Pondicherry
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Pondicherry. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the chief of the French settlements in India; on the Cor settleme omandel coast; 53 miles S. W. of Madras city; is divided into two parts by a city; canal, White (European) town being It has handsome streets, next the sea. a government house, a college, a lighthouse, and cotton mills, besides native dyeing establishments.' Pop. (1917) 47,321. Exports chiefly oil seeds. The French colony of Pondicherry has an area of 115 square miles. Pop. (1917) 166,793. The governor of Pondicherry is governor-general of the French pos sessions in India. The French first settled here in 1674. The Dutch took the town in 1693, but restored it to the French in 1697. In 1748 Admiral Bos besieged Pondicherry for months, but was compelled to raise the siege. Eyre Coote, however, took it in 1763. It was once more taken by the English under Sir Hector Monro in 1778, and once more given back in 1783. In 1793 the English again repossessed themselves of it, but it was a third time restored to the French in 1816.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
pon-di-sher'i, the capital of French India. When driven out of India by the British, France retained certain trading stations. Since the treaties of 1814 and 1815 these tracts, including in all an area of about 196 square miles, have been known as French India. They are mere ports, situated on the east coast and the west coast of southern Hindustan. The total population in 1907 was estimated at 287,402. The colony is represented in the French Assembly by one senator and one deputy. Pondicherry, the capital, has a population of about 46,000. A French governor resides here. Pondicherry is well built, and maintains a public school system. There are cotton and jute mills, employing over 6,000 persons. Pondicherry and the other ports send on to France vegetable oils and other minor exports to the value of about $5,000,000 a year.