Bombay Castle--Aquatinter: Baily, James (1810-37) Medium: Aquatint, coloured Date: 1809

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Coloured aquatint by J. Baily (fl. 1810-37) after an original drawing by William Westall (1781-1850) of the Fort at Bombay in Maharashtra published by Joyce Gold in London in 1809. Built on seven islands, Bombay was ceded to the Portuguese in the 16th century. In 1661 it was part of the dowry brought to Charles II of England when he married the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza. In the late 17th century, the Portuguese settlement on Bombay Island was developed as a trading port with Bombay Castle at the epicentre. Although the fortifications were enhanced in order to protect Bombay in the disputes between France and England in the 1760s, such defence was obsolete by the mid 19th century. The British, under the governorship of Sir Henry Bartle Frere, tore down the fort walls and redeveloped the area.

Under Hornby's Battery, round the Castle sea face, as far as Fort George, were great heaps so completely dashed to splinters that not a trace could be discovered of any individual ship. The Resolution,, sliip of war, went to pieces under the Castle walls, and more than 100 craft and 500 lives were lost. In 1802 a young man of the name of Maw arrived by the Scales!) 1/ Castle, and immediately raised an action against Learmonth, the commander, for the hard treatment he had experienced during " Neptune's rites " on crossing the Line, having been soused, and shaved with dirty water, and otherwise tumbled about by the officers and sailors. The captain was fined Rs. 400. Fines like this soon put an end to the custom. BEGINNINGOn August 12th, 1799, Government ordered that no European should travel without a passport. But, with or without a pass, four officers, in 1800, crossed over the harbour to Pan well, and proceeded to Chowk, twelve miles. Here a surprise met them. At a turn of the road they beheld six headless men suspended by the legs from a tree — dacoits,

Tantia Bhīl, a famous dacoit.

.suspected of waylaying treasure from Poona. The Peishwa's amuldar had settled the matter by cutting off" their heads ! Without mentioning Matheran, they note that it was " a beautiful country of hill and dale." Another adventurous individual made his way, the same year, to " Carachee." There he found a population of 10,000, mostly in mud huts, and a fort garrisoned by twenty men, " conspicuous by their poverty and insolence." Think of this, ye Sindians, driving to-day to Clifton, and of the other fact, illustrative of the insecurity of life and property in these dry and sandy regions, " even the shepherd tending his flock is accoutred with his gun, scimitar, shield and dirk." ONE YEAR TO TRAVEL TO ENGLAND OVER LAND BY BAGDAD On January 1st, 1800, Colonel Dow obtained leave to proceed to Europe " overland," which meant in those days via Bagdad, as Colonel Hartley had done in 1781, taking a year to make the journey. *

BOMBAIA (BOMBAY IN PORTUGUESE)-16TH CENTURY ENGLISH FORT IN BOMBAY

 

NORTH-west view of the fort of Bombay--Date: 1826--Artist: Westall, william (1781-1850)

below:-A photograph of the interior of the Fort, Bombay from the 'Vibart Collection of Views in South India' taken by an unknown photographer about 1855. 'By the end of the 17th century, Bombay had developed into an important local port. In 1715 Charles Boone became the Governor of Bombay. He implemented Aungier's plans for the fortification of the island, and had walls built from Dongri in the north to Mendham's point in the south. He established a force of Marines and constructed St. Thomas' Church, within the fort'. In a count made in 1794, it was found that there were 1000 houses inside the fort walls and 6500 outside

Below:-The Fort, Bombay, Harbour face wall,-GUNS POINTING DOWN

INTO MOAT 1863.--Date: 1863--Photographer: Unknown-

BELOW:-GENERAL VIEW OF BOMBAY CITY , FORT AND COWPATY BEACH FROM MALABAR HILL 1850'S

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FORT BOMBAY WITH FORT WALLS 1850

BOMBAY FORT MAPS,PHOTOS,PAINTINGS,NEWS ...

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Bombay Fort, c. 1850 | Historical india ...

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PHOTO BELOW SHOWS:- THE ORIGINAL CHURCH GATE(GATE NEAR ST.THOMAS CHURCH WHICH CAN BE SEEN IN THE BACK) OF BOMBAY FORT ;LATER CHURCH GATE RAILWAY STATION GOT THIS NAME ;AS IT WAS BUILT NEAR THIS GATE. THE FORT WAS BUILT AGAINST ENEMIES;SUCH AS PORTUGUESE AND SIDDI SHIPS THE GATE HAD A BRIDGE BUILT, OVER A MOAT, FILLED WITH WATER ;TO PREVENT ENEMY SOLDIERS

BELOW PHOTO SHOWS

CHURCH GATE STREET OF BOMBAY FORT

[INSIDE VIEW] THE CHURCH GATE ALSO SEEN IN THE DISTANCE.

