalam-speaking area of Kasaragod district and the Amindivi islands sub-division of the Laccadives, in the year 1956.
History
South Canara was annexed by the British East India Company following the defeat of Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Mysore War in 1799 and along with North Kanara formed the district of Kanara in the Madras Presidency. In 1859, Kanara was split into two districts, North and South. North Kanara was transferred to the Bombay Presidency, and South was retained by Madras.
Taluks
thumb|left|200px|Map of South Kanara district in 1861. The taluk of Coondapoor was then in North Kanara but was transferred to South Kanara district when North Kanara was transferred to [[Bombay Presidency in 1862]]
The district was divided into six taluks:
- Amindivi Islands (Laccadives) (Area:)
- Coondapoor (Area:; Headquarters: Coondapoor)
- Kasaragod (Area:; Headquarters: Kasaragod)
- Mangalore (Area:; Headquarters: Mangalore)
- Udupi (Area:; Headquarters: Udupi)
- Uppinangady (Area:; Headquarters: Puttur)
Administration
The district was administered by a District Collector. For purpose of convenience, the district was divided into three sub-divisions:
- Coondapoor sub-division: Coondapoor and Udupi taluks
- Mangalore sub-division: Mangalore, and the Amindivi islands
- Puttur sub-division: Uppinangady and Kasaragod taluks.
The district had two municipalities, those of Mangalore and Udupi.
Demographics
left|thumbnail|South Canara in 1909