East India Company- Foundation of Madras

East India Company- Foundation of Madras

In 1638 the British abandoned the Armagaon as unsuited for commerce and next year i.e. in 1639 they founded Fort Saint George, or Madraspatnam or Chennapatam.

• The fort was completed on April 23, coinciding with St. George’s Day, celebrated in honour of St. George, the patron saint of England.
• The inhabitated area around it was called St. George Town.

Meanwhile in 1633-24 they had been able to create new establishment in Bantam in Java. The Saint Fort George was made subordinate to the Bantam establishment till 1653, when it was raised to the rank of a presidency.

• This site was purchased from the raja of Chandragiri, a descendant of the Vijayanagar dynasty and is known as first territorial possession of the English in India.