East–West Street
Rue Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Named after: Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, naval commander (1699–1753)
Welcome to Rue Mahé de La Bourdonnais, named after the naval commander who captured Madras in 1746, the greatest French military victory in India. France then traded Madras back to the British in exchange for Louisbourg, in Canada. The largest island of the Seychelles, the Malabar town of Mahé, and this street all bear his name. The victory survives in geography. India did not speak French.
You are walking on a street named after a man whose victory France gave away. Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1699–1753) was born in Saint-Malo, the Breton port that produced generations of sailors and corsairs. As Governor of Île de France (Mauritius) and Île Bourbon (Réunion), he assembled largely from his own resources the naval squadron that changed the course of Indian history.
In September 1746, he bombarded Madras and defeated the British garrison. Fort St George fell. The British East India Company's most important settlement on the Coromandel Coast was in French hands. Indian rulers watching the contest took notice. With Madras and Pondicherry together, France would have controlled the entire southern Coromandel seaboard. The history of South India might have been written in French.
It was not. La Bourdonnais offered the British lenient surrender terms, and Dupleix disputed this furiously. But the larger decision was made in Paris, not Pondicherry. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), which ended the War of Austrian Succession, returned Madras to Britain in exchange for Louisbourg, a fortress in Cape Breton, Canada. France chose Canada. South India stayed British.
La Bourdonnais returned to France and was imprisoned in the Bastille, caught in the fallout from his dispute with Dupleix. Acquitted in 1748, his health broken, he died aged 54 in 1753 still writing his memoirs. His name now appears on the Malabar town of Mahé, on the largest island of the Seychelles, and on this street. The victory is in the geography. India speaks Tamil and English.
Notable on this street
- Mahé (Mayyazhi), the French comptoir on the Malabar Coast in Kerala, is named after him. It is still part of the Union Territory of Pondicherry today, 1,400 km from here.
- The largest island of the Seychelles is called Mahé. He named his way across the Indian Ocean. Three places on different continents bear his name.
- France traded Madras back to Britain in 1748, in exchange for Louisbourg in Canada. France chose Canada. If they had kept Madras, the whole of South India might be speaking French today.
- He was imprisoned in the Bastille on his return to France. Acquitted. Health broken. Dead at 54. The man who delivered France its greatest Indian victory was destroyed by it.
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