Cape Negrais Explained

Cape Negrais (also known as Pagoda Point (ဆံတော်ရှင်မြတ်ငူ) or Mawtin Point (မော်တင်စွန်း, Mawtin Soon) is a cape in Burma (Myanmar), west of the Irrawaddy Delta. It is located 133 km to the NNE of Preparis Island and 193 kilometres from the nearest point in the Indian union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. For a long time, it was occupied by the Kingdom of Mrauk U (1429–1785 CE). It was a battleground in the Taungoo–Mrauk-U War of 1545 to 1547.[1] Most of English traders were massacred in October 1759.[2]

It is northernmost point of Andaman Sea where it meets Bay of Bengal. To the south and east of this point lies Andaman Sea, and to the north and west lies the Bay of Bengal.

Etymology

The European name 'Negrais' is borrowed from the Burmese name 'Nagariz' (နဂရစ်), which in turn came from 'Nagaraj' (Sanskrit: नागराज,). It refers to the story of the dragon king 'Jeyasena'(ဇေယျသေန) taking some holy hairs of Buddha and creating a cape Pagoda.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 India & Bay of Bengal Enroute By National Geospatial-intelligence Agency
  2. https://archive.org/details/CaptainAlvesAccountOfTheLossOfNegraisIn1759/page/n1/mode/2up Captain Alves' Account of the Loss of Negrais in 1759