Fort St. George (or historically, White Town
) is a fortress in the coastal city of
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. Founded in 1639, it was the first
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
(later
British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally an uninhabited land. Thus, it is a feasible contention to say that the city (formerly named Madras) evolved around the fortress. The fort currently houses the
Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and other official buildings.
History
The
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...
(EIC), which had entered India around 1600 for trading activities, had begun licensed trading at
Surat
Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is ...
, which was its initial bastion. However, to secure its trade lines and commercial interests in the
spice trade, it felt the necessity of a port closer to the
Malaccan Straits, and succeeded in purchasing a piece of coastal land, originally called ''Chennirayarpattinam'' or ''Channapatnam'', where the Company began the construction of a harbour and a fort. The fort was completed on 23 April 1644 at a cost of £3,000, coinciding with
St George's Day, celebrated in honour of the patron saint of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. The fort, hence christened Fort St George, faced the sea and some fishing villages, and it soon became the hub of merchant activity. It gave birth to a new settlement area called
George Town (historically referred to as Black Town), which grew to envelop the villages and led to the formation of the city of Madras. It also helped to establish
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
influence over the
Carnatic and to keep the kings of
Arcot
Arcot (natively spelt as Ārkāḍu) is a town and urban area of Ranipet district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Located on the southern banks of Palar River, the city straddles a trade route between Chennai and Bangalore or Salem, betw ...
and
Srirangapatna, as well as the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
forces based at
Pondichéry, at bay. In 1665, after the EIC received word of the formation of the new
French East India Company, the fort was strengthened and enlarged while its garrison was increased.
According to the 17th-century merchant and traveller
Thomas Bowrey, Fort St. George was:
without all dispute a beneficial place to the Honourable English India Company, and with all the Residence of theire Honourable Agent and Governour all of their Affaires Upon this Coast and the Coast of Gingalee, the Kingdoms also of Orixa, ( Orissa) Bengala (Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
), and Pattana ( Patna), the said Governour and his Councell here resideigne, for the Honour of our English Nation keepinge and maintainneinge the place in great Splendour, Civil and good Government, Entertaineinge nobly all Foraign Embassadors, and provideinge great quantities of Muzlinge ( Muslin) Callicoes ( Calico) &c. to be yearly transported to England.
The Fort is a stronghold with high walls that withstood a number of assaults in the 18th century. It briefly passed into the possession of the French from 1746 to 1749, but was restored to
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
under the
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George ...
.
The Fort now serves as one of the administrative headquarters for the
legislative assembly of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
state and it still houses a garrison of troops in transit to various locations at South India and the
Andamans. The Fort Museum contains many relics of the ''
Raj'' era, including portraits of many of the
Governors of Madras
This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947.
English Agents
In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized be ...
. The fort is maintained by the
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...
, with the administrative support of Indian Army.
File:Fort St George Madras 1858.jpg, Fort St George in 1858
File:In the Fort, Madras (MacLeod, p.124, 1871) - Copy.jpg, In the Fort, Madras (MacLeod, p. 124, 1871)
The church
St Mary's Church is the oldest
Anglican church in India. It was built between 1678 and 1680 on the orders of the then Agent of Madras
Streynsham Master. The tombstones in its graveyard are the oldest English or British tombstones in India. This ancient prayer house solemnised the marriages of
Robert Clive and Governor
Elihu Yale, who later became the first benefactor of
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
in the United States.
Museum
The Fort Museum, which is the only ticketed institution of the Archaeological Survey of India in the complex, exhibits many items of the period of English and later British rule. This building was completed in 1795 and first housed the office of the Madras Bank. The hall upstairs was the Public Exchange Hall and served as a place for public meetings, lottery draws and occasional entertainment. These relics are reminders of British rule in India. The objects on display in the museum are the weapons, coins, medals, uniforms and other artefacts from England, Scotland, France and India dating back to the colonial period. Original letters written by Clive and
Cornwallis make fascinating reading. One set of quaint period uniforms is displayed for viewing, as well. However, the ''pièce de resistance'' is a large statue of
Lord Cornwallis.
The
National Flag of India was designed by
Pingali Venkayya
Pingali Venkayya (2 August 1876/8 – 4 July 1963) was an Indian freedom fighter and a Gandhian. He was the designer of the flag on which the Indian National Flag was based. He was also as a lecturer, author, geologist, educationalist, agricu ...
and adopted in its present form during the meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, a few days before India's independence from Britain on 15 August 1947. The first ever flag flown after the independence is stored in the third floor of the museum. The public are allowed to see but not to touch or take photographs.
