6. From Madrasapatnam to Madras

Madrasapattinam:

1. The land between the Cooum river and the Egmore river was granted to the English after an agreement was signed between the company and the Venkatapathy Nayak.

2. In honour of his father Chennapanayak, who was taking control of the full stretch between the Pulicat lake in the North to the Portuguese settlement of South Santhome, the ruler Venkatapathy Nayak wanted to name the strip of land as Chennapatnam.

3. The British named the settlement collectively as “Madrasapattinam”.

 

Importance of Madras:

The time was not pleasant for the Company forces as they were at war with the French East India company, the arch-rivals of the BEIC (British East India Company).

In \(1760\), a battle was fought between the company forces which proved the French dearly as they lost the Battle. One of the important reasons for the victory of the BEIC was the fortification of Madras.

The Madras Presidency:

The province of Madras covered a vast area during the presence of the British. It was a cluster of settlements and a conglomerate of people of various regions who were clubbed under a single rule.

The Madras presidency became the administrative subunit of the British. It encompassed a vast land area that included Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, Northern Kerala parts of Southern Odisha and the Lakshadweep Islands

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From Presidency to State:

The Presidency of Madras carried a regular voting system during the \(1939\) elections which comprised \(22\) districts. The Presidency of Madras was kept under the control of the British Governor and his council.

 

 

Post the independence in \(1947\) the clubbed territories are separated by the State Reorganisation Act \(1956\) according to which the states of Andhra, Kerala and Mysore which were earlier part of the Presidency were carved out.

Later after the Independence and reorganization, the Madras state was renamed Tamil Nadu during the tenure of late Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai in \(1969\).