Title: Fort St George, Madras, on the Coromandel Coast.
Description: The East India Company bought the exposed and waterless site of Madras in 1639. It was the second permanent Company trading post, and was once described as 'the most incommodious place I ever saw'. The popular story is that the company's buyer, Francis Day, bought the land because he had a mistress nearby, and wanted their 'interviews' to be 'more frequent and uninterrupted'.
Creator: Jan Van Ryne (artist), Robert Sayer (publisher).
Date: 1754
Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London
