Galle , city (1995 est. pop. 87,000), capital of Southern prov., extreme S Sri Lanka, on the Indian Ocean. An agricultural market center, it exports tea, rubber, coconut oil, cloves, and other products of the surrounding region. The city has a cement factory as well. Famous as a trade center for Chinese and Arabs by 100 BC, Galle rose to prominence under Portuguese rule (1507-1640), when it became Sri Lanka's chief port. It was the capital of Sri Lanka under the Dutch (1640-56), whose original fort, built to guard the harbor, still stands. The city passed to the British in 1796. Its commercial... Read more