Cuddalore

Cuddalore District is one of the districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Cuddalore is the district headquarters. According to Census 2011, Cuddalore district had a population of 2,605,914 with a sex-ratio of 987 females for every 1,000 males. From ancient times the old town has been a seaport. Through the centuries, Cuddalore has been subject to a number of foreign powers including the Netherlands, Portugal, France and more recently, the British. In the 1600s, the French and English came to Cuddalore for trade and business. The French established a settlement at Pondicherry and the British at Cuddalore. The French and English, while engaged in the Seven Years' War, fought the naval "Battle of Cuddalore" on 29 April 1758. It was an indecisive battle between a British squadron, under Vice-Admiral George Pocock and a French squadron, under Comte d'Aché and the newly appointed Governor General Comte Thomas Lally.