Monday, July 5, 2010

View of Bombay Harbour--Artist: Wales, James (1747-1795) Medium: Etching, coloured Date: 1800

View of Bombay Harbour


The panoramic view (which continues on plate two) depicts the dockyard and fort areas, including the Pier Head Battery on the left. Chaul, the seaport of Konkan, can be seen on the right, with the island of Karanja on the left. Completed in 1784 under the governorship of William Hornby, the Hornby Vellard was the first major work of reclamation in Bombay. The dockyard itself was initiated by the famous Wadia family, who moved to Bombay from Surat in 1736. Bombay soon began to develop into a major trading town and by the middle of the century workers from the neighbouring towns, including the Bhandaries from Chaul, and goldsmiths, ironsmiths and weavers from Gujarat, migrated to the island.

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