trade outposts were also established. The Nayak king of Thanjavur gifted three more villages surrounding Tarangambadi. Two Danish Missionaries, the first protestant missionaries, arrived on June . The Danish settled in Andaman and Nicobar in , but due to the threat of malaria they abandoned it in .
was a small fishing village. Francis Martin who became the Governor of Pondicherry later had spent four years in Madagascar before arriving Surat. He made Pondicherry the strategic centre of French settlements in India. “The countryside through which we passed (outskirts of Pondichérry) was well- cultivated and very beautiful.
Rice was to be found in abundance... where there was water while cotton was grown....” Francis Martin about the landscape of Pondicherry in his diary. Rivalry and Wars with the Dutch French attempts to capture Pondicherry were not easy. They had to deal with their main rivals, the Dutch.
From France and Holland were continuously at war. In India the French lacked men, money and arms, as they had diverted them to Chandranagore, another French settlement in Bengal. Therefore the Dutch could capture Pondicherry easily in . It remained with the Dutch for six years.
In , according to the treaty of Ryswick, Pondicherry was once again restored to the French. However, it was handed over to the French only in . Francis Martin remained as its governor till his death in . The French secured Mahe in and Karaikal in .
The French were also successful in establishing and extending their settlements in Qasim Bazaar, Chandranagore and Balasore in the Bengal region. Pierre Benoit Dumas ( – ) was another able French governor in Pondicherry. However, the French had to face the threat of the English who proved too strong for them. Eventually they lost out on their hard earned fortunes to the English.
The influence of the French can still be seen in present day Pondicherry, Mahe, Karaikkal, and Chandranagore. The Danes Denmark and Norway (together till ) possessed colonial settlements in India and Tamil Nadu. Tarangambadi or Tranquebar in Tamil XI History - Lesson - -