History of Mumbai

The area that is now Mumbai was originally inhabited by Kolis, a fishing people.

It was part of the kingdom of Gujarāt from the 1300s until 1534, when Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarāt ceded the area, then known as Bombay, to the Portuguese.

In 1661 the Bombay territory was given to King Charles II of England as part of the wedding dowry for Catherine of Braganza, who was the Portuguese king’s sister.

In 1668 King Charles II leased the area to the English East India Company for a small sum of money.

Bombay became the capital of the Bombay Presidency, a British-controlled area, in 1687 when the capital was transferred from Surat.

By the early 18th century Bombay had become the main British center on the west coast.

The British built a fort in Bombay in 1717.

A castle lay at the center of the Fort and roads from the castle led outward to three gates: Apollo in the south, Church in the west, and Bazar in the north.

Within the Fort, the southern area consisted of planned and open settlements reserved for the English.

Parts of the Fort north of Church Street were reserved for the indigenous population, giving that area a high population density.

By the middle of the 18th century the Fort area became too congested and settlements moved outside its walls, with the governor moving to Parel in 1750.

Much of the Fort area, including the part once reserved for the indigenous population, was gutted in the great fire of 1803.

The Fort walls were torn down as a result of a government recommendation in 1861. However, the city of Bombay continued to grow.

In 1860 it received a piped water supply.

The Bombay Gas Company was established in 1862.

Railroad networks were established by 1864.

In 1865 Bombay was officially recognized as a municipality.

In 1873 the Port Trust was established, and Princess and Victoria docks were completed in the 1880s.

A great plague occurred in 1896 that resulted in increased awareness of sanitary conditions.

The Bombay Improvement Trust was formed in 1896 to finance new roads, improve crowded areas, reclaim lands, and help construct sanitary dwellings for the poor.

In the early 20th century the city became a focus of Indian nationalism.

With Indian independence in 1947, Bombay became the capital of Bombay State.

In 1960 Bombay State was dissolved and Mahārāshtra State was created with Bombay as its capital. As Bombay grew in size, the need for organized development grew.

In 1975 the state government established the Bombay Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, which prepared a plan proposing new growth centers at New Bombay, Bāndra-Kurla, and Kalyān, among other places.

Bombay changed its name to Mumbai in 1995.