THE SECOND SHOP FROM CORNER IS 'BOMBAY TIMES1859: Bombay 

4:30

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bombay (Now #mumbai ) 1850's-1870's ...

Standard and Chronicle of Western India merges into The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce to form Bombay Times & Standard ^{--NOW KNOWN AS TIMES OF INDIA NEWSPAPER}'


[A PALANQUIN IS PARKED IN FRONT OF THE OFFICE ,ALSO A CAPARISONED HORSE

BELOW:-ENGLISH SOLDIERS CAN BE SEEN WITH RED SHIRT ,NEAR HARBOUR GATE . THE UMBRELLAS OF MANY COLOURS WERE USED BY THE RICH, MORE AS FASHION, THAN AS SUN SHADE.MANY PALANQUINS ALSO SEEN

Scotch Church, Court-House, and entrance to the Dock-Yard [Bombay].--Photographer: Scott, Charles Medium: Photographic print Date: 1850

--THE ICE HOUSE NEXT TO THE CHURCH (DOMED STRUCTURE);WHERE ICE IMPORTED BY SHIP WAS STORED;TILL ICE MAKING WAS DISCOVERED ;NEXT BUILDING IS LAW COURT

Photograph from 'Views in the island of Bombay' by Charles Scott,1850s. This is a view looking north along Apollo Street from the Apollo Gate towards the dockyards entrance on the right. The Scotch Church stands in the left foreground, with Hornby House beyond. The classic Georgian style Saint Andrew's or Scotch Kirk was completed in 1819. Hornby House, which initially began as a residence to the Governor Hornby, served as the Law Court until the late 1870s when it became the Great Western Hotel. Between this building and the church, stands the domed Ice-House, erected by subscription in 1843 for the consignments of ice which were imported regularly and sold to the public. When ice began to be manufactured in Bombay the Ice-House lost its purpose and was used as a godown until it was demolished years later. A PALKHI WALA (PALANQUIN CARRIER)CAN BE SEEN SITTING NEXT TO THE PALKHI ;NEAR CHURCH STEPS.THE ROAD LEADS TO THE 'CHURCH GATE' OF THE BOMBAY FORT WALL

http://oldphotosbombay.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-ice-came-to-india-1833.htmlBombay Castle--Aquatinter: Baily, James (1810-37) Medium: Aquatint, coloured Date: 1809

AN ARTICLE ON 'THE WILD BEASTS OF BOMBAY'1770 T0 1863

above photo of malabar hill forest;below matunga forest 1850's

1783. — The Governor and most of the gentlemen of Bombay go annually on a party of pleasure to Salsette" to hunt the wild boar and royal tiger, both of which we found here in great plenty. — Hector Macneill. 1806, December 17th. — Two gentlemen at 7 a.m. riding towards the bungalows of General Macpherson on the Island of Salsette, near the village of Coorla, two tigers came out of the jungle as if ready to spring, crouched, and were observed to betake themselves to the jungles and hills of Powee, fifty yards in front of the horses. And in this connection two persons on November 4th were carried off by two tigers from a native village nearly opposite to Powee, near the high road leading from Sion to Tanna. The natives believe the tigers are human beings, and have gold rings in their ears and noses. One native's body they had sucked all the blood out of it, otherwise not eaten. They took away a herdsman driving his flock. 1819, — There were in all only three deaths recorded in India of Europeans from snake-bites in the years 1817, 1818 and 1819. 1820, December 23rd. — A large lion killed within eight coss from Ahmedabad. 1822, February 9th. — A tiger on Malabar Hill came down, quenched his thirst at Gowalla Tank, and ran off over the hill between the Hermitage and Prospect Lodge. Prints of its feet were distinctly visible this morning. 1828. — At Colaba Ferry a huge shark was observed in proximity to some bathers. 1830, January 13th. — A large hyena is prowling about Malabar Hill on the western side between Mr. Nicol's residence and Vaucluse, " as good sport as a Mazagon tiger." — Bombay Gazette. 1839, June 25th. — Lieutenant Montague, at Colaba, returning from mess, put his foot in a hole, received a slight wound which in twenty-five minutes carried him off. Some jurors thought it was from the bite of a serpent. 1841, September 15 th. — A man bitten by a snake on the Esplanade.

