The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil immigrants who emigrated from their native lands (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to other parts of the world. They are found primarily in Malaysia, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, South Africa, North America, Western Europe, and Singapore. Early migrations Tamils have a long tradition of seafaring and a history of overseas migration to foreign lands due to close proximity to the Indian Ocean throughout ancient and medieval times. Many of the Tamil emigrants who left the shores of Tamil Nadu before the 18th century mixed with other ethnicities in other regions. In the medieval period Tamils emigrated as soldiers, traders and laborers settled in Kerala (specially Palakkad), Karnataka, Maharashtra, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and intermixed well with local population, while few communities still maintain their language and culture. Many groups still claim descent from medieval-era Tamil emigrants such as the Thigalas, Hebbars of Karnataka who have resided in Karnataka for generations and even adopted Kannada as their mother tongue, Palakkad Iyer of Kerala, Velama of Telangana, Kaikadis of Maharashtra, Chittys of Malaysia and some section of the Sri Lankan Tamils such as the Sri Lankan Mukkuvars, the Sri Lankan Chetties, the Bharatha people, the Karava-speaking Sinhalese, the Durava, the Demala Gattara and the Salagama castes of Sri Lanka. An early emigrant group that is not well documented is the Tamil Muslims who emigrated in considerable numbers to the Sultanate of Malacca (in present-day Malaysia) and were instrumental in spreading Islam amongst the indigenous Malays. Some are descended from immigrants from Arabia (Middle East), though it is not known which part of the Arab world they were from. British, French, and Dutch indentured workers and others During this period British, Dutch, French, Portuguese and Danish colony administrators recruited many local Tamils and took them to their overseas colonies to work as laborers, petty administration officers, and in clerical and military duties. In the 19th century, the Madras Presidency (of which the Tamil Nadu region was affected by sever famines, such as the Great Famine of 1876–78. Tamil Nadu was both politically and economically weak. The British thus made use of hungry Tamil workers for their plantations all over the world - Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Fiji and also Sri Lanka (unrelated to Tamils who migrated to Sri Lanka before the 18th century). Some of the