BOMBAY-1675-PEOPLE AND BUSINESS

In 1661, the islands of Bombay passed to the British Crown, when Charles II married Catherine of Braganza. However, the Portuguese garrison in Bassein refused to part with the islands of Salsette, Parel, Worli and Mazagaon.

Proceeding roughly south to north, the seven islands ceded by the Portuguese to the British were Colaba: whose name is a corruption of the Koliname Kolbhat. Old Woman's Island: (alternatively, Old Man's Island) a small rock between Colaba and Bombay, whose name is a corruption of the Arabic name Al-Omani, after the deep-sea fishermen who ranged up to the Gulf of Oman. Bombay: the main harbour and the nucleus of the British fort from which the modern city grew; it stretched from Dongri on the east to Malabar Hill on the west. Mazagaon: a Koli settlement to the east of Bombay island was seperated from it by Umarkhadi andPydhonie. Worli: north of Bombay was seperated from it by the Great Breach, which extended westwards almost to Dongri. Parel: North of Mazagaon and called by many other names, including Matunga, Dharavi and Sion. The original population was predominantly Koli. Mahim: to the west of Parel and north of Worli, took its name from the Mahim river and was the capital of a 13th century kingdom founded by Raja Bhimdev.

This list does not exhaust all the islands that have merged into the modern city of Bombay. In particular,Salsette, the large northern island which remained under Portuguese control till 1739, is not counted among these seven.

 British soldiers captured these islands only in 1665, and a treaty was signed in the manor house on the island of Bombay.

The British East India Company received it from the crown in 1668 for the sum of 10 pounds a year, payable every September 30. Sir George Oxenden, then President of the factory in Surat, became the first Governor of Bombay. The Company immediately set about the task of opening up the islands by constructing a quay and warehouses. A customs house was also built. Fortifications were made around the manor house, now renamed Bombay Castle. A Judge-Advocate was appointed for the purpose of civil administration. Sir George died in 1669.

Gerald Aungier was appointed the President of the Surat factory and Governor of Bombay in 1672, and remained at this post till 1675. He offered various inducement to skilled workers and traders to set up business in the new township. As a result, a large number of Parsis, Armenian, Bohras, Jews, Gujarati banias from Surat and Diu and Brahmins from Salsette came to Bombay. The population of Bombay was estimated to have risen from 10,000 in 1661 to 60,000 in 1675.
The first four governors held Bombay for the Crown:-

1	Abraham Shipman	19 March 1662	October 1664	2
2	Humphrey Cooke	February 1665	5 November 1666	1	Acting
3	Gervase Lucas	5 November 1666	21 May 1667	1
4	Henry Gary	22 May 1667	23 September 1668	1	Acting

1	George Oxeden		23 September 1668	14 July 1669	1
2	Matthew Gray		14 July 1669	7 June 1672	3	Acting
3	Gerald Aungier		7 June 1672	30 June 1677	5
4	Henry Oxenden		30 June 1677	27 October 1681	4
5	John Child		27 October 1681	27 December 1683	2
6	Richard Keigwin		27 December 1683	19 November 1684	1	Acting
7	Charles Zinzan		19 November 1684	1685	1	Acting
8	John Wyborne		1685	2 May 1687	2	Acting
9	John Child		2 May 1687	4 Feb 1690	3
10	Bartholomew Harris		4 February 1690	10 May 1694	4
11	Daniel Annesley		10 May 1694	17 May 1694		Acting
12	John Gayer		17 May 1694	November 1704	10

Gerald Aungier established the first mint in Bombay. In 1670 the Parsi businessman Bhimjee Parikh imported the first printing press into Bombay.

 Aungier planned extensive fortifications from Dongri in the north to Mendham's Point (near present day Lion Gate) in the south. However, these walls were only built in the beginning of the 18th century. The harbour was also developed, with space for the berthing of 20 ships. In 1686, the Company shifted its main holdings from Surat to Bombay.

During the Portuguese occupation, Bombay exported only coir and coconuts. With the coming of many Indian and British merchants, Bombay's trade developed. Soon it was trading in salt, rice, ivory, cloth, lead and sword blades with many Indian ports as well as with Mecca and Basra.