RATNAGIRI  , a

town and district of British India, in the southern division of Bombay . The town is on the seacoast, 136 m . S. of Bombay . Pop . (1901) 16,094 . A leading industry is the sardine fishery, which usually takes place in January and February, and engages fleets of canoes . The DISTRICT OF RATNAGIRI has an area of 3998 sq. m . It forms a strip between the western Ghats and the sea, and its general character is rugged; nearly all the fertile land lies on the banks of the streams which intersect the country . The coast, about 150 M. in length, is almost uniformly rocky and dangerous . At intervals of about to m. a river or bay opens, sufficiently large to form a secure harbour for native craft, and the promontories at the river mouths are almost invariably crowned with the ruins of an old fort . The rivers and creeks are generally navigable for about 20 m., and afford facilities for a coasting trade . At the beginning of British rule there were no roads, and traffic was confined to places where there was water carriage; but a network of roads has been made, opening communication by hill passes with the Deccan .

Ratnagiri formed

part of the dominions of the peshwa, and was annexed by the British government in 1818 on the overthrow of Baji Rao . In 1901 the population was 1,167,927, showing an increase of 6% in the decade . Ratnagiri is the home of the influential class of Chitpavan Brahmans . It also supplies factory hands to Bombay and sepoys to the native army .