Vellore

Vellore is known for its great stone fort, surrounded by a broad moat on the plains of northern Tamil country. Built by chiefs serving the Vijayanagara rulers in the sixteenth century, the fort encloses palaces and the richly carved Jalakandeswarar temple. Its walls sheltered successive rulers and garrisons as power in southern India changed hands.

After Vijayanagara, Vellore passed to the sultans of Bijapur, the Marathas, the nawabs of the Carnatic and eventually the British. The East India Company confined members of Tipu Sultan’s family within the fort after his defeat. On 10 July 1806 Indian sepoys rose against their British officers at Vellore, amid grievances that included new regulations on military dress. Troops arriving from Arcot suppressed the uprising with heavy loss of life. The revolt exposed the tensions within the Company’s army.