Fort St David, now in ruins, was a British fort in the town of

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is a heavy industries hub and a port city, and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important city and port during the Britis ...

, a hundred miles south of

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

on the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is a coastal region along the southeastern front of the Indian peninsula. Its delimitations are numerous, but generally admitted to be bounded by the Krishna River, Krishna river River mouth, mouth to the north, the Bay of B ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is located near silver beach without any maintenance. It was named for the patron saint of Wales because the governor of Madras at the time,

Elihu Yale Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British Americans, British-American Colonialism, colonial administrator. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Yale lived in America only as a child, and spent the rest of his life in England, Wales, a ...

, was Welsh.Encyclopædia Britannica entry on Fort St David
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History

Fort St David, situated on the mouth of River Gadilam, has a memorable history. The region was under the domains of the

Nayaks of Gingee The Nayaks of Gingee (Senji) were Telugu rulers of the Gingee principality of Tamil Nadu between 16th to 18th century CE. The Gingee Nayaks had their origins in the Balija warrior clans of present-day Andhra Pradesh. * * * * * * * They we ...

. The Dutch in early 17th century wishing to expand their trade in the Bay of Bengal region and take advantage of the local manufacturing of goods choose the Cuddalore region and sought the permission of Krishnappa Nayaka of Gingee, to build a fort at Devanampatnam which was, subsequently granted in 1608 and construction was started. But the Nayak pulled back after the Portuguese, then dominant players at the Coramandal Coast trade, pressured Gingee's overlord rulers,

Venkata I Venkata I (reigned 1542–1543), also known as Venkata Raya and Venkatadri Raya, was an Emperor of Vijayanagara from the Tuluva Dynasty. He was the son of Emperor Achyuta Deva Raya, whom he succeeded in 1542. Life An underage Venkata Raya suc ...

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

to prevent

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

entry. Therefore, the fort was left with the Gingee Nayaks under appointed traders. Overseas trade continued and the port became an important source of sandalwood, camphor, cloves, nutmeg, mace, green velvet, porcelain, copper, and brass. The fort was built by balija merchant chinnia chetti. Later when Gingee was occupied by the Marathas,

Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...

's son

Rajaram Chhatrapati Rajaram I (Rajaram Bhonsale, ; 24 February 1670 – 3 March 1700), also known as Ram Raaje, was the third king (Chhatrapati) of the Maratha Kingdom, who ruled from 1689 to his death in 1700. He was the second son of Shivaji, the founder of the ...

who was under siege in Gingee fort by the

Mughal army The army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 16th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselve ...

intended to sell the Devanampatnam fort to the highest European bidder. In 1690, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

won by out bidding the

and the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, Governor of Madras, after long protracted negotiations, acquired the fort and named it Fort Saint David after a Welsh Saint. The purchase price included not only the fort but also the adjacent towns and villages within the range of a random shot of a piece of ordnance. A great gun was fired to different points of the compass and all the country within its range, including the town of Cuddalore, passed into the possession of the English. The villages thus obtained are still spoken of as "

cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

villages".

James Macrae James Macrae (1677 – July 1744) was a Scottish seaman and administrator who served as the President of Fort St George from 1725 to 1730. He is known for naval exploits against the pirate Edward England and for reforming the administration of ...

had been governor of the fort and in 1725 he became the Governor of the Madras Presidency.Cuthbertson, Page 33 From 1725 onwards the British greatly strengthened the fortifications. In 1746 Fort St David became the British headquarters for the

southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, and attacks by French forces under Dupleix were successfully repulsed.

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British List of governors of Bengal Presidency, Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for l ...

was appointed its governor in 1756; in 1758 the French captured it, but abandoned it two years later to

Sir Eyre Coote, KB Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, KB ( – 28 April 1783) was a British army officer and politician who represented Leicester and Poole in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1768 to 1780. He is best known for his many years of service ...

. In 1782 the French again retook the fort and restored it sufficiently to withstand a British attack in 1783. In 1785 it finally passed into British possession. With the end of the French threat, it was abandoned and fell into ruins.

References

Sources

* Cuthbertson, David Cuningham (1945). ''Autumn in Kyle and the Charm of Cunninghame''. London : Jenkins. {{Authority control

St. David David (; ; ) was a Welsh Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Mynyw during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail about his life. ...

Trading posts in India Cuddalore British forts 1690 establishments in the British Empire