Cantonment City of Bangalore

The word cantonment comes from a French word caton meaning corner or district. Each cantonment was therefore essentially a well-defined and clearly demarcated area which was kept for housing and administering troops. The British, after they had defeated Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, in the fourth and final Anglo-Mysore war, had stationed their garrison at Seringapatnam, the capital city of the state of Mysore. The sultan had also maintained a fort in Bangalore which was the largest in the state and the EIC under the leadership of the brilliant general Lord Cornwallis had at first stormed into and razed to the ground this stronghold of Bangalore before they made their move in Seringapatnam.

After the fall of the Mysore sultan, the British shifted their cantonment from Seringapatnam to Bangalore owing to its pleasant climate. The presence of the Bangalore Cantonment attracted a large number of workers looking for employment opportunities from Tamil Nadu and other neighboring states of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore. Bangalore quickly rose to become the largest city in the Kingdom of Mysore. In 1831, the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore was shifted from Mysore city to Bangalore. The story of the city from then on is one of constant and unflinching upward growth. Many posh localities have sprung up around the cantonment area and MG road has become the nerve center of the city. Many pubs, bars and hotels in Bangalore can be found near MG Road. There are many hotels in Rajaji Nagar area of the city as well.