4G8 



C A R N A T I C. 



Carnatic. a tropical country, the heat is so excessive, that the 

 "*^."*" / ground is quite parched ; and had not nature made 

 the wise provision of periodical rains, common to 

 every region of the same latitudes, vegetation could 

 never take place : it must soon have become altoge- 

 ther uninhabitable, because incapable of affording 

 sustenance to man or beast. 



There are only three rivers in the Carnatic, pro 

 perly so called, which it is necessary to mention in 

 this place. The Paliar runs past the cities of Vellore, 

 Arcot, Conjeveram, and Sadras. At the last men- 

 tioned place, it is extremely broad, and discharges 

 itself into the sea. About the middle of October, 

 when the winter commences, and the rain pours down 

 in torrents, it is sometimes half a mile broad, and 

 flows with the utmost violence and impetuosity. The 

 second, named the Chonenbar, falls into the sea on 

 the south of Pondkherry, after having united, not 

 far from that city, with the Gingee. The third is 

 called the Pannar, or the Golden River. It has its 

 source in the Gauts, not far from Darampuri in 

 Mysore, runs past Tricalore, and on the north of 

 Cuddalore throws itself into the sea. 



Navigation. Jt is a singular circumstance, that the coast of the 

 Carnatic forms nearly a straight line, and that it has 

 no port for shipping. It is also incommoded with a 

 high and dangerous surf or wave, that breaks upon 

 it, and induces the necessity of using the boats of the 

 country to land in. These are called massoolah, and are 

 of a singular construction, being formed without ribs 

 or keel, with flat bottoms, and having their planks 

 sewed together, iron being totally excluded through- 

 out the whole fabric. By this construction they are 

 rendered flexible enough to elude the effects of the 

 violent shocks which they receive, by the dashing 

 of the waves, or surf on the beach, which either 

 oversets or breaks to pieces a boat of European con- 

 struction. The sides of these boats are raised re- 

 markably high, and sewed together with the fibres 

 of the cocoa-nut tree, and caulked with the same 

 material. They are remarkably light, and are ma- 

 naged with great dexterity by the natives ; they are 

 usually attended by two cattamarans or rafts, paddled 

 by one man each ; the intention of which is, that 

 should the boat be overset by the violence of the 

 surf, the persons in it may be preserved. No port 

 for large vessels occurs between Trincomalee, on the 

 east side of Ceylon and the Ganges, which is an ex- 

 tent of 15 degrees. 



The coast of Coromandel has, at a distance, the 

 appearance of a green theatre, when the season is fa- 

 vourable. The sea-shore is covered with white sand ; 

 and a multitude of beautiful shells are occasionally 

 to be seen. The land is covered to a considerable 

 distance, with a great variety of trees, and particu- 

 larly that called by the Europeans the real Indian 

 palm, or the cocoa-nut tree. The natives call it 

 tenga, and make much use of it in embellishing their 

 gardens. A great number of these are planted on 

 the coast, interspersed with hamlets and villages, and 

 afford a most delightful prospect to the spectator. 

 Cities and The maritime cities and towns of the Carnatic are 

 Cuddalore, Pondicherry, Portonovo, Sadras, St Tho- 



mas, Madras, and Pullicate, and a Few others of lesser Carnatic. 

 note. Cuddalore is naturally a very strong situation, W-Y"**" 

 a circumstance of great importance formerly, when 

 war was so frequently carried on in India, and would 

 certainly have been more commodious for the British 

 settlement than Madras, at the time that the French 

 were in possession of Pondicherry. The Dutch for- 

 merly possessed the towns of Portonovo, Sadras, and 

 Pullicate ; but the valour of the British arms has 

 wrested these from them, and rendered us indepen- 

 dent of the rivalship of any European power on the 

 eastern coast of India. St Thomas is from three to 

 four miles to the southward of Madras, and here 

 there was formerly a considerable Portuguese settle- 

 ment. Madras, or Fort St George, is close on the 

 margin of the sea, and is the principal settlement of the 

 British East India Company on the east side of the 

 peninsula. 



The nominal capital of the Carnatic is Arcot, the 

 residence, or rather which was formerly the constant 

 residence of the nabob of that name. From the de- 

 pendent state of its old possessor, and the obligations 

 under which he lies to the British government, it has 

 lost much of that splendour and luxury of a court, 

 by which it had been so long distinguished. All 

 the towns throughout the whole Carnatic, are ex. 

 ceedingly exposed to the attacks of an enemy's horse, 

 from the level nature of the country. This has ren- 

 dered it an object of indispensible necessity to erect 

 forts, and to improve the situation of the place, and 

 in general to remedy the disadvantages of so dry, 

 open, and unprotected a territory. Accordingly 

 the fortress at Madras, called Fort St George, is of 

 very great strength ; including within it a regular, 

 well built city. Upon any sudden incursion of the 

 enemy, (as in 1780), the inhabitants of the country 

 flock to these fortiiied places, and carry along with 

 them their families, and what little property they 

 can conveniently collect. The instances of the most 

 excessive cruelty that have occurred in the Carnatic 

 wars, have not been confined to its Mahomedan conr 

 querors; for so late as 1761, Pondicherry, the finest 

 city in India, together with its citadel, was razed to 

 the ground. From the complete subjugation of the 

 native princes, and the ascendency of the British 

 arms, it is not considered at present as of any im- 

 portance to keep in constant repair any forts in the 

 Carnatic, excepting those that are on the sea-coast, 

 or command some of the great roads leading into it. 

 Thus the fortress of Arcot is in bad repair, although 

 the nabob maintains a garrison of his own troops in it ; 

 whereas that of Vellore, being a post of great import- 

 ance, and the most direct route from the country of 

 Mysore, is justly deemed impregnable to an Indian 

 army. * It consists of three strong forts, on as many 

 hills. That part of the Carnatic which more pecu- 

 liarly belongs to the East India Company, is called 

 Jaghire, a term which generally means, a grant of 

 land from a sovereign to a subject revokable at plea- 

 sure, but in most instances for a life rent, neither of 

 which apply to that under consideration. It con- 

 tains 2440 square miles, and, according to Rennell, its 

 revenue is reckoned at about 150,000 per annum. 



Vellore was chosen for the residence of the family of the late Tippoo Saib, 



