A Plan of Fort St. George and the City of Madras.

Fort St. George was the first British fortification in India, built in 1644 along the coastal city of Madras (today, Chennai). The fort was established to assist the British East India Company who were looking for commercial opportunities in India and points further east. Existing Jewish traders situated along the coasts of India were soon welcomed by the British into Madras due to their trading acumen. One of the first Jews who came to Madras was Jacques (Jaime) de Pavia. Originally a Portuguese Jew from Amsterdam, it was he who organized the Jews of Madras into the semblance of a community, in connection with which, he established a Jewish cemetery - where he himself was buried in 1687. Interestingly, following his death, de Pavia’s widow, also a Portuguese Jewess, fell in love with the English governor of Madras, Elihu Yale (1649-1721) and went to live with him, scandalizing local society. Governor Yale later achieved renown when he gave a large donation to the University of New Haven in Connecticut, which was subsequently named after him, hence Yale University. Hieromima de Paiva and the son she had with Yale