Fort St George and Fort Museum historical timeline

Fort St George began as a trading foothold of the English East India Company and became the administrative core of a growing colonial city. Its history is inseparable from commerce, military conflict and the displacement of power across the Coromandel Coast.

Chronology

1. 1639 East India Company representatives secure a grant for a coastal trading site.
2. 1640 Company settlement begins at the new factory and defensive enclosure.
3. 1644 The early fortifications are completed, establishing the first English fortified settlement in India.
4. 1680 St Mary's Church is consecrated within the fort, becoming the oldest surviving Anglican church east of Suez.
5. 17th–18th centuries The fort expands through walls, bastions, warehouses, residences and administrative buildings. A larger city develops beyond it.
6. 1746 French forces capture the fort during the War of the Austrian Succession.
7. 1749 The settlement returns to British control under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
8. 18th–19th centuries Successive rebuilding strengthens the enclosure and adapts buildings to government, military and commercial functions.
9. 1948 The Fort Museum opens to the public in the former Exchange building.
10. Present day Tamil Nadu's legislature and secretariat occupy parts of the fort, while the Archaeological Survey of India manages protected buildings and the museum.

The precinct therefore contains several histories at once: Company trade, European rivalry, colonial administration, Indian independence and contemporary state government.

• Official website
• Wikipedia