4/27/2021 Manora Fort, Karachi - Wikipedia

Manora Fort, Karachi

Manora Fort is a fort that was built to protect the harbour of
Manora Fort
Karachi.[1] Originally erected as a mud fortress by the Talpur
Mirs in 1797, the fort was captured by the British in 1839 - after Part of Manora Cantonment
which they seized control of Karachi and lower Sindh.[2] Manora, Karachi, Pakistan

Contents
History
Establishment
Capture by the British
Post-independence
Gallery
See also
External links
References
Manora Fort was captured by the British
in 1839, and then reinforced in 1888
History Coordinates 24°47′24″N
66°58′46″E

Establishment Type Fort

Site information
Manora Fort was built by the Talpur dynasty in 1797 in order to
Controlled by Pakistan Navy
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 may have been simply used as a casus belli excuse for
the East India Company to seize control of the Persian Gulf
region.[7]
Manora Fort

Capture by the British

Location of Manora in Karachi
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]

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4/27/2021 Manora Fort, Karachi - Wikipedia

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.

Post-independence

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. The fort now serves
as the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Marines.[10]

Gallery

Debal Fort taken Old guns at Debal

from the breakwater Fort

See also
Manora Cantonment
Karachi
Pakistan Navy
List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Pakistan
List of forts in Pakistan
List of museums in Pakistan

External links
Manora Fort, Karachi (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/31345629_MARY_JANE_BUCHAN
AN_MANORA_FORT_KARACHI)
Manora Fort Photo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mfaisalansari/9380604513/)

References
1. Manora Light House and Fort, Karachi (http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/m/019
pho000000425u00003000.html)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manora_Fort,_Karachi 2/3
4/27/2021 Manora Fort, Karachi - Wikipedia

2. Murray (publishers.), John (1859). A handbook for India. Part ii. Bombay (https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=Vg0IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA475&dq=manora+fort+1797&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&s
a=X&ved=2ahUKEwiI_NiqzufoAhVaGDQIHcQBCzcQ6AEwBHoECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=manora%
20fort%201797&f=false).
3. "Qasim Fort – The Flawless Complex" (https://www.sindhidunya.com/qasim-fort-the-flawless-comple
x/). www.sindhidunya.com. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
4. "Qasim Fort also known as Manora Fort" (https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/pns-
qasim.htm). www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
5. The Persian Gulf Pilot (https://books.google.com/books?id=HpKhAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA20&dq=manora
+fort+1797&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiI_NiqzufoAhVaGDQIHcQBCz
cQ6AEwB3oECAgQAg#v=onepage&q=manora%20fort%201797&f=false). J. D. Potter. 1875.
6. Davies, Charles E. (1997). The Blood-red Arab Flag: An Investigation Into Qasimi Piracy, 1797-1820
(https://books.google.com/books?id=tGboFK2QPUwC&pg=PA162&dq=manora+fort+1797&hl=en&n
ewbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXstzg0efoAhWYITQIHbbqBMk4ChDoATACegQIB
RAC#v=onepage&q=manora%20fort%201797&f=false). 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 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/125
83612).
8. Murray (Firm), John; Eastwick, Edward Backhouse (1881). Handbook of the Bombay Presidency:
With an Account of Bombay City (https://archive.org/details/handbookbombayp00eastgoog). John
Murray. p. 385 (https://archive.org/details/handbookbombayp00eastgoog/page/n354).
9. Baillie, Alexander Francis (1890). Kurrachee: (Karachi) Past, Present and Future (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=7tIwAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA61&dq=manora+fort+1797&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_red
ir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiI_NiqzufoAhVaGDQIHcQBCzcQ6AEwCHoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=ma
nora%20fort%201797&f=false). Thacker, Spink.
10. ref name="Marine Badges: Pakistan" />

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