The British East India Company, which had…

The British 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 feels the necessity of a port closer to the Malaccan Straits.

It succeeds in purchasing a piece of coastal land, originally called Madraspattinam, from a Vijayanagar chieftain named Chennappa Nayaka based in Chandragiri, where it begins construction of a harbor and a fort.

The fort is completed on April 23, 1639, coinciding with St. George's Day, celebrated in honor of St. George, the patron saint of England.

The fort, hence christened Fort St. George, faces the sea and a few fishing villages, and soon becomes the hub of merchant activity.

The construction of the fort provides the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally a no man's land.

Thus, it is a feasible contention to say that the city of Madras, present Chennai, evolved around the fortress.