Old Bombay Photos
Map of Bombay coastline. 17th-century map of the coastline around the Indian city of Bombay (now known as Mumbai). This map was drawn in around 1680 by English cartographer William Hacke (fl. 1680-1710). The scale at lower left is for a distance of 60 English miles. At upper left are views of Valentine's Peak. Other places named include the fort of 'Savage Castle', and the 'high land of Basseene'. At centre, the flag of Great Britain flies over the main bay. Bombay was placed under British rule in 1661, then transferred to the East India Company in 1668. Direct colonial rule of Bombay by the British Crown dates from the 1850s.

Recent Posts

  • All Posts
  • Recent

The Seven Islands of Bombay were 16th-century Portuguese colonial possessions lying off the Konkan coast, the mid-west coast of India, that were partly handed over to England under this title as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza when she married Charles II in 1661. The isles and islets had earlier been part of indigenous polities like the Silhara dynasty and the Gujarat Sultanate before they were captured by the Portuguese in 1534. After acquiring them as dowry, Charles II leased Bombay and adjacent islets to the East India Company in 1668 for £10 per year.

By 1845, the islands had been merged[1] into one landmass by means of multiple land reclamation projects. The resulting island of Bombay was later merged with the nearby islands of Trombay and Salsette that lay to its north-east and north respectively to form Greater Bombay. These islands now constitute the southern part of the city of Mumbai.

The original islands handed over to England were as follows:

Related Posts