Madras as an English Company Settlement

Madras (now Chennai) served as the principal settlement of the English East India Company on the Coromandel Coast. Founded in 1639, it grew from a strip of coastal land into the fortified hub of the Madras Presidency, laying the territorial and commercial groundwork for British expansion in South India.

Acquisition and Founding of Madraspatnam

Negotiation with the Nayakas

The English sought a stable base on the Coromandel Coast due to trade disruptions and heavy local duties at Masulipatnam. Francis Day, a factor at Armagaon, along with his superior Andrew Cogan, negotiated with Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka and his brother Ayyappa Nayaka, local governors representing Peda Venkata Raya (the ruler of the Chandragiri-Vijayanagara Kingdom). On August 22, 1639, Day secured a grant for a three-mile-long strip of land at the fishing village of Madraspatnam.

Terms of the Grant

The grant gave the English authority to build a fort, mint coins, and manage the settlement. The English agreed to share half of the custom duties collected at the port with the local ruler. The site offered a natural defense bounded by the Cooum River and the Bay of Bengal, along with direct access to local weaving communities.

Construction of Fort St. George and Urban Layout

Establishment of Fort St. George

Construction began immediately under Andrew Cogan and Francis Day. The inner fort, completed on April 23, 1640 (St. George’s Day), was named Fort St. George. It became the first fortified factory owned by the English East India Company in India. In 1652, Madras was raised to the status of a Presidency, independent of the Surat factory.

White Town and Black Town

The spatial settlement of Madras developed into a dual socio-urban structure:

• White Town: Located inside Fort St. George, this secure area housed European factors, military officers, administrative buildings, and St. Mary’s Church (consecrated in 1680 as the oldest Anglican church east of Suez).
• Black Town: Situated outside the fort walls to the north, this area was inhabited by Indian merchants, weavers, dyers, dubashes (interpreters), and artisans who supplied trade goods to the Company.

Commercial Operations and Strategic Role

Textile Procurement Hub

Madras developed into a procurement center for fine cotton cloth, including salampores, longcloth, and chintz. The Coromandel textiles sourced through Madras were shipped directly to Europe or used as barter currency in Southeast Asia to purchase pepper and spices.

The Role of Indian Intermediaries

English factors relied on wealthy local merchants and dubashes (meaning “two-language speakers”) to negotiate with inland weavers, arrange advance payments (dadan system), and manage local supply chains. Key merchant families included Beri Thimmapa, who assisted Francis Day in recruiting weavers to populate Black Town.

Governance and Municipal Evolution

Incorporation of the Madras Corporation (1688)

King James II issued a charter in 1687 authorizing the creation of a local municipal body to collect taxes for urban upkeep. On September 29, 1688, the Madras Municipal Corporation was established, making it the oldest municipal corporation in India and the second oldest in the Commonwealth after London. Nathaniel Higginson served as the first Mayor, assisted by a court of Aldermen representing English, Portuguese, Hindu, and Muslim merchant communities.

Local Conflicts and Carnatic Politics

As the Vijayanagara Empire dissolved, authority over the region shifted to the Sultanate of Golconda and later to the Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb. By the early eighteenth century, Madras fell within the jurisdiction of the Nawab of the Carnatic (Arcot). The English maintained trade by securing fresh firmans and paying annual rents (kavl) to the Nawabs.

Anglo-French Rivalry and the Siege of Madras

First Carnatic War (1746–1748)

During the First Carnatic War, French forces led by Admiral La Bourdonnais and Joseph François Dupleix attacked Madras. In September 1746, the English surrendered Fort St. George after a short siege. The Nawab of the Carnatic, Anwar-ud-din, sent an army to retake the fort, but the French defeated his larger force at the Battle of St. Thome (Battle of Adyar River) in 1746.

Restoration and Expansion

The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession in Europe. Under its terms, Madras was restored to the British in 1749 in exchange for Louisbourg in North America. Following its return, Stringer Lawrence and Robert Clive expanded the fortifications of Fort St. George, turning Madras into a heavy military base that successfully resisted a second French siege led by Count de Lally in 1758–1759.

Key Historical Facts and Milestones

Elihu Yale served as the President of Madras from 1687 to 1692. His financial donations to the Collegiate School of Connecticut in 1718 led to the institution being renamed Yale College (now Yale University). The term Dubash referred to Indian brokers who controlled local labor and credit markets, acting as primary links between English merchants and local trade networks. St. Mary’s Church inside Fort St. George was constructed using bomb-proof masonry to withstand military sieges and holds the marriage registration record of Robert Clive to Margaret Maskelyne (1753). The Madras Mint was authorized by local Nayakas in 1639 to strike gold pagodas (regional currency bearing the image of Lord Venkateswara), which were accepted in trade across South India.