The book looks at the pattern of urbanization, planning and development of spatial culture on the Tamil coast in the early modern world and the historical processes that shaped them. It examines the establishment and growth of the towns Porto Novo, Tuticorin, Nagapattinam, Mylapore, Pulicat, Tranquebar, Cuddalore, and Madras that developed in the age of European commerce and empire, from the clustered villages around the
umland, the vast hinterland and the wide expanse of maritime foreland. The study makes a comparative understanding of these cosmopolitan ports and how they superseded interior capital cities like Madurai, Thanjavur, and Tiruchirapalli. This book also analyses the phenomena of urbanism and colonialism through the study of topography, cartography, demography, and Western iconography.