CHENNAI

Chennai (formerly known as Madras) is the state capital of Tamil Nadu. It has 6 million inhabitants and is the fourth largest city in India.

Madras was founded on the shores of the Bay of Bengal in 1639 and became the first English trading post of the East India Company. The city developed around a fort built by the British in 1644. Madras became one of the most important ports of the Bay of Bengal and was the subject of conquest between the English and the French.

Madras became the capital of Tamil Nadu in 1969.