Mumbai is that metro city of India where every Indian's dreams come true. Years ago, this city was known as Bombay, however, in the journey from Bombay to Mumbai, this city has a lot of exciting history. You will be surprised to know that India's commercial And this city, which is called the financial capital, was once given as dowry to a foreign king during the marriage. This city, which is called the city of dreams, has seen many changes over the centuries. The face of Mumbai that you get to see today. It was not always like that, rather it was an archipelago divided into seven islands, which was known as the Archipelago of Seven Islands. How did these islands come together and become a city? Who settled this port town and how did Bombay become Mumbai? It is a matter of civilization. If we talk about it, the ingenious tribes used to live on all these islands right from the Stone Age. The tribes named Kolis and Aagri were the earliest known settlers here. In fact, centuries ago, there was no Bombay city but this place was divided into many islands. Bombay is located at this place. There used to be seven different islands named Colaba, Little Colaba, Mazgaon, Parel, Worli and Mahim. These islands were separated from each other at some distance. In those days, only fishing villages, marshes, mud flats, caves, temples and hills could be seen here. Most of the people living in these islands were fishermen who earned their living by catching fish. Apart from this, many communities also lived in these islands. The most interesting thing is that all the seven islands used to follow different cultures and they all had indigenous kings. Different Hindu dynasties ruled here from the 3rd century BCE to 1348. Firstly, the Mauryan King Ashoka ruled here, but with the decline of the Maurya Empire in 185 BCE, from the 2nd century BCE to the 10th century CE. The islands were ruled by various intelligent dynasties which included the Satva Hanas, Abhira Vak Takas, Kalachuris, Kankan Chalukyas, Rashtra, Katas, Sihar As and Chhola. In 1348, the Delhi Sultanate captured all these islands and from here the Hindu rulers controlled the songs and hence During this period, Nazrudin Mohammed bin Tughlaq, who was the Sultan of Delhi Sultanate, made Jafar Khan the governor of Gujarat. Soon in 1398, when the Tughlaq dynasty became weak, Jafar Khan took advantage of the opportunity and laid the foundation of his Gujarat Sultanate with this power. With the shift, Bombay also became a part of the Gujarat Sultanate. Although the Portuguese had reached Bombay in 1509 itself, it took them two more decades to completely capture Bombay. In 1534, Bombay was completely under Portuguese control. Although the Portuguese did most of the agricultural and religious developments on Bombay, they also built road causeways and many forts around the city, including many forts like Bombay Castle, Banara Fort and Mud Fort, which made commuting to these islands quite easy. The Portuguese ruled here for almost a century and finally, in a marriage treaty, the Portuguese King John IV gave these islands as dowry to the British King Charles II while marrying his daughter. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was the first to visit the island in 1498. Several years after his arrival in Calicut as a European trader on India's Malabar Coast, in 1505, the Portuguese's first Viceroy Francisco de el Mada established his first head quarter in Cochan and in 1510 captured Goa after defeating the Bijapur Sultanate. Made a permanent settlement. The arrival of the Portuguese in India was going to completely change all these islands. First of all, in December 1508, the Portuguese Viceroy Francisco de el Mada reached Bombay during his expedition from Canna Nor to Diyo. He sent his ship to Bombay. Almeera liked this place very much because of its proximity to the Arabian Sea. Almeida was so happy to see these ports that he named this port Bam Bahia which meant Good Bay. Later all these islands became Bam Bahia. When the British Crown took control of all these islands in 1661, its name was changed to Bombay. Gradually all these islands started being called Bombay, although Almeida had visited here in 1508 itself. But it took a year for the Portuguese to reach Bombay. Actually, in those days, Bombay Islands came under Sultan Bahadur Shah who was the king of Gujarat Sultanate, hence the Portuguese could not come here directly, although the Portuguese were constantly in conflicts with the Gujarat Sultanate. During this time, the Portuguese achieved their victory at Mahim Creek and on 21 January 1509, after capturing a ship of the Gujarat Sultanate, made their first voyage to Bombay Island, but this did not give them much success because Bahadur Shah had captured these islands.
