October 1954 left Indian shores following a de facto transfer of power. Nearby places such as Arikamedu, Ariyankuppam, Kakayanthoppe, Villianur, and Bahour, which were colonised by the French East India Company over a period of time and later became the union territory of Pondicherry, have recorded histories that predate the colonial period. Poduke or Poduca (marketplace) was a Roman trading destination from the third century BCE. Poduca has been identified as possibly being Arikamedu (now part of Ariyankuppam), located about from the modern city of Pondicherry. The area was part of the Pallava Kingdom of Kanchipuram in the 4th century. The Cholas of Thanjavur held it from the 10th to the 13th centuries, until it was replaced by the Pandya Kingdom, in the 13th century. The Vijayanagar Empire took control of almost all of southern India in the 14th century and maintained control until 1638, when they were supplanted by the Sultan of Bijapur. In 1674, the French East India Company set up a trading centre at Pondicherry, and this outpost eventually became the chief French settlement in India. The French governor François Martin made remarkable improvements to the city and its commercial ties, facing at the same time strong opposition from the Dutch and the English. He entered into extended negotiations with the sultans of Golconda through the intercession of several roving French merchants and doctors who were in favour with the sultan. Trading in jewelry and precious stones, which had become highly fashionable in European courts, was one among many activities. Five trading posts were established along the south Indian coast between 1668 and 1674. The city was separated by a canal into the French Quarter and the Indian Quarter. On 21 August 1693, during the Nine Years' War, Pondicherry was captured by the Dutch. The governor of Dutch Coromandel, Laurens Pit the Younger, sailed with a fleet of seventeen ships and 1,600 men from Nagapattinam and bombarded Pondicherry for two weeks, after which Francois Martin surrendered it. At the Peace of Ryswick, it was agreed by all parties to return conquered territories, and in 1699, Pondicherry was handed back to the French. On 16 January 1761, the British captured Pondicherry from the French, but it was returned under the Treaty of Paris (1763), at the conclusion of the Seven Years' War. The British took control of the area again in 1793, at the Siege of Pondicherry, amid