“Maritime History of the Pearl Fishery Coast with Special Reference to Thoothukudi - AD 1500-1658” is an attempt to highlight the maritime trade and commerce conducted by the Portuguese on the Pearl Fishery Coast between AD 1500 1658. Though the Portuguese had ports and trading centres in the Coromandel Coast which extends from Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) to Pazhaverkadu (Pulicat) , the researcher has taken for her study the area lying between Kanyakumari (the southern most tip of India) and the island of Mannar which was called as the Pearl Fishery Coast by the Portuguese.