History of Bombay under British rule (1661–1947): Difference between revisions

[[File:General view of Bombay in the 1880s.jpg|thumb|[[Bombay]] in the 1880's.]]

Bombay, now called [[Mumbai]], ''Bombaim'' in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], is the financial and commercial capital of [[India]] and one of the most [[List of cities proper by population|populous cities in the world]].

==Struggle with native powers (1661–1817)==

On 18 January 1665, King Charles granted [[Humphrey Cooke]] the possession of Bombay. However, [[Salsette Island|Salsette]], [[Mazagaon]], [[Parel]], [[Worli]], [[Sion, Mumbai|Sion]], [[Dharavi]], and [[Wadala Road|Wadala]] still remained under Portuguese possession. Later, Cooke managed to acquire Mahim, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala for the English. [[Sir Gervase Lucas, 1st Baronet]], who was appointed [[Governor of Bombay]] on 5 November 1666, reported that Bombay included all the islands except [[Colaba]] and [[Old Woman's Island]]. On 21 September 1668, the ''Royal Charter'' of 27 March 1668, led to the transfer of Bombay from [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] to the [[English East India Company]] for an annual rent of [[Pound (currency)|£]]10. [[George Oxenden (governor)|Sir George Oxenden]] became the first [[List of Governors of Bombay|Governor of Bombay]] under the regime of the English East India Company. [[Gerald Aungier]], who became Governor of Bombay in July 1669, established the mint and printing press in Bombay and developed the islands into a centre of commerce. He also offered various business incentives, which attracted various communities like [[Gujarati people|Gujuratis]], [[Parsi people|Parsis]], [[Dawoodi Bohras]], and [[Jew]]s. On 20 February 1673, Rickloffe van Goen, the Governor-General of [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch India]] attacked Bombay, but the attack was resisted by Aungier. The [[Treaty of Westminster (1674)]], concluded between England and Holland, relieved the English settlements in Bombay of further apprehension from the Dutch.

In 1682, the Company fortified the [[Middle Ground Coastal Battery]] isle in the archipelago to curb the sea piracy in the area. Between 1678 and 1682, [[Yakut Khan]], the [[Siddi]] admiral of the [[Mughal Empire]], landed at [[Sewri]] and torched [[Mahim]]. By 15 February 1689, Khan conquered almost the whole island, and razed the [[Mazagon Fort]] in June 1690. After a payment made by the English to [[Aurangzeb]], the ruler of the Mughal Empire, Yakut evacuated Bombay on 8 June 1690. In 1715, the construction of [[Bombay Castle]] was finished, which fortified the island of Bombay from sea attacks by the Portuguese and Mughals. By 26 December 1715, Charles Boone assumed the Governorship of Bombay, and constructed the [[St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai|St. Thomas Cathedral]] in 1718, which was the first [[Church of England|Anglican]] Church in Bombay. In 1737, [[Salsette Island|Salsette]] was captured by the [[Maratha Empire]] and most of the Portuguese provinces in Bombay was ceded to the Marathas in 1739. In 1753, the [[Naval Dockyard (Bombay)|Naval Dockyard]] was opened which remains the oldest docks in the city. The first land-use laws were also enacted in Bombay during this period. The British occupied Salsette in 1774, which was formally ceded to the [[British East India Company]] by the [[Treaty of Salbai]] signed in 1782. In 1782, [[William Hornby (governor)|William Hornby]] assumed the office of Governor of Bombay, and initiated the [[Hornby Vellard]] engineering project of connecting the isles in 1784. However, the project was rejected by the British East India Company in 1783. The construction of the Sion Causeway commenced in 1798 and was completed in 1803. In 1803, Bombay was hit by a severe famine, which led to a large-scale emigration. On 5 November 1817, the British East India Company defeated [[Bajirao II]], the [[Peshwa]] of the Maratha Empire, in the [[Battle of Khadki|Battle of Kirkee]] which took place on the [[Deccan Plateau]]. The success of the British campaign in the Deccan witnessed the freedom of Bombay from all attacks by native powers.

The encouragement of the trade of Bombay with Jeshwanth combined with the Company's military successes in the Deccan paved the way for the educational and economic progress which characterized the city during the nineteenth century. The Hornby Vellard project gained momentum in 1817. One of the chief improvements to the north of [[Colaba]] was the construction of the Wellington Pier ([[Apollo Bundar]]) the present [[Gateway of India]] area, which was opened for passenger traffic in 1819. Bombay was hit by a water famine in 1824. In July 1832, the Parsi-Hindu riots took place in consequence of a Government order for killing of dogs. In 1838, the islands of [[Colaba]] and [[Old Woman's Island|Little Colaba]] were connected to Bombay by the [[Colaba Causeway]]. The [[Bank of Bombay]] was opened in 1840, which remains the oldest bank in the city. By 1845, all the seven islands had been connected to form a single island called [[Old Bombay]] having an area of {{convert|435|km2|sqmi|2|abbr=on}} by the Hornby Vellard project. In 1845, the [[Mahim Causeway]], which connected [[Mahim]] to [[Bandra]] was completed. In 1845, the [[Grant Medical College]] and hospital, the third in the country, was founded by Governor [[Robert Grant (MP)|Robert Grant]]. Riots broke out between Muslims and [[Parsi people|Parsis]] in October 1851, in consequence of an ill-advised article on [[Muhammad]] which appeared in the ''Gujarathi'' newspaper. On 16 April 1853 the first-ever Indian railway line began operations between Bombay and neighbouring Tanna, over a distance of 21 miles.

[[File:Island of Bombay Map 1893.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Map of Island of Bombay, 1812–16, re-published 1893]]