Puducherry traces its history through two periods: pre-colonial and colonial. Pre-colonial rule spanned the Pallava (325 – 900), Chola (900 – 1279), Pandya (1279 – 1370), Vijayanagara Empire’s Naikship of Gingee (1370 – 1614), and Bijapur Sultanate (1614 – 1638) eras. In 1521, the Portuguese initiated textile trade, and subsequently, the Dutch and the Danes in the 17th century, marking the onset of the colonial period in Puducherry’s history.

In 1668, the French East India Company established a settlement at Surat, and in 1674, they established another one at Pondicherry (now known as Puducherry), both under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Colbert. François Martin, the director of the company, designated Pondicherry as the capital of the French posts. Subsequently, Mahe was established in 1725, Yanam in 1731, and Karaikal in 1739. Joseph-François Dupleix, who became the general director in 1742, further expanded French concerns in Bengal, with Chandernagore (Chandannagar) as the center of activity.

After the abolition of the French East India Company in 1769, the French establishments in India were put under the authority of the king. There were only five settlements of moderate size, which included Chandernagore in Bengal, Yanam at the mouth of the Godavari River, Pondicherry and Karaikal on the Coromandel Coast, and Mahe on the Malabar Coast. The commercial activity of the French settlements was weakened by the English conquest of India. Although the English occupied them in 1778 and 1793, they were returned to France in 1816. The Second Republic of France granted these settlements local government and representation in the French parliament. During the Second Empire of France, commercial liberalism and Anglo-French understanding gave the settlements a short-lived moment of prosperity.

The French loges were returned to independent India in 1947, and Chandernagore was transferred in 1951. On November 1, 1954, the four remaining French colonies were de facto transferred to the Union of India, and the de jure transfer was completed on May 28, 1956. On August 16, 1962, the Instruments of Ratification were signed, and from that date, Pondicherry, comprising the four enclaves, became a union territory. In 2006, the territory was officially named Puducherry.

Puducherry is a union territory of India that was formed in 1962. It was previously known as Pondicherry, and its original name was Puducheri. The territory consists of four former colonies of French India, which are Pondicherry and Karaikal situated along the southeastern Coromandel Coast, Yanam located farther north along the eastern coast in the delta region of the Godavari River, and Mahe located on the western Malabar Coast. The capital of the territory is the city of Puducherry, situated in the Puducherry sector, just north of Cuddalore.

The territory’s original name, Puducheri, comes from the Tamil words Pudu, meaning “new,” and cheri, meaning “village.” The French changed the name to Pondichéry, which was used until the name was officially changed back to Puducherry in 2006. The area covers 190 square miles (492 square km) with an estimated population of 1.64 million as of 2023. Puducherry experiences a semi-arid climate with an average annual temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 70 – 85%. The region primarily receives rainfall from the North-East monsoon.