Despite the continuous attacks, the Portuguese opened their first factory in Vasain, now known as Vasai, in 1526. These days, Bahadur Shah had popularized Islam in these islands but he was constantly under attack from the Mughals. The Marathas were stuck in waters due to which their influence in these islands had reduced significantly. The Portuguese had been looking for this opportunity for a long time and now they were about to get this opportunity. During 1528 to 1529, the Portuguese Governor Lopo Vas de Sapio Took away the Fort of Mahim from the Gujarat Sultanate, till now the Mughal Emperor Humayun was also busy in expanding the Mughal Empire. As soon as he assumed the throne, he turned his attention towards Bihar and Gujarat. Bahadur Shah started realizing that soon Humayun would snatch Gujarat from him. This growing fear of Bahadur Shah made him He started forcing himself to make friendship with the Portuguese, but the Portuguese had different ambitions. On one hand, Bahadur Shah's insecurities from Humayun were increasing, while on the other hand, the Portuguese took advantage of this fear of Bahadur Shah. The Portuguese attacked Humayun. In return for saving the Gujarat Sultanate and supporting them, the Treaty of Bassein was handed over to Bahadur Shah on 23 December 1534 and with this, the Gujarat Sultanate came to an end from Bombay and Bassein. After capturing Bombay, the Portuguese They had all the seven islands of Bombay in their hands, now their main aim was to promote spice trade and Christianity from these islands. Since there was Islamic rule here for years, hence the society here was quite conservative. To change the environment here, the Portuguese started doing inter marriages here. Along with this, many churches were built here, although there was no development on a large scale in these islands during the Portuguese rule, still they developed these areas as per their own, strongly supported the Roman Catholic Church, till then they were in Bombay. Trade had started going on very vigorously. The trade of cotton, coconut, coir and spices spread its roots here. With the increase in trade, the Portuguese also built many trading centers, buildings and markets here. They also built roads and causeways to transport the raw materials to the port. With the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese had strengthened their hold in India including the Indian Ocean, but seeing the increasing income and monopoly of the Portuguese, many other European countries, especially Spain, started attacking the Portuguese.
Although India was still safe, but soon the English merchant entered here in November 1583, with which a fight broke out between the British and the Portuguese for supremacy over different areas of India and many other European powers in India. They wanted to end the Portuguese spice trade monopoly, that is why they were constantly seeking permission from the Mughal Emperor to do business in India, on the other hand, the Portuguese used to pay very high taxes to the Mughal King, due to which this king did not give any opportunity to other European traders. Meanwhile, in 1612, the East India Company stationed its ships in Swali, Surat and sought permission from the Governor to trade, but in return two of its traders were arrested, after which a conflict broke out between the Portuguese and the British East India Company. A battle took place here in which the East India Company won.
This battle is called the Battle of Swali, in which for the first time the Portuguese were defeated by another European company. After this victory, not only the trade monopoly of the Portuguese in India ended but also their credibility. With this, the East India Company also got permission to trade in some areas of India. On one hand, the British were trying their best to take their trade to a good level in India, while on the other, the Middle of the 177th Century. By then, the power of the Dutch in India seemed to be increasing a lot. Gradually, the East India Company started expanding its presence in India. Here the dominance of the Portuguese was also decreasing over India. The British knew very well that if they If they want to do trade in India, then soon they will have to establish their control in all the coastal areas, although in those days the East India Company was doing its trade mainly in Patna, Surat, Kolkata and Gujarat, but to prevent other countries from coming to India, they had to establish control over the western areas. The coast also had to be secured. Bombay Islands were also on the western coast of India where there were routes to the Arabian Sea. Traders from other countries could come towards India. The East India Company, under any circumstances, did not want to let anyone else establish its rule over India. Due to which, on the suggestion of the East India Company, the Surat Council of the British Empire thought of acquiring John Force of Porgy in Bombay. To bring this idea into reality, the British presented a marriage proposal to the Portuguese in which the British King Charles II Of England and Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza, who was the daughter of Portuguese King John IV, their marriage was proposed. This marriage seemed less like a strategic alliance treaty and more like a strategic alliance treaty, in which there was a list of conditions in the proposal, one of these conditions was that The Portuguese will have to give all the seven Lents of Bombay to England as a wedding gift. This marriage proposal was given to the Portuguese by the British in 1661 itself, but many Portuguese ministers were against this, apart from this, the princess also refused to accept this marriage. She kept refusing because she had objections to the many relationships of the King of England, but the growing influence of the Duchess was now scaring the Portuguese. At the end of the 16th century, the Duchess started challenging the Portuguese monopoly in the Indian Ocean. She took over the business on which the Portuguese had a monopoly. They started snatching it from them.
