Visakhapatnam
Later history

The territory of Visakhapatnam then came under the Andhra rulers of Vengi, and Chalukyas and Pallavas ruled the land. The region was ruled by the Eastern Ganga king and the Gajapati kings from the 10th century to the 16th century CE. Based on archaeological evidence, the Prabhakar and the Eastern Ganga Kings built temples in the city in the 11th and 12th centuries. In the late 16th century, it came under the direct rule of the Suryavanshi king, Maharaja Vishwanath Dev Gajapati of Jeypore. However, from 1571 to 1674 it fell under the control and administration of the Qutb Shahi kings of Golconda who appointed a governor or Faujdar to collect taxes in the region. This Faujdar governed the area from Srikakulam or Chicacole as it was then known. In 1674, the Maharaja of Jeypore, Vishwambhar Dev defeated the Foujdar and claimed sovereignty from the deteriorating Qutb Shahis. Vishwambhar is also said to have defeated the Dutch East India Company who allegedly abducted locals, mostly fishermen living by the sea-shore. Later his descendant, Maharaja Raghunath Krishna Dev defeated the Seer Lascer appointed by the Mughals and maintained his rule over the region. Therefore, Visakhapatnam remained a part of the Kingdom of Jeypore until the death of Maharaja Ram Chandra Dev I in 1711 after which it was taken over by the Nizam of Hyderabad who could only govern it for a few decades before transferring it to the British. Even in the colonial era, the kings of Jeypore were referred to as the Maharaja or Raja of Vizagapatnam. European merchants from France, Holland and the East India Company used the natural port to export tobacco, paddy, coal, iron ore, ivory, muslin and other textile products. The British developed Visakhapatnam as a prominent harbour on the east coast. The old port in Jalari Peta was built and used by the Maharaja of Jeypore who also owned several ships. During the First World War, Maharaja Vikram Dev III sent his fleet of ships to aid the British and later donated the port to the British government of Madras. It is now a fish market.

Local legend tells that an Andhra king, on his way to Benares, rested at Visakhapatnam and was so enchanted by its beauty that he ordered a temple to be built in honour of his family deity, Viśakha. Archaeological sources, however, reveal that the temple was probably built between the 11th and 12th centuries by the Cholas. A shipping merchant, Sankarayya Chetty, built one of the mandapams (pillared halls) of the temple. Although it no longer exists (possibly washed away about 100 years ago by a cyclonic storm), elderly residents of Visakhapatnam remember visits to the ancient shrine by their grandparents (although author Ganapatiraju Atchuta Rama Raju denies this).

During the 18th century Visakhapatnam was part of the Northern Circars, a region comprising coastal Andhra and southern coastal Odisha which was first under French control and later British. Visakhapatnam became a district in the Madras Presidency of British India. In September 1804, British and French squadrons fought the Battle of Vizagapatam near the harbour. After India's independence, it was the largest district in the country and was subsequently divided into the districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam.

Part of the city is known by its colonial British name, Waltair; during the colonial era, the city's hub was the Waltair railway station and a part of the city is still called Waltair.

On 7 May 2020, the city suffered an industrial accident when a polymer plant leaked toxic styrene gas, as it restarted operations after the Coronavirus lockdown. This gas leak killed at least eleven people, and drew comparisons to the Bhopal disaster.
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