 

Figure 1. The Esplanade, Bombay 1857.
Please click on this image and later ones for larger images.

Artist: Lester, John Frederick (1825-1915)
Medium: Watercolour
Date: 1870

Water-colour painting of the Esplanade at Mumbai by John Frederick Lester (1825-1915) in March 1870. This image is from an allum of watercolours made between 1865 and 1877 in Kathiawar, Bombay, Poona, Mahabaleshwar and Savantvadi State.

Originally, Mumbai (Bombay) was composed of seven islands separated by a marshy swamp. Its deep natural harbour led the Portuguese settlers of the 16th Century to call it Bom Bahia (the Good Bay). The British Crown acquired the islands in 1661when Catherine of Braganza married Charles II, as part of her marriage dowry. It was then presented to the East India Company in 1668. The second governor, Gerald Aungier, developed Bombay into a trading port and centre for commerce and inducements were offered to skilled workers and traders to move here. European merchants and shipbuilders from western India were encouraged to settle here and Mumbai soon became a bustling cosmopolitan town.

ESPLANADE BOMBAY

1849. — A finback whale driven on shore at Colaba, 60 feet long, 30 to 40 feet round the thickest part. All along the road from the Fort to Colaba was a perfect fair. . The stench was felt from the town side of the causeway from where it lay at the back of Colaba Church. Jawbone taken away. — Gentleman s Gazette. 1850, Oct. 9th. — A tiger at Bandoop leaped upon the mail-cart and upset it, and the garry-wallah was little injured. I saw jackals several times in the gardens of the Colaba Observatory in 1844. — Dr. Buist. On tins Mr. Charles Chambers, F.K.S.,observes (1893) : " I found a jackal in my bedroom in the Colaba Observatory about fifteen years ago." A jackal was killed in the new High Court Buildings shortly after they were finished. 1858, March 3rd.— Some officers of the P. and 0. steamer Aden observed a tiger swimming from Mainland to Mazagon. A boat was lowered and the crew armed with ship's muskets. When they came up to it the brute was boarding a bungalow, and was being kept off by the lascars by handspikes. It was shot through the head by six balls. Weight, 353 lbs. Length to tip of tail, 8 ft. 9 ins. 1858, May 26th. — A young Portuguese this day shot a tiger at Mahim, and on the 27th inst. brought the carcass to the Chief Magistrate for the reward, 1859. — To-day Mr. Forjett with a fowling-piece shot a tiger within a few hundred yards of the fashionable drive on the Esplanade, and on the beach of Back Bay near Sonapore. Mr. Forjett promised the hide to Dr. Birdwood for the Museum. —Bombay Gazette.

Feb. 6th. — On this day, Sunday evening, the wife of Mr. Pratt, uncovenanted assistant in the General Department Secre-tariat, walking along with her husband in the fields adjoining their residence at Mahim, trod on a snake and died two hours afterwards. — Bombay Gazette. Feb. 15th. — ■A tiger was seen sloping about the nooks of Kalbadavie, but disappeared. Nov. 12th. — Dr. Turner, P. and 0. service, at his residence, Chinchpokly, was bitten by a venomous snake on the calf of the leg. His leg swelled to an immense size. A friend of his made an incision, sucked the wound, and he is now recovering. Kov. 16th. — A cobra, 4 ft. in length, killed in Secretariat compound, Apollo Street. 1860, Oct. 31st. — On Sunday a snake was seen amusing itself round one of the pillars in St. John's Church, Colaba, a few yards from the reading-desk, and not long ago a cobra was found in the organ. — Times and Standard. Dec. 5 th. — A hyena shot while devouring a bullock not far from the Byculla Club House. 1861, Nov. 26th. — Hyenas quite common at night, prowling about the Byculla Flats. 1863, Jan. 25th.— Tiger at Mahim, near railway station. Two natives killed by it. Shot. below painting of the 'Royal post' carrier

SOME MAPS OF BOMBAY -BEFORE BOMBAY CITY ...

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MAP OF BOMBAY FORT AND BOMBAY 1842

THE FIRST STEAM SHIP TO BOMBAY VIA CAPE OF GOOD HOPE-SOUTH AFRICA (BEFORE SUEZ CANAL WAS MADE) 1936

SHIPS IN BOMBAY HARBOUR 1730