Now apart from India, the Dutchess also started entering other eastern countries and started doing business of spices, silk and gold. Soon they started snatching the Portuguese business rapidly. By the end of the 177th century, Netherlands Europe Porch Geese became the richest country of India. Seeing this increasing colonization of the Duchess, Porch Geese became scared. He started seeing his advantage in befriending the British East India Company. He thought that if relations with the British Crown become good then he would stop the Duchess from coming to India. It is possible that keeping this in mind, they also agreed to the marriage treaty, then this marriage took place in 1668 and after the marriage, on 27th March 1668, England came under the rule of Bombay Islands. Now it was not a big thing for the Portuguese to do this. They did not see the emerging future of Bombay that the British were able to see, hence the relationship between the two countries was successful, accepting the marriage proposal and Bombay was handed over to the King of England as dowry, the Bombay Islands in Dow. Apart from this, the Port of Tangier in Morocco was also gifted, along with this, the British were also allowed to trade in Brazil and the Portuguese East Indies. The English residents living in Porch were given religious and commercial freedom and with the completion of the marriage, almost 2 million Portuguese crowns were also given to England. Bombay was very important for the East India Company at that time due to many reasons. The East India Company could easily import and export its goods through Bombay and in the future, it could establish its trading center. Understanding the importance of this island, the East India Company wanted to capture it at any cost, due to which the company demanded the island from the King and the King gave it to him on 27th March 1668 for only 10 pounds annual rent. This island was given on lease to the East India Company. As soon as the East India Company took control of Bombay, its color started changing. First of all, the company started making many changes while paying attention to the development here. The British made many changes here. Quay warehouses and custom houses were built. Apart from this, the British also got fortifications done around Bombay Castle and also built a civil coat. The first Governor of Bombay was the President of the English East India Company, George Oxin. Along with the work of development and administration, the company established itself here. The business also started spreading rapidly, but to expand the business in Bombay, first there was a need to develop this place further. At that time, the health facility at Nayland was negligible and due to this, many diseases kept spreading here, due to which It was very difficult for people to work here. To tackle this problem, the British made many hospitals and medical treatment facilities available here. Due to medical facilities, a lot of improvement was seen in the population of Bombay. The population of Bombay increased between 1661 and 1675. It was observed that the population, which was once only 10,000, came close to 60,000 due to medical treatment. Due to proper medical facilities and population growth, trade here also became easy and with the arrival of Indian and British merchants, in the 177th century. By the end, the development of trade was also seen in Bombay. When the trade grew in Salt Rice, Ivory Cloth, Lead and Sword Bledsoe, by 1710, the British also built their Bombay Castle. With the help of this castle, the British had 24 hours access to the surrounding areas. They started keeping an eye on the island, the benefit of which was that the sea attacks by European pirates and Marathas on the island reduced significantly. With time, Bombay also helped a lot in the business of the British, due to which, seeing the increasing strategic and political importance of the place, East The India Company also shifted its head quarter from Surat to Bombay, after which by the mid-18th century, Bombay came under the direct control of the British Crown and from here the era of making Bombay a modern Bombay began. In 1782, William Hanby became the Governor of Bombay. In those days, Bombay was divided into seven different islands, which troubled William Nabi for many reasons, which is why he started a project that was going to change Bombay forever. In fact, all these To reach the islands, British traders had to take the help of boats and ships. In such a situation, whenever there was a flood or tsunami, all these boats would get destroyed due to which the East India Company had to face huge losses. Surat Port was one of the most important ports of the Mughal Empire, so the East India Company was always afraid of the Mughals. Now they also needed a new port where they could flourish themselves away from the eyes of the Mughal Kings. Apart from this, the seven The East India Company was also facing difficulties in handling the administration of the islands. To overcome all these problems, William Hanby started the Vela Reclamation Project to connect these seven islands. He knew that when these seven islands would be connected to each other, Then it will be easier to manage trade development and administration here. To make this dream a reality, he started building causeways between these seven islands, which was named the official Hanabi Wellard Reclamation Project.
