colony · South Asia
Dutch Coromandel
Origins
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) opened a factory at Masulipatnam in 1605 and in 1610 obtained permission from the Vijayanagara ruler to settle at Pulicat, where Fort Geldria was built in 1613. Further factories followed at Negapatnam, Sadras and Bimlipatnam, forming the governorate of Coromandel.
Rule and society
Coromandel cotton textiles, printed and painted chintz above all, were the VOC's key goods for buying spices in Indonesia. The company bought cloth from weavers through Indian merchants and also traded slaves during famines. Pulicat housed the governor and a mint. In 1690 the capital moved to Negapatnam, then back to Pulicat in 1781.
Decline and legacy
British competition from Madras eroded Dutch trade, and the British occupied the posts during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 the remaining settlements were transferred to Britain in 1825.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Dutch Coromandel was a colony of Dutch Empire1610 CE – 1825 CE
- Dutch Coromandel was conquered by Company rule in India1781 CE – 1825 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Dutch Coromandel. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-coromandel
- MLA
- “Dutch Coromandel.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-coromandel. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Dutch Coromandel.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-coromandel.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Dutch Coromandel’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-coromandel (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