San Thome – originally known only by the name of Meliapore or Mylapore- has a long and eventful history, and received its name of St. Thoma from the Portuguese who built a fort there; at various times, the Dutch, the French, and the English struggled for its possession, but since its capture in 1479 by Admiral Boscawen and the receipt of a character from the Nawab Mohamed Ali Khan, it remained more or less continuously in English hands.