COLONIAL CITIES

-A CITY PLANNING CONCEPT

SUBMITTED BY
S. VINOTH
M.PLAN 1st YEAR
 COLONIALISM
 Colonialism is the establishment, exploitation, maintenance,
acquisition, and expansion of colony in one territory by a
political power from another territory.
 It is a set of unequal relationships between the colonial power
and the colony and often between the colonists and
the indigenous population.
 Collins English Dictionary defines colonialism as “The policy
and practice of a power in extending control over weaker
people or areas.”
 The legitimacy of colonialism has been a longstanding
concern for political and moral philosophers in the Western
tradition.
HISTORY OF COLONIALISM
 The historical phenomenon of colonisation is one that
stretches around the globe and across time, including such
disparate peoples as the Hittites, the Incas and the British.
 Modern state global colonialism, or imperialism, began in the
15th century with the "Age of Discovery",
by Portuguese and Spanish exploration of the Americas, and
the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India, and East Asia.
 During the 16th and 17th centuries, England, France and
the Dutch Republic established their own overseas empires, in
direct competition with each other.
 The end of the 18th and early 19th century saw the first era
of decolonization, when most of the European colonies in the
Americas gained their independence from their
respective metropolis.
COLONIALISM EXPANSION OVER THE
CENTURIES
 TYPES OF COLONIALISM
 Settler colonialism involves large-scale immigration, often
motivated by religious, political, or economic reasons.
 Exploitation colonialism involves fewer colonists and focuses
on access to resources for export, typically to the metropolis.
Slaves were often imported to the Americas, first by the
Portuguese Empire, and later by the Spanish, Dutch, French
and British.
 Plantation colonies would be considered exploitation
colonialism; but colonizing powers would utilize either type
for different territories depending on various social and
economic factors as well as climate and geographic
conditions.
CONTD…
 Surrogate colonialism involves a settlement project supported
by colonial power, in which most of the settlers do not come
from the mainstream of the ruling power.
 Internal colonialism is a notion of uneven structural power
between areas of a nation state. The source of exploitation
comes from within the state.
COLONIAL CITIES IN INDIA
 Colonial India is the part of the Indian subcontinent which was
under the control of European colonial powers, through trade and
conquest. The first European power to arrive in India was
the Macedonian army of Alexander the Great in 327–326 BC.
DIFFERENT COLONIAL RULES
COLONIAL RULE PERIOD
Dutch India 1605–1825
Danish India 1620–1869
French India 1769–1954
Portuguese East India Company 1628–1633
East India Company 1612–1757
Company rule in India 1757–1858
British Raj 1858–1947
British rule in Burma 1824–1948
Princely states 1721–1949
Partition of India 1947
CITIES UNDER RULE
GOA:
 In 1510, the Portuguese defeated the ruling Bijapur sultan
Yousuf Adil Shah with the help of a local ally, Timayya.
They set up a permanent settlement in Velha Goa (or Old
Goa). This was the beginning of Portuguese rule in Goa
that would last for four and a half centuries, until 1961.
KOCHI:
 Known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, Kochi was an
important spice trading centre on the west coast of India
from the 14th century. Occupied by the Portuguese
Empire in 1503, Kochi was the first of the European
colonies in colonial India. It remained the main seat
of Portuguese India until 1530, when Goa was chosen
instead.
CONTD..
DELHI:
• In 1803 British got control of Delhi but continued with Calcutta
as the capital as The Mughal emperor was living there (Bahadur
Shah Jafar).The modern city as we know it today developed
only after 1911 when Delhi became the capital of British India.
CALCUTTA:
• The city was a colonial city developed by the British East India
Company and then by the British Empire. Kolkata was the
capital of the British Indian empire until 1911 when the capital
was relocated to Delhi. Kolkata grew rapidly in the 19th
century to become the second city of the British Empire.
CONTD..
MADRAS:
• Modern Chennai had its origins as a colonial city and its
initial growth was closely tied to its importance as an artificial
harbour and trading centre.
• When the Portuguese arrived in 1522, they built a port and
named it São Tomé, after the Christian apostle St. Thomas,
who is believed to have preached there between the years
1552 and 1570.
• The region then passed into the hands of the Dutch, who
established themselves near Pulicat just north of the city in
1612.
• Both groups strived to grow their colonial populations and
although their populations reached into 10,000 persons when
the British arrived, they remained substantially outnumbered
by the local Indian population.
CONTD..
BOMBAY:
• In 1687, the English East India Company transferred its
headquarters from Surat to Bombay. The city eventually
became the headquarters of the Bomba Presidency. Following
the transfer, Bombay was placed at the head of all the
Company's establishments in India.
