Chennai

The Coromandel Coast: Madras (Chennai), A Case Study

Chennai ~ Global Metropolis

In 1997 Madras became Chennai. The name change, symbol of the city's identification with its Tamil rather than colonial past, is associated with Chennapatnam. Tradition suggests that Chennapatnam was the name for one of the two villages located near the site Francis Day selected for the East India Comany factory three hundred and fifty years earliar.

Chennai is the fourth largest city in India and capital of Tamil Nadu. With a population close to five million people the city covers about sixty-seven square miles, is approximately 9 miles wide, and stretches twelve miles along the seacoast. Chennai remains a vital port city intricately linked to the Indian Ocean world and the twenty-first century global economy—a subject for future investigation.

Return to~ The Indian Ocean Littoral: Cartography and Port Cities

Created and updated by Carol A. Keller, the initial development of this website is made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) 2002 Summer Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. The website contents are reviewed regularly for accuracy and timeliness. Efforts are made to update material as the need arises in order to make this information accessible through the Internet. As with many Web Pages, these pages are often "under construction" to reflect the continuous changes in the web and in current information. Therefore, these pages may be incomplete or have missing links. Your patience is appreciated.

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