Politically, the effectual determination of Aurangzeb brought the fall of Golconda at the end of September 1687 and the

region of Coastal Andhra came to be under the control of the Mughals. The Northern Circars (the five and large Coastal districts of Ganjam, Vizagapatam, Godavari, Kistna and Nellore) (at present 9 districts from Srikakulam to Nellore) were always the Prized Possessions of the rulers owing to its fertile soil and the extent of sea coast. The French and the British became anxious to avail themselves of the first opportunity for taking possession of the Coastal Andhra. The Portuguese first settled in Masulipatnam in 1606, the Dutch in 1608 and the English settled through a negotiated a treaty with the Sultan of Golconda in 1611. The English activities on the Corommandel Coast could be traced back to 1611 where numerous representations were made to the Sultan of Golconda.The English traders succeeded in procuring a Firman from the Sultan in 1632 to trade from the port of Masulipatnam in the Kingdom of Golconda. In return, the Company was required to import Persian horses and rareties from Europe. The Firman was considered to be the Golden Firman and it was the first written sanction from a ruler in India allowing a European Company the right to trade on the Corommandel Coast. The advent of Europeans changed the political scene of the country to a great extent and Coastal Andhra was not an exception. In the year 1724, the Deccan Subedari was entrusted to the Viceroyalty of Mir Qamuruddin Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah. Until the acquisition of the Northern Circars by the English East India Company, politically it was a part of the Asaf Jahi Nizam rulers of the Hyderabad Subah. During the year 1756, the French under M. Bussy and the British under Col. Forde took to hostilities where the British forces driven the French from these districts by storming the fort of Masulipatnam and inflicting a considerable loss. Up on the initiative of Mr. Palk, President of the Fort St. George, in October 1765, the Company directors obtained Sanads for all five Sarkars in virtue of a firman from the Emperor of Delhi. However the efforts of the Nizam Ali Khan to take back

the Northern Circars were only settled by an agreement by which the East India Company agreed to settle the Nizam with an annual tribute of five lakh of rupees for the Circars of Rajahmundry, Ellore, Mustaphanagar, and the Circars of Chicacole and Murtuzanagar for two lakhs each. The Circar of Guntoor came under the British Control in 1788, after the death of Basalat Jung for a sum to be paid to the Nizam at 916,665 rupees and 11 annas. Conclusion: I could go as far back as to Satavahana times and as forward as to 1956 with historical proofs to argue that Trilinga Desa( Andhra Desa) was never a divided body but an evolutionary and unified linguistic entity with occasional political variations.

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