History of Bombay under British rule (1661–1947)

Bombay, also called Bom baim in Portuguese, is the financial and commercial capital of India and one of the most populous cities in the world.

Once an archipelago of seven islands, obtained by the Portuguese via the Treaty of Bassein (1534), from the Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, the island group would later form part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal. Her 23 June 1661 Marriage Treaty gifted the islands to Charles II of England, along with the port of Tangier, trading privileges in Brazil and the Portuguese East Indies, religious and commercial freedom for English residents in Portugal, and two million Portuguese crowns (about £300,000), on completion of the marriage. The Islands of Bombay were regarded as a political and financial liability and were leased by Charles, to the English East India Company, on 27 March 1668, for a nominal £10 rent.