Kanakaraya Mudali

Who was Kanakaraya Mudali?

Pedro Kanakaraya Mudaliar was the chief dubash and a broker for the French East India Company. He remained in service for the longest period of 24 years between 1722 and 1746, specially during the early period of Joseph François Dupleix. He was succeeded by Ananda Ranga Pillai. Everything known about his life comes from the private diary of Ananda Ranga Pillai and the inscriptions found in the walls of St. Andrews church, which he built in the memory of his dead son. In the diary, he is portrayed as being jealous and the chief rival of Ranga Pillai. Thus, the accuracy of the description is questionable.

As a broker, his roles were to act as an intermediary, supervising the manufacture of clothes, warehousing, and export of merchandise. Although the role of the broker was not to supply the French company with manufactured goods, he did so. He was a great merchant himself.