The name Madras was first used on a sale deed drafted on August 22, 1639, allowing the East India Company to purchase a three-mile strip in the fishing village of Madrasapattinam. The area, where Fort St George stands today, was ruled by the chieftains of the Vijayanagara empire. The deed was negotiated by the East India Company’s Francis Day, who was accompanied by his superior Andrew Cogan and interpreter Beri Thimmappa. One of the first constructions here was the Fort St George, for which the foundation was laid in 1640. From then on, a small fortified settlement unfurled, quickly attracting other East India Company traders and the crumbling Portuguese and Dutch settlements.
In 1646, Golconda forces under Mir Jumla attacked Madras. After their fall in 1687, the Mughals took over, further expanding the city. The construction of the Madras harbour raised the city’s stature, launching it as a prime trade centre between India and Europe. Trading posts, factories, warehouses, schools and universities mushroomed.
Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam and several folk art forms thrived, establishing the city as the cultural hub of south India. Today, the capital of Tamil Nadu is the eighth-largest city by area and sixth-most populous one in India.