Zamindaris were established in the Madras Presidency by the government of 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...

 starting from 1799 onwards. These settlements were established in order to delineate authority to landlords and thereby relieve the ryot from the control of middlemen who often exploited them. Often, these zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to British expansion. The zamindari settlement was based on an a similar settlement established in Bengal. The Zamindari settlement of Madras was largely unsuccessful and was wrapped up in 1852. However, a few Zamindaris remained till India's independence in 1947.

Land proprietorship in Madras Presidency

Madras Presidency comprised an area of 148796 square miles (385,379.9 km²), of which 141705 square miles (367,014.3 km²) were under direct British rule while the rest was distributed amongst the princely states. In the areas administered by the British, three systems of land proprietorship existed: zamindaris, inams and ryotwaris.

In 1911, zamindari estates covered 26 million acres (105,218.4 km²) and occupied over one-fourth of the total area of the presidency. In 1945-46, there were 20945456 acres (84,763.3 km²) of Zamindari estates which yielded a revenue of Rs. 97,83,167 and 58904798 acres (238,379.5 km²) of ryotwari lands which yielded a revenue of Rs. 7,26,65,330.

Zamindaris from 1799 to 1852

The zamindari system was introduced in the Madras Presidency in 1799 in the aftermath of the defeat of the Polygars in the Polygar Wars.

Zamindaris in 1877-1879

In 1877, C. D.Maclean made a survey of the existing zamindaris under the jurisdiction of Madras Presidency. As per this survey, a few of these zamindaris were larger than some of the smaller princely states in the Presidency. The largest of these, Ramnad

Ramnad estate

The Ramnad Estate is a permanently settled Zamindari estate in the Ramnad subdivision of the Madura district of the erstwhile Madras Presidency in British India. It comprises the southern and eastern parts of Madura district.The estate was ruled by a Zamindar who bore the title "Raja"...

, Ganapur and Sivaganga

Sivaganga estate

The estate of Sivaganga , also known as Kingdom of the Lesser Marava, was a permanently settled zamindari estate in the Ramnad sub-division of Madura district, Madras Presidency, British India. Along the estate of Ramnad, it formed one of the two zamindari estates of Ramnad subdivision.The...

, Ramnad and Sivaganga being demoted princely states, were larger in size than the princely states of Cochin or Pudukkottai. Ramnad, the larger of the two, covered an area of 2351 square miles (6,089.1 km²), and was second only to Travancore amongst princely states in Madras Presidency. Karvatinuggur, Kalahasti, Nuzvid, Poonganur, Paralekhemidi and Podile and Darsi divisions of Venkatagiri were larger in size than the princely state of Banganapalle while Virasanapettah, Arni and Kanguni were larger than Sandur.

