Nathaniel Higginson (11 October 1652 – 31 October 1708) was an English

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and a scion of the Higginson family of

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

who served as the first

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, and later as the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the colony from 3 October 1692 to 7 July 1698.About the "Inauguration of the Corporation", From the ''Corporation of Chennai'' website
/ref>
/ref>

Early life

Nathaniel Higginson was born at Guilford,

Connecticut Colony The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...

in a family of American pioneers. His grandfather

Francis Higginson Francis Higginson (1588–1630) was an early Puritan minister in Colonial New England, and the first minister of Salem, Massachusetts. He was an ancestor of Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Biography England The son of a minister, Francis Higgin ...

was the first Minister of the First Church of Salem, Massachusetts from 1629 to 1630 while his father Rev. John Higginson served as Minister of the First Church from 1660 to 1708. Rev. John Higginson was a leading investigator in the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...

of 1692–1693 which witnessed the prosecution of his own daughter and Nathaniel's sister Ann Doliver on charges of practising witchcraft."A Very Grave Matter"
/ref> Nathaniel Higginson graduated in M.A. from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1670. In 1674, he moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

where he worked for seven years in service of Lord Wharton as steward and

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

to his children. In 1681, he was employed at the Mint in the Tower where he served till 1683, when he joined the service of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and travelled to

. Soon, he was appointed to the Council of

Fort St George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English overseas possessions, English (later British Empire, British) fortress in India. The construction ...

. In 1687, when the Corporation of Madras was created, Nathaniel Higginson – who was the Second member of the Council – became the first Mayor. Nathaniel Higginson married Elizabeth Richards in 1692.

First Mayor of Madras

The plan for setting up a corporation in Madras was first detailed by Josiah Child, the President of the Board of Directors of the British East India Company, in a letter addressed to the factors at Madras on 28 September 1687. Three months later, Josiah Child and his deputy had an audience with James II, and as per the ensuing discussions, a Charter was issued by the king on 30 December 1687 which established the Corporation of Madras. The charter came into effect on 29 September 1688, and Nathaniel Higginson – who was then the second member of the Council of Fort St George – took office as the Mayor of Madras. Nathaniel Higginson resigned as Mayor of Madras after a short term of six months, and was succeeded by Littleton.

Tenure as President of Madras

On 3 October 1692, Nathaniel Higginson succeeded

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 ...

as the President of Madras. Meanwhile, during the same year, 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 ...

besieged the

Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

in the fortress of

Gingee Gingee, also known as Senji or Jinji and originally called Singapuri, is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Gingee is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km, and lies west of the ...

but was defeated in December.K.R.SUBRAMANIAN (1928), ''The Maratha Rajas of Tanjore'', Pg. 27 The Mughal general

Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung Muhammad Ismail (1649/1657 – 11 February 1713), known by his title Zulfiqar Khan, was a leading noble and military general of the Mughal Empire. His father was Asad Khan, '' wazir'' (prime minister) to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. During Auran ...

failed to take the fort and retired with some troops to

Vandavasi Vandavasi (formerly anglicised as Wandiwash) is a Municipality and Taluk in the Tiruvannamalai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is well known in the Carnatic history for the Battle of Wandiwash. Vandavasi town is also the larg ...

while other troops sought protection in Madras. He approached the British for negotiating a deal with the Marathas. The British at Madras, however, refused to get involved. In August 1693, the Dutch invaded the French settlement of

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

and conquered it. The administration in Madras responded by sending a congratulatory message to the Dutch in Pulicat over the successful siege of Pondicherry. It was during Higginson's tenure that the

obtained a ''firman'' from Nawab Zulfiqar Khan for the settlements of

Egmore Egmore is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Situated on the northern banks of the Coovum River, Egmore is an important residential area as well as a commercial and transportation hub. The Egmore Railway Station was the main terminus of the ...

