Manora Fort, Karachi

Manora Fort, also known as Debal Fort, was built to protect the harbour of Karachi.[1] Manora is a small peninsula (2.5 km²) located just south of the Port of Karachi. The fort was captured by the British in 1839 - after which they seized control of Karachi.[2]

Manora Fort
Part of Manora Cantonment
Manora, Karachi, Pakistan
Manora Fort was captured by the British in 1839, and then reinforced in 1888
Coordinates24°47′24″N 66°58′46″E
TypeFort
Site information
Controlled byPakistan Navy
Manora Fort
Location of Manora in Karachi

Talpur dynasty

Manora Fort was built by the Talpur dynasty in 1797 in order to protect the port,[2] which handled trade with Oman and Bahrain.[3][4] The fort was built at the top of cliffs which were 90-100 feet in height,[5] with a small mosque and round tower.[2] The fort was used to repel attacks by Qasimi pirates who threatened and sometimes raided Karachi Harbor in the early 19th century.[6] Accounts of piracy have been contested, and piracy have been simply used as a casus belli for the East India Company to gain control of the Persian Gulf region.[7]

British

On 1 February 1839 a British ship, the HMS Wellesley (1815), anchored off the island of Manora. On 3 February, the ship opened fire on the fort.[2] When British troops stormed the fort, they reportedly found it guarded by 4 or 5 men, who had no gun to fire back with, and so the fort was quickly surrendered,[3] and Karachi captured.[2]

After the fort was captured, the building was used as a residence for the Master-Attendant of the Karachi Port.[8] St. Paul's church was built in the immediate vicinity in 1865.[8] In 1888, the old fort was mostly removed, and the battery was reinforced.[9] A lighthouse was built by the British presence in 1889 to assist vessels approaching Karachi harbor.

Pakistan

After independence in 1947, Manora Fort became the main base of the Pakistan Navy, with berths for naval vessels located along the eastern edge of the island. The island has been governed as a military cantonment since then. The opening of the new Jinnah Naval Base at Ormara, 250 kilometers away, has meant that approximately half of the naval vessels have moved away from Manora.

Debal Fort serves as the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Marines.[10]

  • Debal Fort taken from the breakwater
  • Old guns at Debal Fort

See also

References
  1. Manora Light House and Fort, Karachi
  2. Murray (publishers.), John (1859). A handbook for India. Part ii. Bombay.
  3. "Qasim Fort – The Flawless Complex". www.sindhidunya.com. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  4. "Qasim Fort also known as Manora Fort". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  5. The Persian Gulf Pilot. J. D. Potter. 1875.
  6. Davies, Charles E. (1997). The Blood-red Arab Flag: An Investigation Into Qasimi Piracy, 1797-1820. University of Exeter Press. ISBN 978-0-85989-509-5.
  7. 1939-, Sulṭān ibn Muḥammad al-Qāsimī, Ruler of Shāriqah (1986). The myth of Arab piracy in the Gulf. London: Croom Helm. ISBN 0709921063. OCLC 12583612.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. Murray (Firm), John; Eastwick, Edward Backhouse (1881). Handbook of the Bombay Presidency: With an Account of Bombay City. John Murray. p. 385.
  9. Baillie, Alexander Francis (1890). Kurrachee: (Karachi) Past, Present and Future. Thacker, Spink.
  10. ref name="Marine Badges: Pakistan" />
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