Point Pedro ( ta, பருத்தித்துறை, translit=Paruttittuṟai; si, පේදුරු තුඩුව, translit=Pēduru Tuḍuva) is a town, located in Jaffna District,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, at the northernmost point of the island. Cotton is produced around Point Pedro in the fertile calcic red

latosol Latosols, also known as tropical red earth, are soils found under tropical rainforests which have a relatively high content of iron and aluminium oxides. They are typically classified as oxisols (USDA soil taxonomy) or ferralsols (World Reference B ...

soils. The eastern coast of Point Pedro forms a 3 mile wide, 20 mile long beach with sand dunes up to 100 feet high, extending to Thalayady. The porous soil has a water table deep underground with an estimated one billion litres of fresh water. The Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 raised the salt content of the ground water. The tsunami destroyed parts of the town and submerged some parts with seawater up to 4 feet deep. The town came briefly under the control of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) during the early 1990s, until the Sri Lankan Army recaptured it in 1995.

Etymology

The place name of Point Pedro is a corruption of the Portuguese ''"Ponta das Pedras"'' meaning "the rocky cape". The name of the town in Tamil is ''Paruthithurai'', which literally mean "''Cotton Harbour''". The

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

exported cotton to South India for centuries.

History

Ancient history

Vallipuram, a village nearby was an ancient settlement with rich archeological remains. During pre-colonial and colonial times Point Pedro was a trading port. There is a large number of people in and around Point Pedro who trace their families to local traders, called Sambangarar, 'சம்பாங்காரர்' in Tamil, meaning 'ship people'.

Portuguese history

There are several Catholic churches built around Point Pedro along the coasts and in

Nelliady Nelliady is a town in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. This is the one of the busiest towns in Jaffna district. After many coastal areas of Sri Lanka were devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami many people settled further inland, i ...

. Sacred Heart College is a major Catholic high school situated in Nelliady. Point pedro land's end

Dutch colonial history

In the 17th Century Philippus Baldaeus, a Christian missionary from the Netherlands, settled in Jaffna following the Dutch occupation of Ceylon. He documented the lives and customs of the Tamil people of Northern Ceylon. His studies were published in the Netherlands and later in Germany. In Point Pedro's market there is a stone inscription commemorating Baldeus giving lessons from the Bible under a tamarind tree. The tree was uprooted by a cyclone in 1962.

British colonial legacy

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminianism, Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a Christian theology, theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the Christian ministry, ministry of the 18th-century eva ...

missionaries from Great Britain established schools in the area including Hartley College and the Methodist Girls High School. There are American mission schools at Uduppiddy and

Thunnalai The village of Thunnalai ( ta, துன்னாலை) is near the lagoon called Thondaman Aru. It is also in close proximity to This place is settled by migrants from a town called Vallipuram near Namakkal which is near Coimbatore. Naga names ...

Heritage sites

Heritage sites in Point Pedro include the lighthouse, the hill of St. Lourdes church of Thumpalai and Vallipuram temple.

Harbour

Point Pedro has a small harbour, which is controlled by the Sri Lankan army. If the much-delayed and frequently re-planned

Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project () is a proposed project to create a shipping route in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka. This would provide a continuously navigable sea route around the Indian Peninsula. The channel would b ...

is completed, deepening the

Palk Straits The Palk Strait ( ta, பாக்கு நீரிணை ''Pākku Nīriṇai'', si, පෝක් සමුද්‍ර සන්ධිය ''Pok Samudra Sandhiya'') is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna Dist ...

between India and Sri Lanka to allow larger ships to pass, rather than having to travel around Sri Lanka, then Point Pedro and other ports in the Jaffna peninsula may see a significant increase in maritime trade, especially with India.

Education

Schools in the town include Hartley College, Velautham Maha Vidyalayam,

Vadamarachchi Hindu Girls' College Vadamarachchi Hindu Girls' College ( ta, வடமராட்சி இந்து மகளிர் கல்லூரி ''Vaṭamarāṭci Intu Makaḷir Kallūri'') is a provincial school in Point Pedro, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; s ...

and Methodist Girls High School.

References

External links

Phillipus Baldeus - A Dutch Missionary and AuthorHartley College WebsitePoint Pedro Institute of DevelopmentPuttalai Maha Vidyalayam Old Students' Association (UK)
{{Ports of Sri Lanka Port cities and towns in Sri Lanka Towns in Jaffna District Vadamarachchi North DS Division