Ganjam

Ganjam was a port at the mouth of the Rushikulya, where the river meets the Bay of Bengal. The fertile valley supplied rice for coastal trade, and small vessels crossed the shifting channels and sandbanks at the river mouth. Larger ships lay offshore, served by local boats.

In the eighteenth century European companies competed for influence along this coast. The Northern Circars, including Ganjam, were assigned to the French by Salabat Jang in 1753, but the French withdrew after an English victory at Masulipatam in 1759. An imperial grant to the English followed in 1765. In 1768 the East India Company established a factory at Ganjam and began a fort to protect it. Its walls and magazine stood near the river mouth, marking the new commercial and military presence on the coast.