List of zamindaris in Madras Presidency in the year 1877
Zamindari	Area (in square miles)	Population in 1877	Revenue paid to the Madras government in 1877 (in rupees)
Ganjam district
Akkayavalasa	1	788	278
Aska	3.56	7,712	4,857
Athgarh	149.37	77,228	60,000
Baruva	10.25	8,454	7,800
Beddam	1.75	217	89
Belamarapalavalasa	2.33	855	1,043
Beridi	14.75	10,960	4,500
Budharsinghi	4.25	3,244	500
Chackipalli	0.75	1,018	869
Chikiti	64.5	40,789	34,000
Chinnakemidi	55.31	29,849	20,000
Chinnatangam	7.43	395	424
Chittivalasa	1	5,698	2,074
Danta	4.06	3,220	3,309
Dharakot	50.25	31,262	25,000
Davabhumi	4	3,539	5,188
Gopalpur	5	5,165	3,699
Gottipalli	6.25	4,049	4,049
Humma	5	2,754	1,171
Jalantar	25.5	18,450	7,000
Jarada	9	5,813	1,002
Jarangi	2.75	2,336	1,002
Jonnupada	0.31	138	93
Kallikot	84	42,589	19,000
Karakavalasa	9.06	7,795	4,048
Konsalacuttur	0.33	574	393
Kurla	3.75	5,457	5,455
Lusaram	0.75	320	332
Malgam	1.56	916	572
Mandasa	35.75	34,508	14,000
Mungatavalasa	5.75	3,695	4,048
Palur	16.31	4,173	553
Paralekhemedi Paralakhemundi Parlakhemundi is a small town and a municipality in Gajapati district in the Indian state of Orissa. The major languages spoken in this region are Oriya and Telugu.- Demographics :...	451.5	252,391	82,139
Peddakemidi	78.43	40,810	23,500
Peddatangam	0.31	564	424
Rajapur	0.18	266	76
Santalaksimipur	7.06	485	1,192
Seddibeharakuttur	0.25	109	103
Seerghar	20.75	9,595	5,500
Srikurmana (part of Vizianagaram)	17.75	16,927	Included in Vizianagaram
Surada	46	15,324	4,000
Surangi	14.75	12,919	3,500
Talasamudram	1.37	923	2,383
Takkali Estates	61.56	58,054	49,088
Tallavalasa	0.37	387	424
Tarla	28.75	24,639	4,000
Tarlepatta	0.75	388	256
Tilaru	15.75	6,180	3,654
Towdam	2.5	1,030	686
Urlam Urlam Urlam village is located in Narasannapeta mandal in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India.-Demographics:According to Indian census, 2001, the demographic details of Urlam village is as follows:* Total Population: 3,343 in 793 Households...	14.5	11,061	13,582
Yellamanchilli	1	643	654
Godavary district
Bhadrachalam and Rakapalli	505	27,695	21,090
Cocanada and Coringa	168	91,860	-
Pittapore	188	79,606	3,41,627
Tuni Tuni Tuni is a town and a municipality in East Godavari district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.Tuni is a Major commercial marketing centre for more than forty surrounding villages in the east Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh....	376	50,201
Kistna district
Nuzvid Nuzvid Nuzvid is a mandal and municipality in Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is 50 km from Vijayawada and 35 km from Eluru. This place is well connected by bus and rail. Nuzvid is well known for its mangos, which are exported world wide....	561	107,465	1,08,221
Virsanapettah	257	55,662	20,829
Madura district
Ammayanayakkanur	100
Ramnad Ramnad estate The Ramnad Estate is a permanently settled Zamindari estate in the Ramnad subdivision of the Madura district of the erstwhile Madras Presidency in British India. It comprises the southern and eastern parts of Madura district.The estate was ruled by a Zamindar who bore the title "Raja"...	2,351	504,131	3,38,686
Sivaganga Sivaganga estate The estate of Sivaganga , also known as Kingdom of the Lesser Marava, was a permanently settled zamindari estate in the Ramnad sub-division of Madura district, Madras Presidency, British India. Along the estate of Ramnad, it formed one of the two zamindari estates of Ramnad subdivision.The...	1,557	434,253	2,88,317
Nellore district
Darsi division	488	73,139	Revenue included under Venkatagiri
Podile division	405	62,934	Revenue included under Venkatagiri
North Arcot district
Arni Jaghire	170	77,679	5,933
Kalahasti	602	135,104	1,76,816
Kangundi	179	52,047	22,959
Karvattinuggur	634	289,894	1,80,495
Poonganur	524	109,282	66,859
Tinnevely district
Alagapuri	5.2	2,452
Avudyapuram	13.36	6,960
Ettaiyapuram	527.47	140,108
Kollapatti	20.4	7,530
Jennalkudi	11.34	3,532
Kadambur	25.8	7,590
Kollakondan	1.35	9,021
Kulattur	15.27	4,903
Mannarkottai	21.16	13,900
Maniachi	15	3,190
Melmandai	34.1	4,460
Pavali	11.48	4,034
Setthur	91.44	11,916
Singampatti	110.38	16,295
Sivagiri	122.38	49,531
Surandei	1.34	2,580
Talavankottai	6.14	3,117
Uurkad	3.32	3,903
Uuttumalai	124.49	31,541
Vizagapatam district
Anakapalli	597	143,549	-
Bimlipatam	243	113,079	-
Bobbili Bobbili Bobbili is a town, mandal headquarters and a Municipality in Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.-Geography:Bobbili is located at . It has an average elevation of 103 metres .-History:...	333	140,739	-
Chepudipalli	615	162,827	-
Gajapatinagarum Gajapathinagaram Gajapathi-nagaram is a Town and Mandal in Vizianagaram district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.It is located on National Highway 43 between Vizianagaram and Ramabhadrapuram.-Demographics:...	276	121,758	-
Gunupur Gunupur Gunupur is a town and a notified area committee in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Orissa.-Geography:Gunupur is located at . It has an average elevation of . It is located in the lap of the Eastern Ghat and on the banks of river Vamshadhara. It has a mixed climate of mountains & Coastal...	2,000	63,127	-
Golaconda	874	26,720	1,02,374
Hill tracts of Golconda and Viravalli	500	15,880	-
Kotpad Kotpad Kotpad is a town and a notified area committee in Koraput district in the Indian state of Orissa. Nearest railway station to Kotpad is Kotpad Road station located on Kothavalasa-Kirandul railway.-Demographics:...	N. A.	132,655	N. A.
Kolurpa	N. A.	80,034	N. A.
Malkangiri Malkangiri Malkangiri is a town and a notified area committee in Malkangiri district in the Indian state of Orissa. It is the headquarters of the Malkangiri district. Malkangiri is the new home of the Bangladeshi refugees, who were rehabilitated since 1965 under the Dandakaranya project...	N. A.	12,801	N. A.
Nowrangpur	N. A.	87,363	N. A.
Parvatipur	402	123,830	-
Rayagada Rayagada Rayagada is a municipality in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Orissa. It is the administrative headquarters of Rayagada district.-Geography:...	1,000	59,780	-
Salur Salur Salur or Saluru is a Municipality and Mandal headquarters in Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh...	222	77,006	-
Sarvasiddi	960	129,185	1,90,595
Serungavarapukota	318	130,362	-
Viravalli	688	166,184	-
Vizagapatam Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...	216	90,467	-
Vizianagaram Vizianagaram Vizianagaram is the main city of the Vizianagaram District of north-eastern Andhra Pradesh in southern India. Vizianagaram district was formed on 1 June 1979, with some parts carved from the neighbouring districts of Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam. It is, at present, the largest municipality of...	12,000	149,920	-
Source:

