Karaikal is a town in the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal was sold to the French by the Rajah of Thanjavur and became a French colony in 1739. The French maintained control, with occasional interruptions by the British, until 1954, when it was de facto incorporated into the Republic of India. along with Mahé, Yanaon. and Pondicherry.
Before 1739, Karaikal was under the rule and control of Raja Pratap Singh of Tanjore. In 1738, Pierre Benoît Dumas wanted to expand French territory in India by flexible means and negotiated with Sahuji of Thanjavur for the possession of Karaikal, the fortress of Karakalcheri and five villages for 40,000 chakras. On February 14, 1739, the French took possession of the town of Karaikal, the fortress of Karakalcheri and eight dependent villages. At this point, the king of Thanjavur increased the price of Karaikal city and Karakalcheri fortress to 50,000 chakras. He also demanded an interest-free loan of 150,000 chakras, repayable in three years against Mayavaram land pledge, and an annual rent of 4,000 pagodas for five villages. The French accepted all the conditions except the payment of 150,000 chakras, which was later reduced to 10,000 chakras, while the annual rent was reduced to two or three thousand chakras. The villages received were Kilaiyur, Melaiyur, Puduthurai, Kovilpathu and Tirumalairayanpattinam. Later, two towns were ceded to the French. Pratap Singh, who succeeded him on the throne, renewed the demand for a loan of 100,000 chakras and after receiving the first payment of 4,000 chakras, he allotted eight more villages to the French, namely, Codague (Kondagai), Vanjiyur, Arimullimangalam, Niravi, Dharmapuram, Uzhiapathu, Mattakudi (probably Mathalangudi) and Polagam. On February 12, 1740 he sold these villages for 60,000 chakras, which the previous year he had allocated only 40,000 chakras.
