History

Dugarajupatnam, also known as Armugum, Armagaon, Armaghon, Monapalem, Duggarazupatnam, and Durgarajupatnam, has been mentioned by various names in literature. According to primary and secondary sources, Durgarajupatnam is located at 13°59′ N latitude and 80°12′ E longitude, about 40 km east of Gudur. This coastal village lies west of the Buckingham Canal and was once a natural port. The English are said to have first landed at this port, and you can still see the remains of old constructions like a lighthouse.

It is one of the seaside resorts in the Nellore district. The place is mentioned in M. Francis’s “Imperial Gazetteer of India” as being named after Arumuga Mudaliyar, who helped establish one of the earliest English settlements on the Coromandel Coast with a factory protected by twelve cannons in 1625.

A lighthouse at Monapalem flashes every 20 seconds and is visible up to 14 miles (22.53 km) away, warning vessels of the Armugaon Shoal, which is 6 miles from the shore. This shoal is about 10 miles long, with shallow patches of water. The calm water inside the shoal is called “Blackwood’s Harbour,” named after Sir Henry Blackwood, an admiral who charted it and suggested it as a potential harbor.

Seven miles north of the Armagaon lighthouse is Dugarajupatnam, a small village with 2,388 people on the Buckingham Canal. It was the port of Armagon, often spoken of as identical, with the remains of an old fort built by the East India Company. This port is also mentioned in John Bosewell’s District manuals as Armeghon and in Robert Sewell’s list of Antiquarian Remains in the Madras Presidency as Duggarajapatnam. It is located 23 miles east-southeast of Gudur and 9 miles south of the Suvarnamukhi River’s mouth.

Dugarajupatnam was one of the earliest English possessions on the eastern coast, obtained from the Raja of Venkatagiri in 1625 AD. The new settlers named their factory after the village’s karanam, Armugam. In 1641 AD, the factory was moved to Madras (then called Chennakuppam), where a new factory was established with land granted by the Raja of Kalahasti, under the permission of the exiled King of Vijayanagara at Chandragiri.

Vice Admiral Henry Blackwood discovered an excellent natural harbor site near Armagon in the early 19th century. He charted an underwater shoal about six miles from Armagon, called the Armagon Shoal. It is about 10 miles long, with calm waters about nine fathoms deep, which Blackwood deemed a “practicable harbour.” This area later became known as Blackwood Harbour.

Before the construction of the Madras Harbour breakwaters, there was a debate about developing Blackwood Harbour instead. About seven miles south of Armagon is Monapalem, a deserted coastal village where a lighthouse was built in 1853. It flashed every 20 seconds and was visible up to 14 miles away, but it was closed between 1928 and 1938 due to a malaria epidemic.

The decline of Dugarajupatnam port can be attributed to the British East India Company’s desire for a strong port on the Coromandel coast. After unsuccessful attempts to control other ports, they chose Dugarajupatnam, but it did not thrive due to its unfavorable location. Eventually, they constructed a new port, Madras port, which significantly impacted many native ports, including Armagaon.

Ports are physical locations on the coast where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo. They are chosen for their access to land and navigable water, commercial demand, and shelter from wind and waves. Ports with deeper water can handle larger ships and often dominate the local economy. They also play an important military role.

A harbor is a sheltered area of deep water, essential for port development. Good harbors attract ports if the coasts are important for land and sea exchanges in the region.