East India Company and Urban Environment in Colonial South India: Madras, 1746–1803

243 Pages·2021·6.75 MB·English

by  Moola Atchi Reddy

EAST INDIA COMPANY AND URBAN
ENVIRONMENT IN COLONIAL
SOUTH INDIA
This book makes a pioneering attempt to analyse the linkages between the
rule of East India Company and urban environment in colonial India over
more than a half-century, 1746–1803, through a study of the city of Madras
(present Chennai).
T he book traces urban development in colonial South India from a broad
economic history point of view and with a focus on its environmental
dimension, covering the period from the First Carnatic War until the 18th
century by which time the English East India Company had consolidated
its power. It discusses themes such as urban development, infrastructural
development, housing and buildings, city, and suburbs, and development of
land and roads in the colonial period. Using extensive archival resources,
it offers new insights on the various aspects of the shifting urban physical
environment and captures the development of Madras city limits;
road infrastructure, building of paved streets, whitewashed walls, and
compounded houses; establishment of garden houses, use of land resources;
development of masonry bridges by merchants, housing problems, and the
building of Fort House, Garden House, Admiralty House, Pantheon House,
Custom House, etc. in Madras, to describe the impact of colonialism on
urban environment.
A n important contribution to the history of urban economics and
environment, this book with its lucid style and rich illustrations will be an
essential read for scholars and researchers of colonial history, modern Indian
history, environmental history, urban environment, urban history, political
economy, urban economic history, Indian history, and South Asian studies.
M oola Atchi Reddy is a former professor of the Department of Economics,
School of Social Science, University of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Joining
as the first faculty member in 1979, he retired as professor in 2006 after
serving for nearly 27 years. He is a recipient of meritorious medals from the
Department of Economics, Andhra University. He was a research assistant
for the project on the Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol. 2, ed.
Dharma Kumar (1982). With a PhD in economic history from the Delhi
School of Economics, he worked at Ford Foundation, New Delhi, and Sri
Venkateswara University (1976–8). He has published two books: L ands and
Tenants in South India: A Study of Nellore District, 1850–1990 (1996), and
Trade and Commerce of the East India Company in India (Madras) (2006).
Several of his articles have been published in refereed journals and edited
books, in addition to over 100 partly published and unpublished papers
read in conferences, seminars, and workshops. His research interests are in
studies of colonial Madras.
EAST INDIA COMPANY
AND URBAN
ENVIRONMENT IN
COLONIAL SOUTH
INDIA
Madras, 1746–1803
Moola Atchi Reddy
First published 2022
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Moola Atchi Reddy
The right of Moola Atchi Reddy to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to contact owners of
copyright regarding the visual material reproduced in this book.
Perceived omissions if brought to notice will be rectified in future
printing.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
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or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-032-05265-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-10488-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-21549-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003215493
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
D EDICATED TO
PROFESSOR DHARMA KUMAR

CONTENTS
List of illustrations viii
Abbreviations x
Preface and acknowledgements xi
1 Introduction 1
2 Growth 17
3 Gardens 42
4 Lands 68
5 Roads 106
6 Housing 130
7 Buildings 162
8 Conclusions 194
A ppendices 202
G lossary 215
R eferences 217
I ndex 227
vii
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
2.1 Madras in the 18th century 19
2.2 Egmore Fort 33
2.3 Remains of Egmore Fort 34
3.1 Patrick Russell 52
4.1 Black Town wall 71
4.2 Black Town wall, Central Gate 72
4.3 Black Town wall, magazine 73
4.4 Sea Gate 89
5.1 Surf boat 126
6.1 Medical school 145
6.2 Clive’s house 149
7.1 Govt. House before repairs 166
7.2 Govt. House after repairs 167
7.3 Leith Castle 183
7.4 Brodie Castle 184
7.5 Monegar Choultry 186
Maps
2.1 Madras, 1768 29
5.1 Madras, end of 18th century 109
Tables
2.1 Measurements of works in feet, Santhome, 1751 26
3.1 Storms and cyclones at Madras, 1746–91 62
3.2 Population density and environment of Madras,
18th century 64
5.1 Male Asylum and road lotteries from 1 Aug. 1795 to
24 Nov. 1799 122
viii
ILLUSTRATIONS
7.1 Cost of renovations to the Fort House, March 1783 164
7.2 Shawmier’s rental account, 1758 170
7.3 Shawmier’s furniture account, 1758 170
7.4 Houses of leading individuals, Fort, 1800 178
7.5 Memorandum of trading vessels, 1796–7 181
Appendices
1 Gardens of Madras 202
2 Garden Houses 204
3 Suburban house sites granted, 1774 206
4 Roads of Madras, 1803 208
5 Streets of Madras, 1803 210
6 Pariars’ Petition, 1779 212
ix