Bombay (City)

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Bombay (City)
Presidency: Bombay
Coordinates: 19.017656°N, 72.85618°E
Altitude: 8 m (26 ft)
Present Day Details
Place Name: Mumbai
State/Province: Maharashtra
Country: India
Transport links
Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway
Great Indian Peninsula Railway
Bombay Port Trust Railway
FibiWiki Maps
See our interactive map of this location showing
places of interest during the British period
Bombay (City)



Bombay was the capital of the Bombay Presidency and the headquarters of the district of the same name during the British period. Now called Mumbai, it is the capital of the state of Maharashtra.

Geography

Originally there were Seven Islands of Bombay:

They were gradually merged by land reclamation until they were one land mass by 1845.

History

Located on the inlet of Bom Bahia (beautiful bay), the city was Portuguese controlled from 1534. It passed to British rule in 1661 when it was received by Charles II as part of his marriage dowry from his Portuguese wife, Catherine of Braganza. During this time there were three Royal Governors. In 1668 it was granted to the East India Company for a lease of ten pounds a year and was administered by Company Governors. These became Crown Governors when rule was transferred to the UK government. Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands. The islands were merged to form the present day location of the city.

Compared to the other Presidencies, Bombay was of minor significance before 1800. The English were very much the minority. Recognising this, a liberal attitude encouraged progressive Indian cotton merchants, this freedom resulted in Bombay's economic importance. It was the cotton industry that spurred economic migration to the city from surrounding rural areas, and saw Bombay’s population grow rapidly:

  • Year Population
  • 1700 10,000
  • 1800 100,000
  • 1900 775 000

Following the Battle of Kirkee 1817 and the defeat of the Peshwas, the Bhor Ghat road to Poona opened 1830, allowing greater access to the Deccan cotton fields. Railways much improved goods transport, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR)opened in 1864. This allowed Bombay to fill the global demand for cotton resulting from shortages as a consequence of the American Civil War’s blockade of its southern ports(1860-1865). The opening of the Suez Canal 1869 further shortened the passage to England. The resultant economic boom saw wealthy businessmen sponsor many civic buildings – University Library Buildings, Jamsetji Jijibhoy (JJ) School of Art, and the Mechanics Institute. From the 1860‘s many municipal improvement schemes focused on improving health and sanitation.

Because of the cosmopolitan mix of Bombay Society, it is architecturally unlike the most of colonial india's neo-classicism; the wealth citizens of Bombay, and the city's Public Works Department opted for Venetian-Gothic designs with alterations to suit the Indian Climate. Victoria Terminus the station of the GIPR, adorned with Indian motifs represents this patronage. Bombay introduced Modernist architecture to India seeing new concrete construction methods as an inclusive architecture available to India's masses in the lead up to Independence.

FIBIS Resources

Churches

St Thomas Church, Bombay
Colaba Church Interior, Bombay

Anglican

Presbyterian

Roman Catholic
Addresses of all current Catholic Churches in Mumbai (Archdiocese of Mumbai). See also Bombay in the Catholic Encyclopedia 1913.

  • Cathedral of the Holy Name
  • Church of the Holy Trinity
  • Gloria Church - aka Nossa Senhora de Gloria, founded 1632, at Byculla
  • Mount Mary Church, Bandra - aka the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount
  • Our Lady of Egypt - founded 1606
  • Our Lady of Good Counsel - aka Nossa Senhora de Bom Concelho, founded 1596
  • Our Lady of Health - aka Nossa Senhora de Saude, built 1794
  • Our Lady of Hope - aka Nossa Senhora da Esperanca, demolished
  • Our Lady of Salvation - aka Nossa Senhora de Salvação or the Portuguese Church, founded 1596, current structure is 1974
  • St. Andrew's Church - built 1575
  • St Michaels - founded by the Portuguese in 1534 (current building dates only to 1973)
  • St Peter's, Bandra - Jesuit church. Original building 1852, current building 1938, consecrated 1964

Other

  • Free Church of Scotland
  • Wesleyan Methodist Church - at Colaba
  • St Nicholas
  • Synagogue Megan David, Byculla 1861
  • Synagogue Kneseth Elijah, The Fort 1888

Cemeteries

See also List of Cemeteries

  • European Burial Ground, Queens Road
  • Mavgav, Byculla, the oldest cemetery (Bene-Israel)

Schools

The English established the Bombay Education Society 1815 with the primary object of educating European and Anglo-Indian children. But from the very beginning the society admitted Indian children to its schools without making religious education compulsory. In 1818 the society started English schools in Bombay city. In 1820 it established a separate committee, the Bombay Native Education Society to look after the education of Indian children

  • Fort Proprietary School was opened in 1859.
  • Scottish Schools (Byculla),
  • Scottish Schools (Fort),
  • Cathedral Choir School (Fort)
  • Cathedral High Scool
  • Alexandra Girls School
  • Islamia School
St Mary's High School, Bombay

Catholic

Boys

  • The High School of St. Xavier
  • St. Mary's High School

Girls

  • Girls High Schools, at Clare road, Par el and the Fort.
  • St. Joseph's Foundling Home
  • St. Vincent's Home for poor women and girl

Orphan Schools

See Orphans-Bombay

Tertiary Education

  • Elphinstone College 1835
  • Grant Medical Institution 1845
  • Bombay Law School
  • The Government Law College, 1855
  • Wilson College
  • St Xavier’s College (Catholic)
  • The Sydenham College
  • Jamsetji Jijibhoy School of Art
  • Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute

Hospitals

  • European General Hospital
  • Cama Hospital opened on the Esplanade in August 1886
  • Bomanji Edulji Albless Obstetric Hospital in 1890
  • St. George's Hospital Government (for Europeans) in December 1892
  • The Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital 1868
  • Acworth Leprosy Hospital , Wadala was established in 1890
  • National Medical College on 4 September 1921
  • Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital in 1927
  • Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children in 1929
  • Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College was started in June 1925,
  • King Edward Memorial Hospital in February 1926
  • The Nair Hospital Dental College
  • The Ismail Yusuf College, established in 1929-30

Newspapers

  • Bombay Chronicle, 1918-1933
  • Times of India, 1873-1942
  • Bombay Gazette,
  • Advocate of India (Anglo-Indian)

Military

Barracks, Colaba
  • Sion Fort
Sion Hillock Fort Wikipedia

Clubs

The Yacht Club Bombay
Marine Lines Bombay

External links

Maps

Historical images online

  • Panorama of Bombay c 1837 “taken from the top of Sir Jenisedjie Jeejeebhoy's house - drawn and coloured on the spot by T. Wingate” University of Cambridge Digital Library.

Historical Books Online

A Voyage To Surat In The Year 1689 by John Ovington, edited by H G Rawlinson, with commentary, 1929 is available to download as a pdf from Osmania University Digital Library [OUDL]. Restricted download hours may possibly apply. This book is also available to read online on the Digital Library of India website.
Glimpses of Old Bombay and Western India, with other Papers by James Douglas 1900 Archive.org

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