 Chennai
is a coastal city with the second largest beach in the world. The climate
is hot and humid. But the breeze blowing from the sea makes the climate
bearable. In the summer the temperature reaches up to 42 degree C (month of
May). The winter (Dec.- Feb.) is slightly less hot than the summer. Mansoon
falls in Sept. - Nov. Chennai is the Capital of Tamil Nadu. History
Chennaipattinam was a popular trading center for spices
and clothes for more than 2000 years. Portuguese and Dutch arrived in the
16 th century followed by the British and French. In 1639 the British East
India Company established a settlement in the fishing village of
Madraspattnam that they leased from the local Nayaks.
In Madraspattnam they started construction of Fort St. George. George
Town grew in the area of fort and neighboring villages ultimately becoming
the oldest Municipality of India in 1668. During the 17 th and 18 th
centuries Europeans competed for supremacy in India and Briton became the
ultimate gainer. Under the command of Robert Clive, British launched a
campaign against French, a series of war known as the Carnatic Wars.
Finally the French were forced to withdraw to Pondicherry.
The city grew into modern day Madras City merging all neighboring areas.
In the 19th century the city became the seat of Madras Presidency, the
southern division of British Imperial India. After independence in 1947 it
became the capital of Madras State that was renamed Tamil Nadu. Very
recently Madras was renamed Chennai. |
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