Kannur derived its name from the location of its old headquarters at Kannur town. The old name ‘‘Cannanore’’ is the anglicised form of the Malayalam word Kannur. According to one opinion, ‘‘Kannur’’ is a derivation from Kanathur, an ancient village, the name of which survives even today in one of the wards of Kannur Municipality.Anotherversion is that Kannur might have assumed its name from one of the , deities of the Hindu pantheon, a compound of two words, Kannan (Lord Krishna) and Ur (place)making it the placeof Lord Krishna. In this context, it is worth mentioning that the deity of the Katalayi Sreekrishna temple was originally installed in a shrine at Katalayi Kotta in the south eastern part of the present Kannur town.

Early in the 9th century A.D., the Cheras re-established their political supremacy in Kerala under Kulasekhara Varman. This second line of Chera emperors ruled till 1102 A.D with their capital at Mahodayapuram. The bulk of the area, comprising of the present Kannurdistrict, seems to have been included in this empire. A separate line of rulers known as the Mooshaka kings held sway over Chirakkal and Kasaragod areas (Kolathunad) with their capital near Mount Eli. It is not clear whether this line of rulers were attached to Mahodayapura or whether they ruled as an independant line of kings in their own right. By the 14th century A.D., the old Mooshaka kingdom had come to be knownas Kolathunad and the rulers known as Kolathiris and had come into prominence in north Kerala.

The Kolathiris were a power to reckon with at the time of the arrival of the portuguese towards the end of the 15th century .They were political and commercial rivals of the Zamorins of Kozhikkode.

During the medieval age, several Arab scholars visited the west coast. Baliapatam, Srikantapuram, Dhharrnadom, Bekal and Mount Eli (Ezhimala) are s ome of the places. which figure prominently in their travelogues.

Though Vasco Da Gamma, the famous portuguese navigator, did not visit Kannur on his way to Kozhikkode in May 1498, he established contacts with the Kolathiri ruler. His ships which had left Kozhikkode on August 29, 1498 were contacted by the boats sent by the Kolathiri and Gama was invited to visit the palace. The aim of the Kolathiri was to gain wealth and power with the help of the Portuguese, the same way the Zamorin had acquired with the help of the Arabs. In winning the alliance of the Kolathiri, Vasco Da Gamma, in turn, had successfully exploited the jealousies of the native princes and won for the Portuguese a virtual monopoly of the pepper trade.

Francisco De Almedia was sent from Portugal with specific instructions to erect forts at stratetgic points. He started constructing the Kannur Fort in 1505 and it was named St. Angelo. On March 16, 1506, the Portuguese effectively intercepted an armada of Turks and Arabs, whom the Zamorin had launched against Kannur. The Portuguese navy under Lorenzo Almedia engaged the Zamorin's fleet in battle and the Portuguese ships won a decisive victory. This naval victory resulted in the establishment of Portuguese naval supremacy in the Indian seas. The Kolathiri and the Zamorin fought a common war against the Portuguese and they besieged the fort of St.Angelo at Kannur, in 1564. But the portuguese continued to maintain a precarious foothold at Kannur till 1663 when the fort was captured by the Dutch in February that year. The English East lndia Company got its first foothold in the district towards the closing years of the 17th century , when it acquired a site at Thalassery for the erection of a fort and a factory . In 1725, the French captured Mayyazhi and renamed it as Mahe in honour of the French captain Francois Mahe De Labourdonnais. The most important episode in the political history of north Kerala in the second half of the 18th century is the conquest of Mysore by the two muslim rulers, Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan. Haidar Ali conquered Malabar in 1773. In January 1788, Tippu Sultan descended on Kerala with a large army and founded a new capital at Feroke for his Malabar province. The treaties of Seringapatanam, signed on February 22 and March 18, 1792, formally ceded Malabar to the British.

Kannur is bound by the Western Ghats in the East (Coorg district of Karnataka State), Kozhikkode and Wayanad districts, in the South, Lakshadeep sea in the West and Kasaragod, the northern most district of Kerala, in the North. The district can be divided into three geographical regions - highlands, midlands and lowlands. The highland region comprises mainly of mountains. The midland region, lying between the mountains and the low lands, is made up of undulating hills and valleys.

The district has a humid climate with an oppressive hot season from March to the end of May. This is followed by the South-West monsoon which, continues till the end of September. October and November form the post-monsoon or retreating monsoon season. The North East monsoon which follows, extends up to the end of February, although the rain generally ceases after December. During the months of April and May, the mean daily maximum temperature is about 35° Celsius. Temperature is low in December and January -about 200 Celsius. On certain days the night temperature may go down to 16° Celsius. The annual average rainfall is 3438 mm and more than 80 percent of it occurs during the period of South -West monsoon. The rainfall during July is very heavy and the district receives 68 per cent of the annual rainfall during this season.