, Purasawalkam and

Triplicane Thiruvallikeni known as Triplicane, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Chennai, India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast and about from Fort St George. The average elevation of the neighbourhood is 14 metres above Mean sea leve ...

. In July 1694, there broke a dispute between two chief Muslim clerics of

Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in New South Wales, Australia, west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Sydney, Greater Sydney. History Before the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, the area of ...

over the division of revenues which Higginson helped settle in an amicable way. In February 1696, Elihu Yale petitioned the Court of Directors once again over the unjust way in which he had been tried by the Council of Fort St George. Higginson responded by replying to the Board of Directors refuting Yale's allegations of injustice. In November 1694, Nawab Zulfiqar Khan proceeded from Wandiwash where he was encamped and took Chungramon Fort. However, dissent broke out in the ranks of the Mughal army and there were rumors of royal orders being dispatched to

Daud Khan Panni Daud Khan Panni (d. ) or simply Daud Khan, was a Pashtun nobleman and military commander of the Mughal Empire. Historians Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam characterise him as an important figure of Mughal history spanning the later years ...

to capture Nawab Zulfiqar Khan. In March 1696, Nawab Zulfiqar Khan sent messengers to Madras demanding one-lakh pagodas. Zulfiqar Khan was increasingly frustrated when the British of Madras refused to present him the demanded amount. He attempted to destroy the trade of the colony by seizing its goods and imposing stringent customs. He even gave orders to the Havaldar of

Thiruvallur Tiruvallur is a Grade I municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of Coovum river about from downtown Chennai ( Madras) in the western part of the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA). It is a satellite tow ...

to mobilize his troops in case of war. The Council of

met on 31 October 1696 and conveyed their outright rejection of the Nawab's demands even if it meant going to war. However, Madras was saved when fresh orders were received by Zulfiqar Khan in late 1696 from the Mughal Emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

to proceed to

. Thus, a major face-off was averted. Zulfiqar Khan, meanwhile, concentrated his energies against the Marathas and won a decisive victory at Gingee returning to Wandiwash only for his marriage in 1698. Nathaniel Higginson sent him rich marriage presents and a congratulatory message on his victory over the Marathas. Throughout his tenure, despite being a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, Higginson was fairly tolerant towards his

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

subjects as well as the

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

of St Thome. He repealed the extortionary taxation system which his predecessor Elihu Yale had introduced in the revenue system of the Hindu shrines of Blacktown and Triplicane. He also maintained regular correspondence with the Roman Catholic bishop of St Thome. It was during Higginson's Presidency (in 1693) that the Madras Secretariat was constructed to host the offices of the Council of Fort St George.S.MUTHIAH(2004): ''Madras Rediscovered'', East West Books (Madras) Pvt Ltd, Pg. 40 It was also during this time that a channel was cut in order to interlink the North River with the Coovum. It was this interlinking of the two rivers which created "the Island".S.MUTHIAH(2004), Pg.141 Higginson's Presidency came to an end on 7 July 1698, and he was succeeded by

Thomas Pitt Thomas Pitt (5 July 1653 – 28 April 1726) was an English merchant, colonial administrator and politician who served as the president of Fort St. George from 1698 to 1709. Born in Blandford Forum, Dorset, he eventually went to the Indian ...

Later life

Nathaniel Higginson returned to England with his wife and four children in the year 1700 and established himself as a merchant in London. In 1706, he affixed his signature to a petition against

Joseph Dudley Joseph Dudley (September 23, 1647 – April 2, 1720) was a colonial administrator, a native of Roxbury in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the son of one of its founders. He had a leading role in the administration of the Dominion of New England ...

, the Colonial Governor of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. But Dudley discarded Higginson's petition with contempt as a complaint from someone who "may be presumed to nothing of the country". The allegations were similarly discarded by the

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

as a "wicked and scandalous accusation". Alienated from his home country, Higginson spent the rest of his life in England and died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

on 31 October 1708.

Early life

First Mayor of Madras

Tenure as President of Madras

Later life

References

Further reading