Jaffna, city and seaport, northern Sri Lanka, capital of Northern Province, on a peninsula. The city is the trading center for the surrounding region in which coconuts, rice, and tobacco are grown. As early as 204BC Jaffna was inhabited by the Tamils, a Dravidian people. The city was occupied by the Portuguese and Dutch, successively, in the 17th and 18th centuries. The British seized the region in 1795. Population (1990 estimate) 129,000.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Jaffna Information info
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