• The encouragement of the trade of Bombay with Jeshwanth
combined with the Company's military successes in the
Deccan paved the way for the educational and economic
progress which characterized the city during the nineteenth
century leading to the city development during 1817-1885.
• By 1845, all the seven islands had been connected to form a
single island called Old Bombay having an area of
435 km2(167.95 sq mi) by the Hornby Vellard project due to
the water famine in 1824.
 CASE STUDY:
CHENNAI:
• Chennai formerly known as Madras, is the capital of
the state of Tamil Nadu and is India's fourth largest city.
• It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal.
With an estimated population of 8.9 million (2014), the 400-
year-old city is the 31st largest metropolitan city in the world.
• Chennai boasts of a long history from the English East India
Company, through the British Raj to its evolution in the late
20th century as a services and manufacturing hub for India.
• The modern city of "Chennai" arose from the British settlement
of Fort St. George and its subsequent expansion through merging
numerous native villages and European settlements around Fort St.
George into the city of Madras.
CONTD..
 Modern Chennai had its origins as a colonial city and its
initial growth was closely tied to its importance as an
artificial harbour and trading centre.
 Francis Day and his superior Andrew Cogan can be
considered as the founders of Madras (now Chennai).
 Their small fortified settlement quickly attracted other
East Indian traders and as the Dutch position collapsed
under hostile Indian power they also slowly joined the
settlement. This area became the Fort St. George
settlement.
 It is otherwise referred to as THE WHITE TOWN.
 To differentiate these non-European and non-Christian
area from "White Town", the new settlement was termed
"Black Town.” Collectively, the original Fort St. George
settlement, "White Town", and "Black Town" were called
Madras.
CONTD..
 In the later part of the 17th century, Madras steadily
progressed during the period of the East India Company and
under many Governors. Although most of the original
Portuguese, Dutch, and British population had been genocided
during the Golkonda period, under the Mughal protection,
large numbers of British and Anglo-American settlers arrived
to replenish these losses.
 As a result during the Governorship of Elihu Yale (1687–92),
the large number of British and European settlers led to the
most important political event which was the formation of the
institution of a Mayor and the Corporation for the city of
Madras.
 The expansion of Chennai lead to the acquisition of other
areas nearby. This confiscation of the areas developed which
resulted the present day core area of Chennai we see today.
CONFISCATED VILLAGES..
VILLAGE YEAR
Madraspatnam 1639
Narimedu (area to the west of
1645
Madraspatnam)
Triplicane 1672
Tiruvottiyur 1708
Kottivakkam 1708
Nungambakkam 1708
Egmore 1720
Purasawalkam 1720
Tondiarpet 1720
Chintadripet 1735
Vepery 1742
Mylapore 1749
Chennapatnam 1801
CONTD..
 In the latter half of the 18th century, Madras became an
important British naval base and the administrative centre of
the growing British dominions in southern India.
 The British also fought four wars with the Kingdom of
Mysore under Hyder Ali and later his son Tipu Sultan, which
led to their eventual domination of India's south. Madras was
the capital of the Madras Presidency, also called Madras
Province.
 Consequently, they expanded the Chartered control of the
company by encompassing the neighbouring villages
of Triplicane, Egmore, Purasawalkam and Chetpet to form the
city of Chennapatnam, as it was called by locals.
 The development of a harbour in Madras led the city to
become an important centre for trade between India and
Europe in the 18th century.
CONTD..
 Spencer's started as a small business in 1864 and went on to
become the biggest department stores in Asia at the time.
 Development of Railway station, High Court, Educational
Institution and other major administrative and commercial
buildings had taken Chennai to its new heights.
 In the 1900’s Chennai acquired the status of a city due to its
increased population growth and advancements in terms of
infrastructure and aminities.
 The city’s major economic activity was entirely based on the
sea and other small scale industries inside the city.
 On the whole, the colonial rule provoked the growth of
Chennai to a multi potential city which attracted people from
all over TamilNadu for the past 40-50 years.
CHENNAI IN 1955..
CHENNAI IN 1990..
CONCLUSION
 The concept of colonialism started way back in 1492 when
Columbus went in search of India, but accidently discovered
America.
 The colonial rule impacted the whole world, creating a new
settlement to the creation of a new religion to the creation of a
new country.
 Colonial India had contributed to the modern India we see
today with the establishment of Modern city lifestyle and also
in the growth of Mega cities like Mumbai, Chennai etc.,
 The Imperialism of the British over the entire world has
resulted the tremendous improvement in trade and commerce
which we have at present.
 There wouldn’t have been a Megacity like Mumbai or
Chennai if colonial rule had not existed.