Chennai History
Chennai, the east southern coastal city of India has been developed into the fourth largest metropolis of India. Earlier known as Madras, Chennai has a rich history to tell.
The Empires of South Indian Dynasties
Chennai was once the administrative centre of the Madras Presidency established by the British East India Company. Originally it is a coastal city sited on the Coromandel Coast along the Bay of Bengal. Before the British colonization in Chennai then Madras, it was the empire of the south Indian local dynasties like Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas and Vijayanagar. Various remnants of the past are now scattered in and around the city. The testimonies of the rulers are its 7th century Pallava Port, Kapalesvara Temple and Parthasarathi Temple. Maylopore town was once the port of the Pallava. It is worth mentioning that Tamil bhakti literature of the sixth-ninth centuries has a mention of the present parts of Chennai like Poonamalee and Triplicane.
European Colonization
The European colonizers-Dutch, Portuguese, French and Britain had colony in Chennai, though British was the most successful one to establish their trade centre in Madras. Landing in 1522 in Chennai the Portuguese built a port here, namely Sao Tome, as there is a legend (history?) that St. Thomas, one of the 12 apostles of Christ had preached Jesus’ message in the area in between 52 to 70 AD. It is said that he was killed by Indian sages when he lived in a cave of a mountain. St. Thomas Basilica was established here in this faith.
Chennai’s Growth as a Prominent City under the British
The origin of Chennai as a metropolitan city dates back to 1639, when Francis Day and Andrew Cogan, two merchants of the East India Company, bought a strip of land from Peda Venkata Raya, the Vijaynagar King and established a trading factory cum warehouse here. St. George Fort was built by them as a control centre and the George Town was established around the Fort. In 1746 French colonizers attacked the British colony settlements yet it was again come under the British. Gradually British expanded their Madras Presidency to other areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Chennai by its rail lines was connected with Mumbai and Kolkatta and it was the only city of India who witnesses the attack of the World War.
Chennai’s Union with Independence India
The British rule came to and end and India got independence in 1947, Chennai was declared as the capital of the Madras state. It was later renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1968.
In 1997, the name of Madras was changed into Chennai by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The hub of British trade centre, George Town which bears the testimony of the British rule now houses the nerve centre of the State.