The purpose of this project was to reduce the distance between the seven islands. This project of connecting the seven islands started in 1782 and ended in 1845. In this way we got the city of Bombay which you know today as Mumbai. Now when the seven islands were connected, the British developed a separate port to plunder India Porch Geese became the richest country of India. Seeing this increasing colonization of the Duchess, Porch Geese became scared. He started seeing his advantage in befriending the British East India Company. He thought that if relations with the British Crown become good then he would stop the Duchess from coming to India. It is possible that keeping this in mind, they also agreed to the marriage treaty, then this marriage took place in 1668 and after the marriage, on 27th March 1668, England came under the rule of Bombay Islands. Now it was not a big thing for the Portuguese to do this. They did not see the emerging future of Bombay that the British were able to see, hence the relationship between the two countries was successful, accepting the marriage proposal and Bombay was handed over to the King of England as dowry, the Bombay Islands in Dow. Apart from this, the Port of Tangier in Morocco was also gifted, along with this, the British were also allowed to trade in Brazil and the Portuguese East Indies. The English residents living in Porch were given religious and commercial freedom and with the completion of the marriage, almost 2 million Portuguese crowns were also given to England. Bombay was very important for the East India Company at that time due to many reasons. The East India Company could easily import and export its goods through Bombay and in the future, it could establish its trading center. Understanding the importance of this island, the East India Company wanted to capture it at any cost, due to which the company demanded the island from the King and the King gave it to him on 27th March 1668 for only 10 pounds annual rent. This island was given on lease to the East India Company. As soon as the East India Company took control of Bombay, its color started changing. First of all, the company started making many changes while paying attention to the development here. The British made many changes here. Quay warehouses and custom houses were built. Apart from this, the British also got fortifications done around Bombay Castle and also built a civil coat. The first Governor of Bombay was the President of the English East India Company, George Oxin. Along with the work of development and administration, the company established itself here. The business also started spreading rapidly, but to expand the business in Bombay, first there was a need to develop this place further. At that time, the health facility at Nayland was negligible and due to this, many diseases kept spreading here, due to which It was very difficult for people to work here. To tackle this problem, the British made many hospitals and medical treatment facilities available here. Due to medical facilities, a lot of improvement was seen in the population of Bombay. The population of Bombay increased between 1661 and 1675. It was observed that the population, which was once only 10,000, came close to 60,000 due to medical treatment. Due to proper medical facilities and population growth, trade here also became easy and with the arrival of Indian and British merchants, in the 177th century. By the end, the development of trade was also seen in Bombay. When the trade grew in Salt Rice, Ivory Cloth, Lead and Sword Bledsoe, by 1710, the British also built their Bombay Castle. With the help of this castle, the British had 24 hours access to the surrounding areas. They started keeping an eye on the island, the benefit of which was that the sea attacks by European pirates and Marathas on the island reduced significantly. With time, Bombay also helped a lot in the business of the British, due to which, seeing the increasing strategic and political importance of the place, East The India Company also shifted its head quarter from Surat to Bombay, after which by the mid-18th century, Bombay came under the direct control of the British Crown and from here the era of making Bombay a modern Bombay began. In 1782, William Hanby became the Governor of Bombay. In those days, Bombay was divided into seven different islands, which troubled William Nabi for many reasons, which is why he started a project that was going to change Bombay forever. In fact, all these To reach the islands, British traders had to take the help of boats and ships. In such a situation, whenever there was a flood or tsunami, all these boats would get destroyed due to which the East India Company had to face huge losses. Surat Port was one of the most important ports of the Mughal Empire, so the East India Company was always afraid of the Mughals. Now they also needed a new port where they could flourish themselves away from the eyes of the Mughal Kings. Apart from this, the seven The East India Company was also facing difficulties in handling the administration of the islands. To overcome all these problems, William Hanby started the Vela Reclamation Project to connect these seven islands. He knew that when these seven islands would be connected to each other, Then it will be easier to manage trade development and administration here. To make this dream a reality, he started building causeways between these seven islands, which was named the official Hanabi Wellard Reclamation Project. The purpose of this project was to reduce the distance between the seven islands. This project of connecting the seven islands started in 1782 and ended in 1845. In this way we got the city of Bombay which you know today as Mumbai. Now when the seven islands were connected, the British developed a separate port to plunder India.
