Nicholas Morse

Sir Nicholas Morse acted as one of the Presidents of Madras Presidency from the year 1744 to 1746, under the rule of the British East India Company. He was also a well known British colonial administrator in British India. Morse was appointed as the President of Madras (now Chennai) on 14 January 1744, before the capture of the Fort St George by the French in 1746 and the Battle of Madras. He was preceded by Richard Benyon who served in the position from 23 January 1735 to 14 January 1744.

The Madras Presidency, also known as the Presidency of Fort St. George and Madras Province, was an administrative sub division of British dominated India. The region included most of southern India, such as the modern states of Tamil Nadu, the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh, Lakshadweep Islands, the Malabar region of North Kerala, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangapur and Gajapati districts of southern Orissa and the Bellary, Ganjam, Dakshina Kannada, Rayagada and Udupi districts of Karnataka. Madras (now Chennai) was the winter capital of the province and Ootacamund (now Ooty) was the summer capital of the British presidency.

Sir Nicholas Morse ruled over the province as the President for a brief period and was marked by aggression between the French East India Company and the British East India Company. His tenure ended on 10 September 1746, after the province was seized by the French authorities. It was organised under the leadership of Bertrand Francois Mahe de La Bourdonnais, who later served as the Governor of Madras Presidency from 10 September 1746 to 2 October 1746. Nicholas Morse died on 28 May 1772 and was buried at St Mary`s Church in Madras.

This article is a stub. You may enrich it by adding more information to it. You can send your write-up at content@indianetzone.com