By 1625 the English had gained their first footing in India on the Coromandel coast. “Seven years later, they obtained…….. a small grant of land, called by the natives Chennapatnam………. They renamed the place Madras and built there a fort round their store house which they name Fort St. George,”⁸ The English were more interested in trade and commerce and did not till a later date interfere with the domestic disputes and intrigues of the natives.

On the same Coromandel coast there was a French Colony. In the year 1672 the French led by Francis Martin had purchased a small tract of land about 90 miles to the South of Madras. On this tract, close to the sea, was a little village, called Putuccēri by the natives. This is the present Pondicherry which played an important role in South Indian politics. The policy of the French in India was similar to that to the English at Madras. They kept away from local politics and did not ally themselves with any disputing section. However, when M. Benoit Dumas was in 1735 appointed Governor General of the French possessions in India, he adopted a policy of allying himself closely with the native princes. His intention was to reap a considerable territorial harvest for his country. Dupleix, his successor continued this policy to an extreme degee. French history in India is one of sieges and countersieges, “one act of diplomacy being set against another. Beginning from Shahji…... to the Nawab of the Carnatic and later reaching Mysore…………the French wrangled for permanency in India. Chanda Sahib was brought under French influence and Muzaffer Jung was set up as the Subedar of the Deccan, Dupleix personally investing him at Pondicherry….. In the midst of all this, their guns also resounded at several places in South India-Madras, Cuddalore, Trichinolopy, Arcot, Gingi and Wandivash during a period of nearly a hundred years”.⁹

French Missionaries also played an active role in South India. Their Mission was first called the Carnatic Mission, this was first

8. Malleson, G. M. Rulers of India-Lord Clive; Pp. 18-19.

9. Arokiaswami, M. Journal of Indian History; Vol. XL. Part I, Ser. No.18; April 1962; P. 193.