Nagapattinam – History
Nagapattinam
district was carved out by bifurcating the composite Thanjavur district on
18.10.1991. Nagapattinam is a unique District with all its historical and
cultural significance.
Early Historical Period:
There
are urn burials in and around the city from the Sangam period indicating some
level of human habitation. There are no direct references to Nagapattinam
during the c (3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE).The
neighbouring port, Kaveripoompattinam (modern day Poompuhar), was the capital of the
Chola kingdom of the Sangam Age, referred to widely in Tamil scriptures
like Pattinappalai. The Heritage of the town is found in the Burmese
historical text of 3rd century B.C. The same text gives evidences of a Budha
Vihar built by the great Ashoka. The Chinese Traveler Hiuen Tsang also
mentioned this Budha Vihar in his book. Nagapattinam is mentioned as
Padarithitha in ancient Buddhist Scriptures.
During Pallava Period:
The
inscriptions from the Kayarohanaswami temple indicate the construction was
initiated during the reign of the Pallava king, Narasimha Pallava II (691 – 729 CE). A Buddhist pagoda was built under
Chinese influence by the Pallava king and town was frequented by Buddhist
travellers. The early works of Tevaram by the 7th-century poets Appar
and Sambandar mention that the town had fortified walls, busy roads, buildings
and a busy port.
During Chola Period:
Nagapattinam
is one of the constituents of chola Mandalam, acclaimed as the most prominent
among the ancient Tamil Kingdoms. Thirumangai
Azhwar, the 9th century vaishnavite saint poet, is believed to have stolen the golden
Buddha statue to fund the Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam; the authenticity of the theory is questionable. Nagapattinam
was also known as 'Cholakula Vallippatinam' during the rule of Rajaraja I. In
the 11th century CE Choodamani
Vihara, a Buddhist monastery was
built by Javanese king Sri Vijaya Soolamanivarman with the patronage of Rajaraja
Chola. Nagapattinam was the
prominent port of Cholas for trade and conquering gateway to the east.
According
to Anaimangalam copper plate inscriptions of Kulothunga I, Sri Vijayottunga
Varman of Sri Vijaya kingdom built Rajaraja Perumpalli in the name of Rajaraja
Cholan and Rajendra Chola Perumpalli in the name of Rajendra Chola in1090 A D. This
Buddha Vihar is also called as Sudamani Vihar. Excavations were conducted by
the Archaeological department at Velippalayam in Nagapattinam and more than 300
Budha statues were unearthed and kept at the Museum in Chennai. This
dilapidated Buddhist tower was razed down 200 years ago.
This
favorite town of Chola Kings was also celebrated latter by Vijaya Nagara Kings.
Portuguese had a commercial contact with this town during the Tanjore Nayakas
rule (Sevappa Nayakkar) and (Achuthappa Nayakkar).
During Portuguese Period:
In the
early 16th century the Portuguese made commercial contacts with the
town and established a commercial centre in 1554 CE. The Portuguese also
conducted missionary enterprise in the town.
During Dutch Period:
In 1658,
the Dutch established an agreement with King Vijaya Nayakkar of Thanjavur on 5
January 1662. Ten villages were transferred from the Portuguese to the Dutch – Nagapattinam
Port, Puthur, Muttam, Poruvalancheri, Anthanappettai, Karureppankadu, Azhingi Mangalam,
Sangamangalam, Thiruthinamangalam, Manjakollai, and Nariyankudi. Ten Christian
churches and a hospital were built by the Dutch.
They
also released coins with the name Nagapattinam engraved in Tamil letters. Under
an agreement between the first Maratta King Ekoji of Thanjavur and the Dutch, Nagapattinam
and surrounding villages were handed over to the Dutch on 30 December 1676. In
1690, the capital of Dutch
Coromandel moved from Pulicat to Nagapattinam.
During British Period:
This
town fell into the hands of the British in 1781 after the two naval battles
between British and French fleets were fought off the coast of Negapatam, as it
was then known: the first in 1758 as part of the Seven
Years' War and the second in 1782 as part of the American Revolutionary War. The town was taken by the British from the Dutch in 1781 (who had been formally brought into the war in 1780).
When the
Dutch and British reached a peace agreement in 1784, Nagapattinam was formally ceded to the British. 277
villages, with Nagore as the headquarters, were handed over to the East India Company. From 1799 to 1845 CE Nagapattinam was the headquarters
of Tanjore district. Nagapattinam and Nagore were incorporated as a single
municipality in 1866 CE. The town remained one of the chief ports to the Madras
Presidency. The port suffered
decline after the inclusion of Tranquebar and Tuticorin.
Under Indian Rule:
Nagapattinam
district was carved out by bifurcating the composite Thanjavur district on
18.10.1991. Nagapattinam was one of the regions severely affected by
the tsunami which followed the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.