<P> The name Chandannagar is possibly derived from the shape of the bank of the river Hooghly which is bent like a half moon (in Bengali, Chand means moon and Nagar implies city), so originally it was chander nagar . From the river bank it looked like a moon - shaped necklace (crescent moon). Some local people say that once, the place was the major hub of the trade of Sandal (Bengali - chandan). In some old documents the spelling of Chandannagar was Chandernagore which probably came from Chandra Nagar . To mention, Chandra is the Bengali of Moon . One more reason behind the name is, in Chandernagore there is a temple of Goddess' Chandi' . So it might come from there . But earlier people knew the place by the name Farasdangaor "France donmgi" as it was a French colony (Bengali: Farasi means French, danga means land). The name Pharasdanga appears in Bengali literature . </P> <P> Chandannagar came into being colonial times, proved conclusively by the fact that no mention of the town is found in medieval Bengali texts like Chandimangal and Manasamangal . Historians are of the opinion that the French created the town by amalgamating various smaller localities in the area . The three notable villages to be incorporated were Gondolpara to the South, Boro in the North and Khalisani to the West . The name "Chandernagor" can be first found in the letter dated 1696, intended for the officials of French East India Company, dispatched by Andre Boureau Deslandes and Palle, French officials posted in Chandernagore . </P> <P> The First Director of the French East India Company, Deslandes paid 40,000 coins to the Mughal subahdar in 1688 to gain control of the area and build a factory there . But the first Frenchman to possess any subsequent land holding in this area was Du Plessis who bought land of 13 Arpents at Boro Kishanganj, now loacted at North Chandannagar for Taka 401 in the year 1673 - 74 . </P> <P> The prosperity of Chandannagar as a French colony started soon after . At this time the Company establishment consisted of 1 Director, and 5 members who formed a council, 15 merchants and shopkeepers, 2 notaries, 2 padres, 2 doctors and 1 Sutradhar . The army consisted of 130 foot soldiers, 20 among them were Indians . The Fort de Orleans was constructed in the year 1696 - 97 and was better defended than its French and British counterparts . After the initial success the French trade languished due to the lax policy of its Directors . </P>

Who had established their trading company in chandernagore