Colonial Policy

Pudukkottai comes under Company protection

Through a subsidiary alliance, the Tondaiman state of Pudukkottai came under the protection of the East India Company.

Carnatic Treaty transfers the Carnatic to the Company

Nawab Azim-ud-Daula signed the Carnatic Treaty, handing the civil and military administration of the Carnatic to the East India Company.

Permanent Settlement extended to Madras Presidency

The zamindari Permanent Settlement, first applied in Bengal, was introduced in parts of the Madras Presidency.

Great Trigonometrical Survey begins at Madras

Measuring a baseline close to Madras, William Lambton set the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in motion.

Sivaganga settled on Gowri Vallaba Thevar

After the Maruthu brothers were executed, Sivaganga was settled in 1803 as a permanent estate on Gowri Vallaba Thevar.

Village Settlement revenue experiment

A Village Settlement system of land revenue was tried in several Tamil districts before ryotwari became the norm.

Coimbatore district formed with Coimbatore as its capital

Coimbatore district was formed by the Company, with Coimbatore town as its headquarters.

Charter Act of 1813

Renewing the Company's charter, Parliament abolished its India trade monopoly, admitted missionaries and funded education.

Hugh Elliot becomes Governor of Madras

Diplomat Hugh Elliot, earlier Governor of the Leeward Islands, governed the Madras Presidency from 1814 to 1820.

Tranquebar handed back to Denmark

Britain returned Tranquebar (Tharangambadi), occupied since 1808 during the Napoleonic Wars, to Danish rule on 20 September 1815.

Pondicherry and Karaikal restored to France

After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain returned Pondicherry, Karaikal and the other French settlements in India to France in 1816.

Madras Regulation VII of 1817 on temple endowments

The Madras government passed Regulation VII of 1817, the first explicit Company legislation on the management of temple endowments.

Death of Nawab Azim-ud-Daula; Azam Jah succeeds

Azim-ud-Daula, the Nawab of the Carnatic who had signed away his civil administration to the Company in 1801, died and was succeeded by Azam Jah.

Thomas Munro becomes Governor of Madras

Thomas Munro served as Governor of Madras, establishing revenue and administrative systems that lasted into the twentieth century.

Ryotwari system adopted in Madras Presidency

Under Thomas Munro the ryotwari land revenue system, dealing directly with cultivators, became the main settlement in Madras.

Dutch possessions on the Coromandel Coast pass to Britain

Under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, the Dutch ceded their Coromandel settlements, including Pulicat, to the British on 1 June 1825.

Recruitment of Tamil labourers for Ceylon plantations begins

Labourers from the Tirunelveli, Tiruchi, Madurai and Tanjore areas were recruited for British coffee estates in Ceylon.

Charter Act of 1833 centralises lawmaking

The Government of India Act 1833 removed the Madras government's power to make its own laws and centralised it in Calcutta.

Indian Slavery Act abolishes legal slavery

Under Act V of 1843, slavery lost legal recognition in Company territories, agrestic slavery in the Tamil districts included.

First emigrant ship from Madras reaches Mauritius

Britain allowed emigration from Madras to Mauritius again in December 1842, and the first ship from Madras reached the island in April 1843.

Wood's Despatch on education

Charles Wood's education despatch called for universities in the presidency towns and a graded school system across India.

Madras Torture Commission appointed

A commission was appointed to investigate the torture of ryots by revenue officials in the Madras Presidency.

Carnatic Nawabship abolished under the Doctrine of Lapse

On the death of the last Nawab, Ghulam Muhammad Ghouse Khan, the Company abolished the Carnatic Nawabship.

Thanjavur annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse

After Raja Shivaji died without a male heir, the Company annexed the titular Maratha principality of Thanjavur.

Crown takes over the government of India

Following the Government of India Act 1858, a proclamation by Queen Victoria declared direct Crown rule over British India, the Madras Presidency included.

Governor Charles Trevelyan recalled

Madras Governor Sir Charles Trevelyan was recalled after his government publicly opposed James Wilson's new taxation proposals for India.

Cinchona introduced to the Nilgiris

Cinchona plants brought from South America by Clements Markham's expedition were planted at Ootacamund as a source of quinine.

Indentured labourers from Madras arrive in Natal on the Truro

Organised Indian settlement in the British colony of Natal began with the Truro, which brought 342 indentured labourers from Madras.

Indian Councils Act restores Madras legislative powers

Through the Indian Councils Act 1861, the Madras Presidency regained law-making powers and gained an advisory Madras Legislative Council.

Indian Penal Code comes into force

Drafted under Macaulay and enacted in 1860, the Indian Penal Code took effect throughout British India, the Madras Presidency included.

Lord Napier becomes Governor of Madras

Diplomat Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier, governed the Madras Presidency from 1866 to 1872 and briefly acted as Governor-General.

Nilgiris separated from Coimbatore district

In August 1868 the Nilgiri hills were detached from Coimbatore district and given a commissioner of their own.

Great Famine of 1876-1878

Brought on by drought, a severe famine hit the Madras Presidency and other regions of India, killing millions.

Famine of 1896-1897 reaches the Madras Presidency

A famine that began in Bundelkhand in 1896 spread across India, including parts of the Madras Presidency, where grain exports continued.

Ramanathapuram district formed

Ramanathapuram (Ramnad) district was created by combining parts of Madurai and Tirunelveli districts.

Abhiramam convention against the Criminal Tribes Act

Muthuramalinga Thevar organised a convention at Abhiramam demanding repeal of the Criminal Tribes Act.

French India transferred de facto to India after the Kizhoor referendum

After the Kizhoor referendum, Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe passed de facto from France to the Indian Union.

De jure transfer of the French settlements to India

Once France ratified the Treaty of Cession, Pondicherry and the other former French settlements legally became part of India.