Fort St George- The foundation of Madras city

Fort St George is the first English fortress in India, established in 1644 at the coastal city of Madras. It stands majestically in the Chennai city both as a relevant building of today as well as a building with much historical value. It can be said that the city evolved around this significant area. The fort currently houses the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and other official buildings. The fort is one of the 163 notified areas in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The East India Company, 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, The fort was completed on 23 April 1644, coinciding with St George's Day, celebrated in honor 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.

The Fort is a stronghold with six-meter 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.

 

Museum

The Fort Museum exhibits many items of the period of English and later British rule. This building was completed in 1795 and first housed the office of the Madras Bank. The hall upstairs was the Public Exchange Hall and served as a place for public meetings, lottery draws and occasional entertainment. These relics are reminders of British rule in India. The objects on display in the museum are the weapons, coins, medals, uniforms and other artifacts from England, Scotland, France and India dating back to the colonial period.