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ARCOT

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Originally appearing in Volume V02, Page 447 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ARCOT , the name of a See also:

city and two districts of See also:British See also:India in the See also:presidency of See also:Madras. Arcot city is the See also:principal See also:town in the See also:district of See also:North Arcot. It occupies a very prominent See also:place in the See also:history of the British See also:conquest of India, but it has now lost its manufactures and See also:trade and preserves only a few mosques and tombs as traces of its former grandeur. It is a station on the See also:line of railway from Madras to Beypur, but has ceased to be a military See also:cantonment. The most famous See also:episode in its history is the See also:capture and See also:defence of Arcot by See also:Clive. In the See also:middle of the 18th See also:century, during the See also:war between the See also:rival claimants to the See also:throne of the Carnatic, Mahommed See also:Ali and See also:Chanda See also:Sahib, the See also:English supported the claims of the former and the See also:French those of the latter. In See also:order to divert the See also:attention of Chanda Sahib and his French auxiliaries from the See also:siege of See also:Trichinopoly, Clive suggested an attack upon Arcot and offered to command the expedition. His offer was accepted; but the only force which could be spared to him was 200 Europeans and 300 native troops to attack a fort garrisoned by 110o men. The place, however, was abandoned without a struggle and Clive took See also:possession of the fortress. The expedition produced the desired effect; Chanda Sahib was obliged to detach a large force of 10,000 men to recapture the city, and the pressure on the English See also:garrison at Trichinopoly was removed. Arcot was afterwards captured by the French; but in 176o was retaken by See also:Colonel See also:Coote after the See also:battle of See also:Wandiwash. It was also taken by Hyder Ali when that invader ravaged the Carnatic in 1780, and held by him for some See also:time.

The town of Arcot, together with the whole of the territory of the Carnatic, passed into the hands of the British in 18o1, upon the formal resignation of the See also:

government by the See also:nawab, Azim-ud-daula, who received a liberal See also:pension. The district of North Arcot is bounded on the N. by the districts of See also:Cuddapah and See also:Nellore; on the E. by the district of See also:Chingleput; on the S. by the districts of See also:South Arcot and See also:Salem; and on the W. by the See also:Mysore territory. The See also:area of North Arcot is 9386 sq. m., and the See also:population in 1901 was 2,207.712, showing an increase of 4% in the See also:decade. The aspect of the See also:country, in the eastern and See also:southern parts, is See also:flat and uninteresting; but the western parts, where it runs along the See also:foot of the Eastern See also:Ghats, as well as all the country northwards from Trivellam to Tripali and the Karkambadi Pass, are mountainous, with an agreeable diversity of scenery. The elevated See also:platform in the See also:west of the district is comparatively cool, being 2000 ft. above the level of the See also:sea, with a mean maximum of the thermometer in the hottest See also:weather of 88°. The hills are composed principally of See also:granite and'See also:syenite, and have little vegetation. Patches of stunted See also:jungle here and there diversify their rugged and barren aspect; but they abound in minerals, especially See also:copper and See also:iron ores. The narrow valleys between the hills are very fertile, having a See also:rich See also:soil and an abundant See also:water-See also:supply even in the driest seasons. The principal See also:river in the district is the Palar, which rises in Mysore, and flows through North Arcot from west to See also:east past -the towns of See also:Vellore and Arcot, into the neighbouring district of Chingleput, eventually falling into the sea at Sadras. Although a considerable stream in the See also:rainy See also:season, and often impassable, the See also:bed is dry or nearly so during the See also:rest of the See also:year. Other smaller See also:rivers of the district are the Paini, which passes near Chittore and falls into the Palar, the Sonamukhi and the Chayaur. These streams are all dry during the hot season, but in the rains they flow freely and replenish the numerous tanks and See also:irrigation channels.

The administrative headquarters are at Chittore, but the largest towns are Vellore (the military station), See also:

Tirupati (a See also:great religious centre), and Wallajapet and Kalahasti (the two See also:chief places of trade). The district of South Arcot is bounded on the N. by the districts of North Arcot and Chingleput; on the E. by the French territory of See also:Pondicherry and the See also:Bay of See also:Bengal; on the S. by the British districts of See also:Tanjore and Trichinopoly; and on the W. by the British district of Salem. It contains an area of 5217 sq. m.; and its population in 1901 was 2,349,894, showing an increase of 9 % in the decade. The aspect of the district resembles that of other parts of the Coromandel See also:coast. It is See also:low and sandy near the sea, and for the most See also:part level till near the western border, where ranges of hills See also:form the boundary between this and the neighbouring district of Salem. These ranges are in some parts about 5000 ft. high, with solitary hills scattered about the district. In the western tracts, dense patches of jungle furnish covert to tigers, leopards, bears and monkeys. The principal river is the Coleroon which forms the southern boundary See also:ARCUEIL 447 of the district, separating it from Trichinopoly. This river is abundantly supplied with water during the greater part of the year, and two irrigating channels distribute its See also:waters through the district. The other rivers are the Vellar, See also:Pennar, and Gadalum, all of which are used for irrigation purposes. Numerous small irrigation channels See also:lead off from them, by means of which a considerable area of See also:waste See also:land has been brought under cultivation. Under the East India See also:Company, a commercial See also:resident was stationed at See also:Cuddalore, and the Company's weavers were encouraged by many privileges.

The manufacture and export of native See also:

cloth have now been almost entirely superseded by the introduction of See also:European piece goods. The chief seaport of the district of South Arcot is Cuddalore, See also:close to the site of Fort St See also:David. The principal crops in both districts are See also:rice, See also:millet, other See also:food grains, oil-seeds and See also:indigo.

End of Article: ARCOT

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