But the Nayak pulled back after the Portuguese, then dominant players at the Coramandal Coast trade, pressured Gingee's overlord rulers, Venkata I of Vijayanagara Empire to prevent Dutch entry.

Overseas trade continued and the port became an important source of sandalwood, camphor, cloves, nutmeg, mace, green velvet, porcelain, copper, and brass.

[1] The purchase price included not only the fort but also the adjacent towns and villages within the range of a random shot of a piece of ordnance.

A great gun was fired to different points of the compass and all the country within its range, including the town of Cuddalore, passed into the possession of the English.

In 1746 Fort St David became the British headquarters for the southern India, and attacks by French forces under Dupleix were successfully repulsed.