The city of Madras/Chennai is fairly new as it was originally founded by the British. However, surrounding towns and villages have histories that date back millennia. For example, the city of Mylapore located just a couple of miles south of Madras has the ancient Kapaleeswarar Temple and the the suburb of Triplicane near Fort St. George has the historic Parthasarathy Temple.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in Madras, with the burning desire to convert locals to Christianity. Evidence of this includes the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, which was built over a cave called the Little Mount, where legend has it that St. Thomas the Apostle had stayed around 70 A.D. About two miles away stands the Church of Our Lady of Expectations, also built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The church contains the "bleeding cross" that many Catholics believe shed blood between 1558 and 1704.
In 1639 Francis Day and Andrew Cogan of the British East India Company established a fort, factory and trading post in Madras. The settlement was completed in 1640 and became known as Fort St. George. Outside of the fort was George Town. Between 1668 and 1749, the East India Company expanded its power and helped transform Madras into a major commercial center. King James II granted George Town a municipal charter in 1688, making Madras the oldest municipality in India.
In the middle of the 18th century, the French challenged the supremacy of the British in India resulting in the Carnatic Wars. In the first Carnatic War, the French captured Madras, but returned it to the British under a peace treaty. There were two more Carnatic Wars fought, both resulting in British victories.
Chennai is the fourth largest city in India. After Mumbai, it has the largest film industry in India and is the main source of Tamil language movies. The film studios are located in a district in Chennai called Kodambakkam, hence the nickname Kollywood. Chennai is also home to the University of Madras, one of the oldest universities in India founded in 1857 and modeled after the University of London.
