Tamil Nadu in the 1820s

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.

Coffee planting begins at Yercaud

Salem Collector M. D. Cockburn helped start coffee estates at Yercaud in the Shevaroy Hills during the 1820s.

Rhenius begins CMS mission in Tirunelveli

Church Mission Society missionary C. T. E. Rhenius arrived in Tirunelveli and built a large Protestant mission based at Palayamkottai.

First girls' school opens in Tirunelveli

The first school for girls in the Tirunelveli region was opened in 1821.

St. Andrew's Church (the Kirk) consecrated

Built in Egmore for the Scots of Madras, St. Andrew's Church was consecrated in 1821.

Birth of Ramalinga Swamigal (Vallalar)

Ramalinga Swamigal, the Tamil saint-poet known as Vallalar, was born at Marudur near Chidambaram.

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.

Board of Public Instruction set up in Madras

The Madras government founded a Board of Public Instruction in 1826 to oversee education in the Presidency.

Bishop Reginald Heber dies at Tiruchirappalli

Reginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta and hymn-writer, died suddenly at Trichinopoly during a tour of South India.

Death of composer Syama Sastri

Syama Sastri, the eldest of the Trinity of Carnatic music, died in 1827.

Ootacamund becomes a sanatorium of the Madras Presidency

By 1827 Ootacamund in the Nilgiris had been established as a sanatorium of the Madras Presidency.

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.

Governor Thomas Munro dies of cholera

Sir Thomas Munro, Governor of Madras and architect of the ryotwari system, died of cholera at Pattikonda while on tour.

St. Stephen's Church founded at Ooty

St. Stephen's Church at Ootacamund, whose foundation stone Governor Stephen Lushington laid, opened for worship in 1831.