Kannur district is very rich in vegetation. Natural vegetation, except in some coasta1.regions, consists of different types of forests. But, in spite of generally favourable climatic conditions, vegetation is not , uniform. Major part of the district comes under midland region with numerous hills and dales and it presents an undulating surface gradually ascending and merging into the slopes of Western Ghats.

Majority of the population of Kannur are dependent directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihood. The main crops grown in the district are paddy, coconut, pepper, cashew, tapioca, arecanut. This is the area of major plantations crops like coffee, rubber, tea, cardamom and other spices. Timber trees like teak, veetty, etc are grown in plenty in this region.

The lowland is comparatively narrow and comprises of rivers, deltas and seashore. This is a region of coconut and paddy cultivation. Paddy occupies the largest area among annual crops. Next to paddy, coconut is the most important crop in the district. Coconut is extensively grown throughout the district. An important cash crop grown in the district is cashewnut. The district plays a unique role in its cultivation and production. The vast stretches of suitable waste lands with low fertility status extends scope for expansion of cashew cultivation and its allied industries.

Among spices, pepper occupies an important place. Pepper is mostly grown as an intercrop with coconut, arecanut and various fruit trees. In the hilly areas of the district, the inter-cultivation is done with rubber and cashew. Rubber is the most important industrial cash crop among the plantation crops. Majority of the rubber cultivation of Kannur district is in Taliparamba taluk, followed by Thalassery and Kannur taluks.

Kannur district has had its industrial importance from very early days. Being blessed with a variety of factors such as good soil, salubrious climate, rich forests, enormous fishing potentials, minerals as well as infrastructural facilities like road, rail, inland water transport, etc., the district offers ample scope for the development of industries. Nevertheless, Kannur is an industrially backward district in the state. There are only one major and five mini industrial estates in the district. Keltron Complex, Mangattuparamba and Western India Plywood's, Valappattanam are the two major industries. The Western India Plywoods is one of the biggest wood based industrial complexes in South East Asia. The district has 12 medium-scale industries, most of which are either cotton textile or plywood manufacturing.

Textiles, beedi and coir are the important traditional industries in the district. About one lakh people depend on the textile industry for livelihood. The textile industry which accounts for 40% of all Small Scale Industrial (SSI) units in the district, was introduced in early 19th century by the German Basel Mission. The first ready-made garment unit in Kannur and the first hosiery unit in Kuthuparamba were started around the end of the 19th century. The beedi industry provides employment to about 50,000 people. Famous beedi co-operative ‘‘Dinesh Beedi’’ is in Kannur district. The coir industry which uses traditional technology provides employment to about 11,000 workers.

Typical flora of Kannur area is a most deciduous forest consisting of a mixture of evergreen and deciduous trees. Undergrowth consists of a variety of annuals and perennials. The mountains are a continuation of the midland region, gradually ascending to the main ridge of the Western Ghats. Soil in the western slopes is a ferrugenous red, sandy loam. Vegetation over the whole area is of the forest type. Irregular distribution of teak, localised areas of bamboo dominanace, change of good quality forest into open grass lands, etc are characteristic.

Kannur district is very rich in vegetation. Natural vegetation, except in some coastal regions, consists of different types of forests. But, in spite of generally favourable climatic conditions, vegetation is not uniform. In restricted regions, with their own micro climate or special edaphic features, plant formations assume different characters. Thus, plant communities, ranging from psammophytes and mangroves to evergreen forests are seen in this district.

The coastal region is a comparatively narrow zone, characterised by secondary soil which is rather lose and sandy. The sterile sandy tract supports only a poor vegetation of the psammophyte type. Plants are few and mostly prostrate. Erect species are small and short. Owing to very poor water holding capacity of the soil, these plants are provided with special xerophytic adaptations. Another conspicuous feature of this area is the mangroove vegetation, found at the estuaries of rivers and backwaters, and often extending to the interior along their banks. Human interference has much changed the vegetation of the coastal region.

Major part of the district comes under midland region with numerous hills and dales and it presents an undulating surface gradually ascending and merging into the slopes of Western Ghats. Soil is secondary and lateritic with underlying rock of laterite or disintegrated gneiss. Typical flora of this area is deciduous forest consisting of a mixture of evergreen and deciduous trees. Undergrowth consists of a variety of annuals and perennials.

The mountains are a continuation of the midland region, gradually ascending to the main ridge of the Western Ghats. Soil in the western slopes is a ferrugenous red, sandy loam. Vegetation over the whole area is of the forest type. Irregular distribution of teak, localised areas of bamboo dominance, change of good quality forest into open grass lands, etc are characteristic.

A tranquil mega sanctuary on the slopes of the Western Ghats covered with tropical and semi evergreen forests. Herds of deer, elephants, boar and bisons are quite common. Leopards, jungle cats, various type squirrels and rare species of birds have been found here. Around 160 species of birds have been found here. Certain species of birds, which are considered extinct, have also been found here.