KARACHI, or KURRACHEE, a seaport and district of British India, in the Sind province of Bombay. The city is situated at the extreme western end of the Indus delta, 500 m. by sea from Bombay and 820 m. by rail from Lahore, being the maritime terminus of the North-Western railway, and the main gateway for the trade of the Punjab and part of central Asia. It is also the capital of the province of Sind. Pop. (1881), 73,500; (1891), 105,199; (1901), 115,407. Before 1725 no town appears to have existed here; but about that time some little trade began to centre upon the convenient harbour, and the silting up of Shahbandar, the ancient port of Sind, shortly afterwards drove much of its former trade and population to the rising village. Under the Kalhora princes, the khan of Kalat obtained a grant of the town, but in 1795 it was captured by the Talpur Mirs, who built the fort at Manora, at the entrance to the harbour. They also made considerable efforts to increase the trade of the port and at the time of the British acquisition of the province the town and suburbs contained a population of 14,000. This was in 1843, from which time the importance of the place practically dates. The harbour of Karachi has an extreme length and breadth of about 5 m. It is protected by the promontory of Manora Head; and the entrance is partially closed by rocks and by the peninsula (formerly an island) of Kiamari. On Manora Head, which is fortified, are the buildings of the port establishment, a cantonment, &c. Kiamari is the landing-place for passengers and goods, and has three piers and railway connexions. The harbour improvements were begun in 1854 with the building of the Napier Mole or causeway connecting Kiamari with the mainland. The entrance has a minimum depth of 25 ft.; and a large number of improvements and extensions have been carried out by the harbour board, which was created in 1880, and transformed in 1886 into the port trust. The great extension of the canal colonies in the Punjab, entirely devoted to the cultivation of wheat, has immensely increased the export trade of Karachi. It now ranks as the third port of India, being surpassed only by Calcutta and Bombay. The principal articles of export, besides wheat, are oil-seeds, cotton, wool, hides and bones. The annual value of exports, including specie, amounts to about nine millions sterling. There are iron works and manufactures of cotton cloth, silk scarves and carpets. The fisheries and oyster beds are important.