The museum is mentioned in the novel ''
The Museum of Innocence'', by the Turkish Nobel Laureate
Orhan Pamuk.
File:Ra 2012 018.JPG, Victoria Memorial Hall
File:Indian Embassy in London wall plaque (4).jpg, Coat of Arms of Madras Presidency depicting Fort St. George
Wellesley House
The first floor of the building includes the Banqueting Hall, which holds paintings of the Governor of the Fort and other high officials of the Regime. The canons of
Tipu Sultan decorate the ramparts of the museum. The 14.5 ft statue stands at the entrance near a stairway in the museum. This statue was created by Charles Bank in England to be brought to India. The pedestal of the statue is carved with a scene depicting Tipu Sultan's emissary handing over Tipu's two sons as hostage in lieu of a ransom he was unable to pay to the British. It takes its name from
Richard Wellesley, Governor General of India, and brother of the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...
.
Flag staff
The flag staff at the fort is one of the tallest in the country. Made of
teakwood
Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
, it is high.
Namakkal Kavingyar Maaligai
Namakkal Kavingyar Maaligai is a 10-storeyed building at the campus and is the power centre of state secretariat. It houses offices of the secretaries and departments. Between 2012 and 2014, the building was renovated at a cost of 28 crore, with additional facilities like centralised air-conditioning and new electrical wiring system.
In recent years
The entire complex is administered by the Department of Defence. The fort building is a three-storeyed one housing the offices of the chief minister and other ministers, the chief secretary, home ministry, treasury, etc. The remaining offices are housed in the 10-storeyed Namakkal Kavingyar Maaligai, which houses more than 30 departments.
The Fort St George complex housed the administrative buildings of the
Government of Tamil Nadu
Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature ...
till March 2010. The
Legislature of Tamil Nadu and the secretariat (with headquarters of various government departments) were situated in the fort. The fort itself was open to the public however only to a certain area. The main building or the secretariat was open only to government officials and the police. The cannons and the moat which guarded this old building have been left untouched. In 2010 the legislature and the secretariat moved to a
new location and the old assembly complex was converted into a library for the
Central Institute of Classical Tamil. Following the 2011 assembly elections and the return of
J Jayalalithaa
Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...
as the Chief Minister of the State, the Tamil Nadu Assembly and the Secretariat have been restored to Fort St George.
Other monuments
An arch commemorating the diamond jubilee of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is under construction near the Fort on Rajaji Salai close to
Napier Bridge
Napier Bridge is a bridge in Chennai, India, built over the Coovum River, connecting Fort St. George with the Marina beach. It is also one of the historic structures and landmark of the city.
History
One of the city's oldest bridges, it wa ...
. The structure is a replica of Fort St George's façade. The arch will be rectangular in structure with a height of 41 ft and 80 m width being built at a cost of 1.33
crore. The structure will be a mix of old and modern architecture, inspired by the frontage of Fort St George. The legend 'Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly diamond jubilee commemorative arch' would be inscribed in English and Tamil, in addition to the words '60 years'. The chief minister J Jayalalithaa laid the foundation stone for the arch on 30 October 2012. Earlier, the arch was planned to be constructed close to the entrance of Fort St George, but was later relocated beyond the prohibitive zone, as per
AMASR Act
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (or AMASR Act) is an act of the Parliament of India that provides for the preservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance ...
. A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the
Madras High Court opposing the move stating that the arch would choke Rajaji Salai that leads to the High Court. However, the petition was dismissed by a division bench on 9 January 2013.
See also
*
Heritage structures in Chennai
*
History of Chennai
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as wel ...
*
*
Tamil Nadu legislative assembly-secretariat complex
*
Timeline of Chennai history (Section: 17th century)
*
Fort William, India
References
External links
Letters to Fort St. George* The University of Houston Digital Library has
collection of historical photographs from the magazine ''India Illustrated''
{{Forts in India
1644 establishments in the British Empire
1644 in India
Administrative headquarters of state governments in India
British forts
Buildings and structures in Chennai
St. George
Heritage sites in Chennai
History of Chennai
Legislative buildings in India
Properties of the East India Company
Tamil Nadu Legislature
Tourist attractions in Chennai
Trading posts in India