History of Chennai: Difference between revisions

The Kapaleeshwarar temple in Mylapore was built by the Pallava kings in the 7th century

Chennai (ெசன்னை in Tamil), formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is India's fourth largest city. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated population of 6.90 million (2005), the 368-year-old city is the 31st largest metropolitan area in the world.

Chennai boasts of a long history from ancient South Indian empires through colonialism to its evolution in the 20th century as an IT hub.

Ancient Times

The region served as an important administrative, military, and economic center as far back as the 1st century. Records indicate that the ancient province of Tondaimandalam had its capital and military headquarters at Puzhal, which today is a small village on the northwest fringe of Chennai.

It is hypothesized that the apostle St. Thomas had immigrated to India in 52 to preach the teachings of Jesus, and he preached from on top of a hillock in the southwest part of the city. He was later said to be assassinated around the year 70.

Over the centuries many rulers ruled over the region as the South Indian empires grew stronger. The Pallavas who were the most prominent built several large temples in and around Chennai, which include the Kapaleeshwarar temple at Mylapore and the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram.

Early European settlers

File:Chennai-fort-st-george.jpg

The Fort St George as it stands today

Modern Chennai had its origins as a colonial city and its initial growth was closely tied to its importance as an artificial harbour and trading centre. When the Portuguese arrived in 1522, they built a port and named it São Tomé, after the Christian apostle St. Thomas, who is believed to have preached there between the years 52 and 70. The region then passed into the hands of the Dutch, who established themselves near Pulicat just north of the city in 1612. On 22 August 1639, the British East India Company was granted land by the Damerla Venkatadri Nayakudu,Nayak of Wandiwash as a base for a permanent settlement, believed to be called Madrasemen. A year later, Fort St George was built, which subsequently became the nucleus around which the colonial city grew. Elihu Yale, after whom Yale University is named, was British governor of Madras for five years. Part of the fortune that he amassed in Madras as part of the colonial administration became the financial foundation for Yale University. In 1746, Fort St George and Madras were captured by the French under General La Bourdonnais, the Governor of Mauritius, who plundered the town and its outlying villages.

Arrival of the British

The city of Madras in 1909

By 1612, the Dutch established themselves in Pulicat to the north. Modern Chennai grew out of a small village when in 1639 a fishing hamlet called Madraspatnam was selected by early English merchants of the British East India Company as a site for a settlement.The region is called by different names as madrapupatnam, madras kuppam, madraspatnam, and madirazpatnam by locals.It is difficult to find exact boundaries of so-called madraspatnam before the arrival of British. Another small town, Chennapatnam, lay to the south of it. This place is named so by Damerla Venkatadri Nayakudu,Nayak of Wandiwash in remembrance of his father Damerla Chennappa Nayakudu.He is local governor for the last Raja of Chandragiri, Sri Ranga Raya VI of Vijayanagara Empire. It is believed that these two hamlets Madraspatnam and Chennapatnam, are eventually merged due to expansion of the city. Some believe that the British favoured the name Madras while the locals called it Chennapatnam or Chennapuri.The word Chenna is a Dravidian word and it seems to be originated from a Telugu word Chennu meaning beautiful.The city was renamed Chennai in August 1996 as the name Madras was perceived to be of Portuguese origin. It is believed that the original Portuguese name is Madre de Sois, named after a Portuguese high authority who was one among the early settlers in 1500. There have been suggestions though that Chennai may not be a Tamil name while Madras may be of Tamil origin.

In the seventeenth century when the British decided to build a factory on the east coast they selected Armagaon(Durgarazpatnam), a village around 35 miles north of present-day Chennai, as the site. But they soon realized that the place was unsuitable for trade purposes. So Francis Day, the chief of the Armagaon factory sailed southwards to acquire a suitable site.

Damarla Venkatadri Nayakudu, local governor of the Vijayanagar Empire ruled the coastal part of the region, from Pulicat to the Portuguese settlement of San Thome, which is now included within the City of Madras. He had his head-quarters at Wandiwash and his brother Damerla Ayyappa Nayakudu resided at Poonamallee, a few miles to the west of Madras, and looked after the affairs of the coast. It is possible, that it was Damerla Ayyappa Nayakudu who invited Francis Day to come and choose a suitable site in the territory of his brother, and suggested that Madraspatnam will be suitable for the factory. Francis Day's dubash Beri Thimanna Chetti negotiated with the Damarla Venkatadri Nayakudu.

The offer looked good and Francis Day wrote to his Headquarters at Masulipatam for permission to inspect the proposed site at Madraspatnam and examine the possibilities of trade there. Madraspatnam seemed favorable during the inspection. He wrote to his chief, Andrews Cogan that the calicos woven at Madraspatnam were much cheaper than those at Armagaon. The last king of the vanishing Vijayanagar Empire, Rajah of Chandragiri, Sri Ranga Raya VI Granted Permission in March 1639.

