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George Town is a historical neighbourhood of Fort Saint George in Chennai (formerly Madras), India. Also known as ''Black Town'' during the colonial period, the settlement was formed after the English constructed the fort and was the first settlement of the city of Madras, begun soon after the completion of the fort. The name of this area 'Black Town' was renamed as George Town in 1911 in honour of King George V when he was crowned as the Emperor of India. The name is still in use officially unlike other names that have been changed in the recent times, thus being reminiscent of the colonial past. This is where the modern city of Madras began its expansion in the 1640s. ==History== In 1639, when Francis Day was looking for somewhere to build a fortified warehouse for the English East India Company, he soon acquired the land where, in 1640, he built the compound named Fort St George. Soon after it was built, a township began to grow up around it for the natives catering to the needs of the Europeans inside, and this became known as the ''Black Town''. As the city grew, this area became the base for development and construction activities, meeting the needs of people for their livelihood and rulers' administrative comforts. With the construction of one of India's major ports in the area, Madras became an important naval base for the British. By the early 18th century, with a growing population and commercial activities, there was congestion in Black Town, resulting in dispersion of some of the population to neighbouring areas. In 1733, the weaving community started to settle down in Chintadripet and Collepetta near Tiruvottiyur, since abundant open space was available for weaving. The community of washermen in the Mint area then moved towards the west, forming the present Washermanpet. Potters from this area moved outside the Fort on the north side and formed a new colony named Kosapet. With the construction of a bridge in 1710 to connect Egmore, people started moving towards the present Moore Market area. When the French occupied Madras in 1746 and returned it to the English in 1749 in exchange for Quebec by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the English flattened a part of Black Town in order to have a clear field for fire in the event of a future attack. In 1773, the English erected 13 pillars along the flattened area of the Black Town and banned construction in any form between the pillars and the fort which would otherwise block the view of possible invaders. Soon a new township, known as the new Black Town, came up beyond these pillars and the old Black Town gave way to the Madras High Court. A thoroughfare was formed along the stretch between the pillars and the high court which later became the China Bazaar Road. The only surviving one of the 13 pillars is being maintained in the compound of the Parry's building. In 1772, the first organised water supply of Madras began with the Seven Wells Scheme. On one occasion, Mysore ruler Hyder Ali's troops even tried to poison the water source one night.〔 In the following centuries, High Court buildings and first light house tower with architectural beauty came up in an area where an old Hindu temple of Sri Chennakesava perumal and Chennamalleswara swamy existed. This temple was demolished and later shifted to the present place near Mint Street on Nethaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road and is popular amongst Hindus as Pattanam Koil. Several Tamil refugees from Burma, who fled Myanmar during the early sixties, arrived in George Town. In 1969, the Burma Bazaar, a market selling imported foreign goods in shops on pavements, was established by these Burmese refugees-turned-entrepreneurs. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George Town, Chennai」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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