Other zamindaris

This is a list of other zamindaris which were either not included in MaClean's list or were non-existent at the time of the enumeration.

Zamindari	District
Ammayanayakannur
Anegundi Anegundi Anegundi is a village in Gangavathi taluk, Koppal district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is part of the Hampi World Heritage Site.Anegundi, older than Hampi, is situated on the northern bank of Tungabhadra River...
Bodinaickanur
Chikiti
Chinna Merangi Merangi China Merangi is a village Jiyyammavalasa mandal in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, India.There is a post office at Merangi. The PIN code is 535 526.-Demographics:...
Dharakote

Image:RajaVenkataofBobbili.JPG|Raja Sir Venkata Svetachalapathi Ranga Rao Bahadur of Bobbili

Venkata Ranga Rao

Sir Venkata Svetachalapathi Ranga Rao Bahadur GCIE was an Indian landlord and zamindar of Bobbili in Madras Presidency from 1881 to 1921. His grandson and successor Ramakrishna Ranga Rao served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from 1932 to 1936.- Early life :Venkata Ranga Rao was born at...

 (1881-1921)
Image:VikramaDeo Jeypore.jpg|Raja Vikrama Deo of Jeypore

Jeypore

Jeypore, is the largest town in the Koraput district of Orissa, India. Along with Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Balasore, Puri and Berhampur, Jeypore is one of the prominent places of Orissa. It is encompassed by hills of the Eastern Ghats and the more famous Araku hills on three...

,Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

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