If there is a monument that serves as Britain’s first lasting footprint upon India, Fort St. George would be it. The East India Company landed on the Indian shores in the 1600s. But it was only in 1639 that the first factory was set up in a region that had little else besides fishing villages.
The land was purchased from a local Hindu Naik for a pittance. By 1673, it was four hundred yards in length and hundred yards in breadth, with guns on every corner of the fall. Above it stood the banner of Saint George, the patron saint of England.
This fort marked the nucleus of what became the city of Madras, now Chennai. Chennai today is a metropolis, its urban area covering 1189 square kilometres. The city grew around the ancient British fort which had a colourful history.
Chennai might never have been, had the British been successful in their negotiations. Their first choice was Masalipatnam in modern day Andhra Pradesh. When that didn’t work out, they sought Armagon – south of Masalipatnam. That deal didn’t reach fruition either, though a British garrison would remain stationed at Armagon. The dirt for the fort was carved out of a nearby hill, Nari Medu or ‘hog hill.’ It took 13 years to complete building the fort, and was designed to be defended by only 100 soldiers.
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