Madras, India

The main events in the history of Madras date from the arrival of Vasco da Gama in 1498. The English, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the Danish businesses were in existence since 1640 followed by French settlements. In 1746, Madras surrendered to a French fleet under La Bourdonnais.

The chief languages in Madras are Tamil in the east and Malayalam in the west. Situated on the Bengal Bay, its harbour has helped to make it one of the leading seaports of India. Madras has developed into an important cultural centre.

Madras is a city of diversity.



St. Thomas Cathedral, St. Thomas Mount, Thousand lights mosque, Chennai, Myalapore temple are some of the diversity you can see. Mamallapuram is a piece of art and Victoria Public Hall stand beautifully.

Madras formerly occupied a major portion of the peninsula, comprising of a portion of the Malabar coast on the west, the Coromandel coast on the east, and the plateau south of Hyderabad and Mysore.

Madras was reduced to more than half of its former size when the independent state of Andhra was formed in 1953.

Madras grew up around Fort St. George and became the chief English trading centre on the east coast with history dates from the 17th century.