page_title: Fort St. George, India
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Fort St. George, India / History
caption_attribution_description: Identifier: indianempirehist03mart Title: The Indian empire: history, topography, geology, climate, population, chief cities and provinces; tributary and protected states; military power and resources; religion, education, crime; land tenures; staple products; government, finance, and commerce Year: 1858 (1850s) Authors: Martin, Robert Montgomery, 1803?-1868 Roberts, Emma, 1794?-1840 Subjects: Publisher: London, New York&#160;: The London printing and publishing company, ltd. Contributing Library: University of California Libraries Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: he morning, the king of Oude, accompanied by twocommissioned officers of the governor-generals staff, was quietly conveyed a prisoner toapartments prepared for his reception in Fort William. Numerous arrests followed this decisive step; and the subsequent conspiracy for ageneral rising in the city and suburbs, as well as in other parts of the province of Bengal,and the late kingdom of Oude, became known to the government in ample time toenable it to adopt measures for the security of the capital. THE CITY OF MADRAS. The city of Madras (or Fort St. George), the capital of a presidency, and the chiefemporium of commerce on the western shore of the Bay of Bengal, is situated in lat. 13°5 N., long. 80° 21 E. In travelling distances, it is 1,030 miles S. from Calcutta,758 S.E. from Bombay, and 1,275 S.E. from Dellii. The approach to Madras from theseals peculiar: low, fiat, sandy shores extend far to the north aud south; and small• History of the Indian Mutiny, vol. i., p. 686. [ml iml Text Appearing After Image: THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. 71 barren hills, that form the boundary of the view inland, contribute to impress the spec-tator with a sense of sterility and loneliness that only wears off with a near proximity tothe land, when the beach is seen, as it were, alive with the swarms of animate nature thatcover it to the very verge of the sea. The public offices and buildings erected near thebeach are handsome, with colonnades or verandahs to the upper storeys; supported on arched bases, and covered with the beautiful shell mortar (or chunam) of Madras hard, smooth, and polished like marble. Within a few yards of the sea the fortificationsof Fort St. George present an imposing appearance, and beyond them are seen minaretsand pagodas, intermixed with luxuriant foliage. Within the fort a lighthouse rears itsmonitory crest ninety feet above the level of the sea, and is visible from the mast-head ofa large ship, at a distance of twenty-six miles. INIadras has no harbour, and vessels of heavy Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: Fort St George is the first English fortress in India, founded in 1639 at the coastal city of Madras, the modern city of Chennai. 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 evolved around the fortress. The fort currently houses the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and other official buildings.
context_section_description: The East India Company (EIC), which had entered India around 1600 for trading activities, had begun licensed trading at Surat, 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. 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 influence over the Carnatic and to keep the kings of Arcot and Srirangapatna, as well as the French 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 traveller Thomas Bowrey, Fort St. George was:
  "without all dispute a beneficiall 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), 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 6 metres (20 ft) 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 under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the War of the Austrian Succession.
  The Fort now serves as one of the administrative headquarters for the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu 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. The fort is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, with the administrative support of Indian Army.
caption: Fort St George in 1858
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