From European Dwelling Settlements to Global Cities looks at the pattern of urbanization, planning and development of spatial culture—regular and periodic—on the Tamil coast in the early modern world and the historical processes that shaped them. It examines the establishment and growth of the towns Porto Novo, Tuticorin, Nagapattinam, Mylapore, Pulicat, Tranquebar, Cuddalore, and Madras that developed in the age of European commerce and empire, from the clustered villages around the umland, the vast and deep hinterland and the wide expanse of maritime foreland. The study makes a comparative understanding of these cosmopolitan ports and how they superseded interior capital cities like Madurai, Thanjavur, and Tiruchirapalli, the flourishing seats of power. Stephen argues that the network and gateway functions connecting the several ports of the Atlantic and a multitude of trading marts in Asia enabled them to rise from European dwelling settlements to fortified commercial towns and global cities. These enclaves used information and technological changes to enhance their living conditions, employment opportunities and longevity. This book also analyses, historically, the phenomena of urbanism and colonialism through the study of topography, cartography, demography, and Western iconography. It traces the geo-political factors significant in securing the prominence of these port towns, the elements of military, civil and commercial administrations in them, with governors and military commanders, and explains the evolution of White Town and the Black Settlements, beyond the walls of the city. The book also dwells on building and construction technology, the growth of institutions like the municipality, public works, court of justice, mint, gunpowder factory, and astronomical observatory, besides the missionaries’ activities and city life. Table Of Contents List of Illustrations List of Tables Abbreviations Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. Madurai, Thanjavur and Tiruchirapalli: the Great Capital Cities in the Early Modern Age 3. Porto Novo: The Maritime City under the Native Rulers, 1596-1793 4. The Portuguese and Dutch in Tuticorin: Town Development, the City and Queen of the Pearl Fishery Coast, 1542-1782 5. The Portuguese and Dutch in Nagapattinam: The Fortified City, Suburbs and the Construction of the Castle with the Golden Walls, 1525-1781 6. Portuguese in Santhome of Mylapore: From Fortified Town to Maritime City, 1507-1676 7. Constructing Fort Geldria in Pulicat: The Rise and Decline of the Dutch Town and City, 1612-1795 8. Tranquebar under the Danish Flag: Fort Dansborg, the Townscape and City, 1620-1801 9. The Growth of the Town and City of Cuddalore and Fort St. David, 1682-1792 10. Madras: Creating a British Urban Space, 1640-1820 11. Madras: Science City and the Greenwich of the East, 1786-1857 12. building Construction technology and European City Life in the Tamil Country 13. Conclusion Appendices Glossary Select Bibliography Index