Plan of the British Fortress of Madras, now Chennai

A scarce plan of the British Fortress of Madras, published in Raspe's 'Schau Platz des gegenwaertigen Kriegs' (Plates illustrating the Current Wars). Founded as Fort St George in 1640, Madras became an important trading post for the British, which meant it became a target for the French during the Seven Years' War. In December 1758 the French army under Thomas Arthur, comte de Lally (of Irish Jacobite descent), laid siege to Madras. He failed to take the fortress before British reinforcements arrived, after which Lally withdrew. This was a turning point in the war for dominance in India, and, after five years as a prisoner of war in England, Lally was executed for his failures.