Karachi
Port, 1843–1947
روشنين جو شھرکراچیکَراچیکیرانچی
Today Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Same place, same name.
Key facts
- Historical name
- Karachi
- Type
- Port
- Coordinates
- 24.8600° N, 67.0100° E(seed dataset)
- Governance
- Directly administered
- Record confidence
- High confidence
- Identifiers
- Q8660
Directly administered by the Governor-General of India, and therefore part of British India in the statutory sense of the Interpretation Act 1889, s.18.
Location
Pin placed at the coordinates recorded for this place. Colonial-era boundaries are not drawn.
Description
Chief seaport of Sind and headquarters of Karachi District, which the Imperial Gazetteer places in 'Sind, Bombay'.
Historical notes
Taken by the British in 1839 and annexed with Sind in 1843; Sind was administered as part of the Bombay Presidency until it became a separate province in 1936. Capital of Pakistan 1947-59.
Administrative history
Administrative parenthood changed over time. Each row states the years it is recorded for, and the source it comes from.
| Years | Relation | Unit | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| from 1901 | Part of | Bombay PresidencyPresidency · Directly administeredSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | High confidencesource |
| from 1901 | Part of | KarachiDistrict · Directly administeredSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | High confidencesource |
Recorded names
Every documented spelling and transliteration held for this place. The historical name is canonical; modern names redirect to it.
| Name | Script | Type | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karachi | Latin | Historical English | — |
| Crotchey | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Heart of Pakistan | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Karachi | Latin | Indigenous | — |
| Karachi City | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Karatchi | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Kurrachee | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| The Lighting City | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| روشنين جو شھر | Arabic | Indigenous | — |
| کراچی | Arabic | Indigenous | — |
| کَراچی | Arabic | Indigenous | — |
| کیرانچی | Arabic | Indigenous | — |
| ڪراچي | Arabic | Indigenous | — |
Records and references
- Imperial Gazetteer of India
- Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31), Vol. XV (15), p. 1
- Census of India
- Census of India, 1901, Vol. IX (9): Bombay (Town and Island excepted)
Sources
- Archive· descriptionPublic domain
Internet Archive scan: in.ernet.dli.2015.55938, Internet Archive
Scanned volume of a pre-1929 publication (Imperial Gazetteer of India 1908–31 / Census of India 1901); public domain. Digitisation courtesy of the Internet Archive.
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Gazetteer· administrativeLicence unverified
Digital South Asia Library, University of Chicago — the 1908–31 text is public domain, but DSAL's digital presentation states no licence; link-out only
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Database· identityCC0
Wikidata (Q8660), Wikimedia Foundation
Wikidata, CC0 1.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Encyclopedia· generalCC BY-SA
Wikipedia: Karachi, Wikimedia Foundation
Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
Sources tagged “Licence unverified” are linked to rather than reproduced. Scans and images are only displayed inline where the licence is confirmed permissive.