Thalassery (), formerly Tellicherry, is a municipality and commercial city on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahé (Pondicherry), Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kasaragod and Kodagu (Karnataka). Thalassery municipality has a population just under 100,000. Thalassery Heritage City has an area of . Thalassery has an altitude ranging from above mean sea-level. Tellicherry municipality was formed on 1 November 1866 according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in City act 1850) of the British Indian Empire, making it the second oldest municipality in the state. At that time the municipality was known as Tellicherry Commission, and Tellicherry was the capital of North Malabar. G. M. Ballard, the Malabar collector, was the first President of the municipal commission. Later a European barrister, A. F. Lamaral, became the first Chairman of Thalassery municipality. Thalassery grew into a prominent place during European rule, due to its strategic geographic location. Thalassery has played a significant historical, cultural, educational and commercial role in the history of India, especially during the colonial period. On 9 February 2014, Thalassery taluk was split in two and Iritty taluk was formed. The northeastern hilly region of the former Thalassery Taluk such as Peravoor, Aralam, Ayyankunnu, Kottiyoor, Kelakam are within the Iritty Taluk area. Etymology Word Thalassery likely originated from combination of Dravidian linguistic usages Thala (Head) and cheri (low lying settlement). Thus, Thalassery or 'starting place of a settlement' or 'head of a settlement'. It could also have emerged from Talakkathe cheri, a combination of Talakkate (upper or north) and Cheri (settlement). The 1885 administration manual vol. 2 of the former Madras Presidency cites research in regional legends and folklore to indicate that the name of Thalassery in ancient Sanskrit literature was Shwetaranyapura. History Thalassery was a trade hub where Dutch, British, Portuguese, Chinese, Arab, and Jewish traders had considerable influence in the spice market. The British established a trading post and built a factory at Tellicherry in 1694, having gained permission from Vadakkalankur, the prince regent of the Raja of Kolathunad. They had already been trading on the Malabar coast for much of that century, buying pepper from merchants, and had established a similar post at Travancore ten years earlier. In 1761, the British captured Mahé, which lies adjacent to Thalassery, and the settlement was handed over to the ruler of Kadathanadu. The British