Nagapattinam (
nākappaṭṭinam, previously spelt
Nagapatnam or
Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of
Nagapattinam District. The town came to prominence during the period of
Medieval Cholas (9th–12th century CE) and served as their important port for commerce and east-bound naval expeditions. The
Chudamani Vihara in Nagapattinam constructed by the Sri Lankan king with the help of Chola kingdom is an important Buddhist structure of the times. Nagapattinam was settled by the
Portuguese and, later, the Dutch under whom it served as the capital of
Dutch Coromandel from 1660 to 1781. In November 1781, the town was conquered by the
British East India Company. It served as the capital of
Tanjore district from 1799 to 1845 under
Madras Presidency of the British. It continued to be a part of Thanjavur district in Independent India. In 1991, it was made the headquarters of the newly created
Nagapattinam District. Nagapattinam is administered by a Selection-grade municipality covering an area of and had a population of 102,905 as of 2011.