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Honavar or Onore, was a notable seaport of British India, in the North Kannada district of Uttara Karnataka. It is mentioned as a place of trade as early as the 16th century, and is associated with two interesting incidents in Anglo-Indian history. In 1670, the English factors here had a bull-dog which killed a sacred bull. An enraged mob killed 18 people in retaliation. In 1784 it was defended for three months by Captain Torriano and a detachment of sepoys against the army of Tippu Sultan.

Honnavar has also a history of having the name "Honnupura" (Kannada:ಹೊನ್ನುಪುರ)which might have been a major market and export hub for gold and related things.

Honavar, once was under the ruling of queen Chennabhairadevi (Kannada:ಚೆನ್ನಭೈರಾದೇವಿ) of Gerusoppa range, who is believed to have been defeated by the British.

According to Ibn Batuta, the people of Honavar were Muslims of the Shafai or Arab sect, peaceful and religious. The men were famous sea-fighters and the women were chaste and beautiful. Most of them knew the Quran by heart. There were twenty-three schools for boys and thirteen for girls. The ruling chief was Jamal-ud-din Muhammad Ibn Hassan. He was subject to an infidel king named Hariab, that is Harihara or Haripappa of Vijayanagar (A.D. 1336-1350). The prince had an army of six thousand men. However, the people of Malabar, though a courageous and a war-like race, feared the chief for his bravery at sea and paid him tribute. Ibn Batuta went to Calicut and then returned to Honavar where he found the chief preparing an expedition against the island of Sindabur or Chitakul (present day Sadashivgad) near Karwar.

Note:This Content copied from wikipedia