A contact of Dutch in Chennai

Had the English not proved extra tenacious, we’d have gone over to the Dutch an extended whereas in the past. The VOC (an extended identify in Dutch that signifies their East India Company), was round on this area a lot earlier than the East India Company we all know so effectively got here alongside. And they have been a major presence all alongside the Coromandel Coast. Their curiosity was mainly buying and selling, notably the cotton fabric woven on this area. While the British have been nonetheless struggling to discover a foothold in Madras in 1639, the Dutch have been well-established at Pazhaverkadu aka Pulicat, 60 km north of Madras.

Also Read:Take a heritage stroll at Pulicat to grasp how Madras got here to be

The British picked up the tips of the commerce by observing the Dutch, together with using translators or dubashes. And the primary dubash, Malayappa Chetty, was for some time within the service of each the businesses! That was quickly frowned upon and Malayappa ostensibly withdrew from British pursuits however efficiently planted his nephews in his place. The Dutch weren’t proud of the British, however relations between the 2 have been definitely hotter than what it was with the French.

There could be very little of Dutch heritage left in these elements. In Pulicat, we now have virtually nothing left of what was as soon as Fort Geldria, however the church within the village, strikingly just like Luz Church, survives. Rather appropriately, what’s in wonderful situation is the cemetery with a complete lot of tombstones which have fascinating carvings. South of Madras, we now have Sadras aka Sathurangapatnam, with a well-preserved citadel. And within the Thirukazhukundram temple, there’s an inscription in Dutch on a mandapam, recording the go to of a Dutch gubernatorial get together. At the St. Mathias Church in Vepery, there’s a Dutch grave — the final place you’ll have anticipated it to be in. It is of Martin Stoffenberg, head of the administration at Pulicat. He got here to Madras to get well from an sickness and died right here.

Flagstaff by the seashore

For some time within the seventeenth Century CE, the Dutch along with Golconda, held San Thome. Their legacy was a flagstaff by the seashore, which vanished someday within the twentieth Century. It now has a substitute, referred to as St. Thomas’ workers!

The Dutch did effectively in India however by the early nineteenth Century determined that Indonesia was higher and wound up all their operations right here. They left behind just a few mortgage phrases — palayakat was the phrase for lungis till the Fifties a minimum of, as an example, and that was the Pulicat connection. In case you want extra, search for the Dutch phrase for lavatory – kak huis. There are loads extra.

The Dutch had an enormous presence in Madras within the early twentieth Century by means of the Anglo-Dutch firm Shell, which got here into India by means of merger with the Burmah Oil Company. The ensuing Burmah-Shell, had its headquarters at Burmah Shell House positioned on the Esplanade. It nonetheless stands although Burmah Shell, in 1975, grew to become the government-owned Bharat Petroleum, and the constructing is named Chennai House.

Returning after Independence

Post-Independence, the Dutch made a comeback, this time as companions in India’s industrialisation. One of the early names might not be a presence in Chennai however remains to be remembered by means of a bus cease and a junction in Ambattur — Wavin. Short for Water and Vinyl Chloride, it supplied the much-needed impetus in irrigation and water provide by manufacturing PVC pipes. Now, Wavin is into water administration and has a pan-Indian presence however its identify lives on right here.

An abiding presence within the metropolis, extra an abiding odour, is Maschmeijer Aromatics in Chromepet. It commemorates August Maschmeijer, an natural chemist in Amsterdam, who pioneered loads of fragrant compounds. A consultant of the ensuing firm got here to Madras within the Fifties and a collaboration with the Badsha household ensued. The entity continues to flourish.

Post-liberalisation, there’s a important presence of Dutch corporations within the metropolis. There is within the Netherlands a Dutch Museum of Textiles and in it are a number of samples of fabric from this area that when introduced merchants from distant.