page_title: History of Mumbai
section_title: Struggle with native powers
hierarchical_section_title: History of Mumbai / British period / Struggle with native powers
caption_attribution_description: English: Painting of the East India Company's settlement in Bombay and ships in Bombay Harbour
context_page_description: Human habitation of Mumbai existed since the Stone Age, the Kolis and Aagri were the earliest known settlers of the islands. The Maurya Empire gained control of the islands during the 3rd century BCE and transformed it into a centre of Buddhist culture and religion. Later, between the 2nd century BCE and 9th century CE, the islands came under the control of successive indigenous dynasties: Satavahanas, Abhiras, Vakatakas, Kalachuris, Konkan Mauryas, Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas, before being ruled by the Silharas from 810 to 1260.
  King Bhimdev established his kingdom in the region in the late 13th century, and brought many settlers to the islands. The Muslim rulers of Gujarat captured the islands in 1348, and they were later governed by the Gujarat Sultanate from 1391 to 1534. The Treaty of Bassein between the Portuguese viceroy Nuno da Cunha and Bahadur Shah of the Gujarat Sultanate placed the islands into Portuguese possession in 1534.
  The islands suffered incursions from Mughals towards the end of the 17th century. During the mid-18th century, the city emerged as an important trading town, with maritime trade contacts with Mecca and Basra.
context_section_description: On 19 March 1662, Abraham Shipman was appointed the first Governor and General of the city, and his fleet arrived in Bombay in September and October 1662. On being asked to hand over Bombay and Salsette to the English, the Portuguese Governor contended that the island of Bombay alone had been ceded, and alleging irregularity in the patent, he refused to give up even Bombay. The Portuguese Viceroy declined to interfere and Shipman was prevented from landing in Bombay. He was forced to retire to the island of Anjediva in North Canara and died there in October 1664. In November 1664, Shipman's successor Humphrey Cooke agreed to accept Bombay without its dependencies. However, Salsette, Mazagaon, Parel, Worli, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala still remained under Portuguese possession. Later, Cooke managed to acquire Mahim, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala for the English. On 21 September 1668, the Royal Charter of 27 March 1668, led to the transfer of Bombay from Charles II to the English East India Company for an annual rent of £10 (equivalent retail price index of £1,226 in 2007) or Indian Rs 1,48,000 today. 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 built around Bombay Castle. A Judge-Advocate was appointed for the purpose of civil administration. George Oxenden became the first Governor of Bombay under the English East India Company on 23 September 1668. Gerald Aungier, who was appointed Governor of Bombay in July 1669, established the first mint in Bombay in 1670. He offered various business incentives, which attracted Parsis, Goans, Jews, Dawoodi Bohras, Gujarati Banias from Surat and Diu, and Brahmins from Salsette. He also planned extensive fortifications in the city from Dongri in the north to Mendham's Point (near present-day Lion Gate) in the south. The harbour was also developed during his governorship, with space for the berthing of 20 ships. In 1670, the Parsi businessman Bhimjee Parikh imported the first printing press into Bombay. Between 1661 and 1675 there was a sixfold increase in population from 10,000 to 60,000. Yakut Khan, the Siddi admiral of the Mughal Empire, landed at Bombay in October 1672 and ravaged the local inhabitants there. On 20 February 1673, Rickloffe van Goen, the Governor-General of Dutch India attacked Bombay, but the attack was resisted by Aungier. On 10 October 1673, the Siddi admiral Sambal entered Bombay and destroyed the Pen and Nagothana rivers, which were very important for the English and the Maratha King Shivaji. The Treaty of Westminster concluded between England and the Netherlands in 1674, relieved the British settlements in Bombay of further apprehension from the Dutch. In 1686, the Company shifted its main holdings from Surat to Bombay, which had become the administrative centre of all the west coast settlements then. Bombay was placed at the head of all the Company's establishments in India.
  Yakut Khan landed at Sewri on 14 February 1689, and razed the Mazagon Fort in June 1690. After a payment made by the British to Aurangzeb, the ruler of the Mughal Empire, Yakut evacuated Bombay on 8 June 1690. The arrival of many Indian and British merchants led to the development of Bombay's trade by the end of the seventeenth century. Soon it was trading in salt, rice, ivory, cloth, lead and sword blades with many Indian ports as well as with the Arabian cities of Mecca and Basra. By 1710, the construction of Bombay Castle was finished, which fortified the islands from sea attacks by European pirates and the Marathas. By 26 December 1715, Charles Boone assumed the Governorship 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 the Marine force, and constructed the St. Thomas Cathedral in 1718, which was the first Anglican Church in Bombay. In 1728, a Mayor's court was established in Bombay and the first reclamation was started which was a temporary work in Mahal
caption: Ships in Bombay Harbour (c. 1731)
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