French traveller Jean de Thévenot (1633–1677) lived in the seventeenth century. He was also a linguist and naturalist. He was the famed cartographer Melchisédec Thévenot’s (1620–1682) nephew, who is said to have influenced his passion for exploring the world. This travelogue documents his travels across the Ottoman Empire, the Aegean Sea islands, Egypt, Palestine, and… Read more »
The sea is witness to much that defines India and our port cities are the sentinels of change. Let’s travel to some old and new ports through the Sarmaya collection of maps and engravings and imagine them at the peak of their power
This late 19th-century photograph is of the French Sepoy Regiment standing in front of the statue of Joseph Francois Dupleix, Governor-General of the French establishment in India. Pondicherry, a port town on the Coromandel coast, was governed by numerous southern dynasties before European forces arrived in the 1600s, including the Pallavas, Pandyas, Cholas. Powerful European imperial… Read more »
The Fort St. David in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, was originally a British headquarters for southern India, as seen on this map. It was attacked by the French forces led by Dupleix. The fort was renovated by the French in 1782, but then it was captured by the British in 1785. The map highlights the areas… Read more »
How native Tamil and colonial French influences come together in the charming melting pot of Puducherry
This topographical map of a part of the Coromandel Coast depicts Pondicherry and its surrounding territories. Tranquebar was a small town on the Carnatic Coast. Fort Dansborg at Tranquebar was established by the Danes in 1620 and sold to the British in 1845. The Danish East India Company lost out to the British, who cornered… Read more »