Some Summary Statistics supplied by Ravenshaw, Collector of South Kanara.

In response to a questionnaire sent by Buchanan, Ravenshaw, the Collector of South Kanara, provided the following information about the district:

Population

Ravenshaw listed 122 castes and social groups and gave details of their numbers under the categories of households (79,856), men (141,681), boys (64,952), women (140,302), and girls (49,737) living in the 10 taluks comprising South Kanara. It is a fascinating document on the social composition of the people of South Kanara in 1800.  These included:

Christians                                            2,545

Muslims                                               5,223

Brahmans, excluding Konkanis       7,187

Jain                                                       2,700

Lingayats                                               880

Nairs                                                       788

Bunts (Massady)                                  7,123

Bunts (Jain)                                        1,060

Konkanis                                             2,434

Cultivation and Cattle 

Rice cultivated in 225,782 morays (moray = 45 guntas, or 49,005 square feet, nearly one acre)

Rice sown annually: 2,36,374 muras (mura = 3,847 cubic inches; about 423,000 bushels)

Fallow cultivatable land (rice, pasture, plantation, timber): 111,965 morays

Ploughs: 71,716

Slaves, male/ female of all ages: 7,924

Plantation trees estimated to be at least double the number in a 1793 survey reported as:

coconut              695,060

betel nut          1,155,850

mango                   59,772

pepper vines      368,828

other                      54,362

Cows: female 62,130; male 98,860; calves 59,109

Buffaloes: female 12,129; male 43,596; calves 6,882

Sea trade (in pagodas; pagoda = 8 shillings and ¾ penny)

imports exports

last two years of Tipu’s government 39,118 58,581

13,641 68,903

first year of the new one 84,461 1,72,427

Land trade (annual)

exports: 20,388 pagodas; salt, salt fish, betel nut, ginger, coconuts, coconut oil, raw silk

imports: 37,455 pagodas; cloth, cotton, thread, blankets, tobacco, black cattle, pepper, sandal wood

Ravenshaw also gave details of products, quantities, prices, and customs duties of this trade.