Laccadive Islands Kannur Islands | |
|---|---|
 The Laccadive subgroup on an 1800 map | |
  Laccadive Islands (India) | |
| Country |  India |
| Union Territory | Lakshadweep |
| District | Lakshadweep |
| Area | |
• Total | 17.5 km2 (6.8 sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Malayalam |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Vehicle registration | LD |
The Laccadive Islands (/ˈlækədaɪv, -diːv/ LAK-ə-dyve, -deev) or Kannur Islands (formerly spelled Cannanore,[1] /ˈkænənɔːr/ KAN-ə-nor) are one of the three island subgroups in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It is the central subgroup of the Lakshadweep, separated from the Amindivi Islands subgroup roughly by the 11th parallel north and from the atoll of Minicoy (Maliku)—far to the south—by the 9 Degree or Mamala Channel.[2]
Formerly the Union Territory of Lakshadweep was known as Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands,[3] a name that was changed to Lakshadweep by an act of Parliament in 1973.[4]
The Laccadive subgroup are also known as the "Kannur/Cannanore Islands" after the coastal town of Kannur. The name originated in the fact that while the northern group of Amindivi had stopped in 1784 being a vassal state of the Kannur Kingdom (Arakkal) in exchange for fealty to Tippu Sultan's Kingdom of Mysore, the southern group remained loyal to Kannur.
history
In the same manner as the Amindivi Islands further north, the islands of the Laccadive subgroup were settled from ancient times by people of nearby Kerala to which were added later people of Arab descent. Vasco da Gama visited these islands around 1498. In the mid 16th century all the inhabited islands of the Lakshadweep put themselves under the rule of the Arakkal kingdom in order to obtain protection from the Portuguese.