Coja Petrus Uscan was an Armenian

Armenians

Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

 merchant

Merchant

A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...

 and leader of the Armenian community of Madras who was known for his immense wealth and unflinching devotion and loyalty to the British during the French occupation of Madras.

Ancestry and early life

Petrus Uscan was born in a family of prominent Armenian traders which had traded with the East for generations. His grandfather Coja Pogus (Paul) had been buried in Julfa. Very little is known of his early life except for the fact that he migrated to Madras from Manila in the year 1723 and settled in the city for the rest of his life.

Assumption of monopoly

As soon as Uscan arrived in Madras, the Nawab of the Carnatic

Nawab of the Carnatic

Nawabs of the Carnatic , ruled the Carnatic region of South India between about 1690 and 1801. They initially had their capital at Arcot,vellore city...

 visited Madras and Uscan lavished hospitality upon him. A pleased Nawab offered gifts and titles and sole monopoly of trade in Madras.

Endowments

Petrus Uscan donated lavishly for Christian religious endowments. He was one of the foremost contributors to the construction of St Rita's church in St Thome

Santhome

-History:The word Santhome or San Thome is derived from Saint Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. The local Christian belief is that the apostle came to India in A.D.52, was martyred in A.D.72 at St.Thomas Mount in the City and was interred in Mylapore. A church was built over his...

. A slab on the east wall of the church has the inscription "In memory of the Armenian nation, 1729". In April, the very same year, the grave of St Thomas

Thomas the Apostle

Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...

 was opened for public viewing. Uscan was among those present.

Construction of Marmalong Bridge

In 1728, Coja Petrus Uscan constructed the Marmalong Bridge across the river Adyar

Adyar River

Adyar or Adayar, originating near the Chembarambakkam Lake in Chengalpattu district, is one of the two rivers which winds through Chennai , South India, and joins the Bay of Bengal at the Adyar Estuary. The 42.5 km-long river contributes to the estuarine ecosystem of Chennai. Despite the high...

. It cost him 30,000 pagodas

Pagoda (coin)

Pagoda was a unit of currency, a coin made of gold or half gold minted by Indian dynasties as well as the British, the French and the Dutch. It was issued by various dynasties in medieval southern India, including the Kadambas of Hangal, the Kadambas of Goa, and the Vijaynagar Empire.There were two...

. Still, he paid the full amount and also donated 1,500 pagodas for the bridge's upkeep.

The bridge no longer exists today, having been replaced by a second bridge. However, the bridge built by Uscan is the first ever bridge built across the Adyar River.

In 1726, he constructed the steps which led to the Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 shrine atop St Thomas Mount which still bears a slab commemorating Uscan's legacy. He also donated 1,500 pagodas for the maintenance of the steps.

As Company Councillor

Uscan was appointed Company Councillor for the British East India Company

British East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

. Uscan performed well in his new found role, occasionally serving as the Company's envoy. In 1740, when the Maratha

Maratha

The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

 general Raghuji Bhonsle invaded the Carnatic, Petrus Uscan was appointed the British envoy to negotiate peace with the Maratha general. Uscan negotiated with the Marathas and impressed the general so much that he even recognized British rule over Tiruchirapalli

Tiruchirapalli

Tiruchirappalli ) , also called Tiruchi or Trichy , is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli District. It is the fourth largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu and also the fourth largest urban agglomeration in the state...

, Madras and Fort St David

Fort St David

Fort St. David was a British fort near the town of Cuddalore, a hundred miles south of Madras on the Coromandel Coast of India.-History:It was bought from the Mahrattas by the British East India Company in 1690. Robert Clive served as the governor of Fort St David in 1756.The ruins of Fort St David...

. On another occasion, Petrus Uscan succeeded in obtaining exclusive rights for the British of Madras to mint coins in their own name.

During French occupation

When the French occupied Madras in 1746, they seized Petrus Uscan's belongings and carried them off to Pondicherry. Uscan fled Madras and sought refuge in a Danish ship. Dupleix

Dupleix

Dupleix could refer to one of the following:*Joseph François Dupleix, governor general of the French establishment in India in the 18th centuryFour ships of the French Navy have been named Dupleix:...

, then the governor of French India

French India

French India is a general name for the former French possessions in India These included Pondichéry , Karikal and Yanaon on the Coromandel Coast, Mahé on the Malabar Coast, and Chandannagar in Bengal...

, offered him French protection and restoration of confiscated property in the name of the Capuchin

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...

 chapel of Madras Armenians if Uscan shifted his loyalty to the French. However, Uscan gave a defiant reply that the Armenian tradition was to remain loyal to one's benefactors.

Later life

When Madras reverted to British control in 1749, Petrus Uscan and one Mrs. Madeiros were the only Catholics permitted to reside in the Fort. Following the reestablishment of British rule over Madras, the Capuchin chapel in the Fort was destroyed by the British who felt that the chief Armenian priest had spied for the French. Petrus managed to retain Armenian hold over the Chapel of Our Lady of Miracles in Vepery for some time. But after his death, it was made over to Protestants and a suitable compensation provided to the Armenian community which previously owned it.

Death

Petrus Uscan died in 1751 and was buried in the Chapel of Our Lady of Miracles which he owned. On Protestant occupation of the site in the middle of the eighteenth century, they built an Anglican church over it. Petrus Uscan's tombstone was however left untouched and it remains to this day.

Legacy

The Armenian community of Madras gained prominence in the 17th century AD and exercised a significant amount of power and domination over early Madras till the middle of the 19th century. Coja Petrus Uscan who led the Armenian community of Madras from 1723 to 1751 is regarded as the greatest and most famous member of the community. The community has almost become extinct, yet its memory survives through Petrus Uscan's numerous endowments and works of charity.