Rue Francois Martin. Pondicherry

François Martin, 1681 – November 1693.
On February 4th, 1673, Bellanger, a French officer, took up residence in the Danish Lodge in Puducherry and the French Period of Puducherry began. In 1674 Francois Martin, the first Governor, started to build Puducherry and transformed it from a small fishing village into a flourishing port-town. The French were in constant conflict, in India, with the Dutch and the English. In 1693 the Dutch took over and fortified the town considerably. The French regained Puducherry in 1699 through the Treaty of Ryswick signed on September 20, 1697.