Francis Day secured the Grant (copies of which endorsed by Andrew Cogan, the Chief of the Masulipatam Factory, are even now preserved) giving over to the English a three-mile long strip of land, a fishing village called Madraspatnam. It was from this narrow, surf wracked, no man's land, which the locals called 'narimedu', a 'Jackal mound' that the city of Madras was born. The Grant is for a period of two years and empowering them to build a fort and castle at that place which is approximately 5 square kilometre sand strip.

The English Factors at Masulipatam were satisfied with the action of Mr. Francis Day. They requested Francis Day and the Damerla Venkatadri Nayakudu to wait until the sanction of the superior English Presidency of Bantam (in java) could be obtained for their action.

Francis Day, his dubash Beri Thimmanna Chetti and their superior Andrew Cogan could be considered as the founders of Chennai, then Madras. The Company called the place Black Town, as the Indians here met its needs of cloth and indigo.

In 1639 the British East India Company was granted land between these settlements by the Damerla Venkatadri Nayakudu, Nayak of Wandiwash, where they built Fort St George in 1640. The Fort was intended to strike shock and awe into opponents of British presence in India. It became the nucleus around which the colonial city grew. The Fort still stands today, and a part of it is used to house the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and the Office of the Chief Minister. Elihu Yale, after whom Yale University is named, was British governor of Madras for five years. Part of the fortune that he amassed in Madras as part of the colonial administration became the financial foundation for Yale University.

In 1746, Fort St George and Madras were captured by the French under General La Bourdonnais, who used to be the Governor of Mauritius. The French are then described to have plundered the village of Chepauk and demolished Blacktown, the locality across from the port where all the dockyard labourers used to live ^[1].

File:Madras Mt.Road.jpg

A view of the now busy Mount Road, nearly a century back

The British regained control in 1749 through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. They then strengthened and expanded Fort St George over the next thirty years to bear subsequent attacks, the strongest of which came from the French (1759, under Thomas Arthur, Comte de Lally), and Hyder Ali, the Sultan of Mysore (1767). The 1783 version of Fort St George is what still stands today.

When the British were in complete control of the city, after a decade's feud with the French, they expanded the city by encompassing the neighbouring villages of Triplicane, Egmore, Purasawalkam and Chetput to form the city of Chennapatnam, as it was called by locals then.

In the latter half of the 18th century, Madras became an important English naval base, and the administrative centre of the growing British dominions in southern India. The British fought with various European powers, notably the French at Vandavasi (Wandiwash) in 1760, where de Lally was defeated by Sir Eyre Coote, and the Danish at Tharangambadi (Tranquebar). The British eventually dominated, driving the French, the Dutch and the Danes away entirely, and reducing the French dominions in India to four tiny coastal enclaves. The British also fought four wars with the Kingdom of Mysore under Hyder Ali and later his son Tipu Sultan, which led to their eventual domination of India's south. Madras was the capital of the Madras Presidency, also called Madras Province.

Post-independence

After India became independent, the city became the administrative and legislative capital of Madras State which was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1968. However in 1953, neighbouring Telugu speakers wanted Madras as the capital of Andhra Pradesh including the famous slogan "Madras Manade" (Madras is ours) before Tirupati was included in AP. Madras at that time is a indivisible mixture of tamil and telugu cultures.It is dificult to determine to decide who should possess it.Panagal Raja, Chief Minister of Madras Presidancy in early 1920s told that cooum river should be kept as boundary giving north portion to andhra region and south to tamils.In 1928 Sir C.Sankaran Nair sent a report to Central Council discussing why Madras does not belong to tamils.Though historically and geographically it belongs to andhra region,because of high political dominance madras remained with tamils.According to JPC report(Jawahar Lal Nehru, Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya,C.Rajagopalachari) "Telugu people should leave Madras for tamils if they want a new state".So new state formed for telugu people called Andhra formed with capital as kurnool, as Madras remained for tamils.

From 1965 to 1967, it was an important base for the Tamil agitation against the perceived imposition of Hindi, and witnessed sporadic rioting. Chennai witnessed further political violence due to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, with 33 people killed by a bomb planted by the Tamil Eelam Army at the airport in 1984, and assassination of thirteen members of the EPRLF and two Indian civilians by the rival LTTE in 1991 ^[2], ^[3]. In the same year, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Sriperumbudur, a small town close to Chennai, whilst campaigning in Tamil Nadu, by Thenmuli Rajaratnam A.K.A Dhanu. Dhanu is widely believed to be have been a LTTE member. In 1996, the Government of Tamil Nadu renamed the city from "Madras" to "Chennai" by DMK Government. The 2004 tsunami lashed the shores of Chennai killing many and permanently altering the coastline.

City Name

The name Madras is derived from Madraspatnam, the site chosen by the British East India Company for a permanent settlement in 1639. Another small town, Chennapatnam, lay to the south of it. In due course the two towns were merged, and the term Madras was favoured over Chennai by the British. The city was renamed Chennai in August 1996 Template:Inote as the name Madras was perceived to be of Portuguese origin. It is believed that the original Portuguese name is Madre de Sois, named after a Portuguese high authority who was one among the early settlers in 1500. There have been suggestions though that Chennai may not be a Tamil name while Madras may be of Tamil origin.