The Historic Madras Harbour
In 2006 CE, the Chennai Port Trust celebrated its 125th year of formation. But the history of Madras harbor is much older. The maritime trade started in 1639 CE along with the city's foundation. However, there was no natural or artificial harbor. The ships could only come within two miles of the coast. They had to stop at Madras Roads (yes, that's what it was called then) and offload all the materials. The transportation to the city would be through the catamarans and the masula boats. In 1770 CE, a plan was to build a pier into the sea, but that was dropped when Warren Hastings was appointed Governor and Bengal and transferred to Kolkata. Almost after 90 years, probably due to the high loss of cargo while transporting through the boats, the initial piers were built in 1861 CE. The storms of 1868 and 1872 destroyed them. On 15th December 1875 , the foundation stone for the commencement of Madras Harbour Works was laid by Edward VII, the Prince of Wales. (He was the eldest so...