A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c17.98

c17.98

It was during the reign of Venkata that the Dutch and the English began to establish themselves on the east coast. In 1605 the Dutch opened negotiations with Golconda and established factories in Nizampatam and Masulipatam. They soon felt the need for ‘a footing in the Hindu territory further south in order to obtain the patterned goods demanded so largely in the spice-markets’. In 1608, therefore, they got permission from the Nāyak of Gingee to open a factory at Tegnapatam (Fort St David), and two years later Venkata allowed them to have a factory at Pulicat with exclusive privileges of trade. Pulicat was open to attack from the Portuguese at San Thomé, and when the Queen of Venkata delayed building a fortress for its protection, the Dutch completed the fortress at their own cost—a step which stood them in good stead in the period of civil war and confusion that followed the death of Venkata. The English made a futile attempt to land at Pulicat in 1611, but succeeded soon after in opening trade at Nizampatam and Masulipatam. Their negotiations with Vellore had led to no result at the time of Venkata's death; they were admitted to trade in Pulicat in 1621 by a treaty with the Dutch, but the English factory moved soon after, first to Armagon a short distance to the north, and ultimately to Madras (1639-40). The Danes settled at Tranquebar in 1620.