History of Mumbai:
Between the 9th and 13th centuries, the Indian Ocean, and especially the Arabian Sea, was the world’s center of commerce. The city of Bombay originally consisted of seven islands, namely Colaba, Mazagaon, Old Woman’s Island, Wadala, Mahim, Parel, and Matunga-Sion. This group of islands, which have since been joined together by a series of reclamations, formed part of the kingdom of Ashoka, the famous Emperor of India. After his death, these islands passed into the hands of various Hindu rulers until 1343. In that year, the Mohammedans of Gujarat took possession and the Kings of that province of India ruled for the next two centuries. In 1534 the Portuguese, who already possessed many important trading centers on the western coast, such as Panjim, Daman, and Diu, took Bombay by force of arms from the Mohammedans. This led to the establishment of numerous churches which were constructed in areas where the majority of people were Roman Catholics. There used to be two areas in Bombay called “Portuguese Church". However, only one church with Portuguese-style facade still remains; it is the St. Andrew’s church at Bandra. The Portuguese also fortified their possession by building forts at Sion, Mahim, Bandra, and Bassien which, although in disrepair, can still be seen. They named their new possession as “Bom Baia” which in Portuguese means “Good Bay". A hundred and twenty-eight years later the islands were given to the English King Charles II in dowry on his marriage to Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza in 1662. In the year 1668 the islands were acquired by the English East India Company on lease from the crown for an annual sum of 10 pounds in gold; so little did the British value these islands at that time. The Company, which was operating from Surat, was in search for another deeper water port so that larger vessels could dock, and found the islands of Bombay suitable for development.

Bombay soon became an important trading port. Development and reclamation started and the then Governor Gerald Aungier (1672-1677) encouraged business men from all over to come and settle. Historians have given him the title of “Father of Bombay” because it was in this period Bombay boomed to become a prime commercial centre.

Tata and Hotel TajMahal stands as a great memorial to his father. Then came the Hindus, Goan Catholics, and the Muslims. In 1687 the presidency of the East India Company shifted from Surat to Bombay and finally in 1708 Bombay became it’s headquarter.

Sir Robert Grant (1779-1838) governed Bombay from 1835 to 1838 and was responsible for the construction of a number of roads between Bombay and the hinterland. The Thana and Colaba Causeways were built during his tenure as well as the Grant Medical College attached to the Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy (J.J.) Group of hospitals.

On Saturday 16th of April, 1853 a 21-mile long railway line, the first in India, between Bombay’s Victoria Terminus and Thana was opened. The Great Indian Peninsular (GIP) and the Bombay Baroda and Central India (BB&CI) Railway were started in 1860 and a regular service of steamers on the west coast was commenced in 1869. n 1858, following the First War of Independence (the British called it the “Sepoy Mutiny") of 1857 in which the Rani of Jhansi and her infant son strapped on her back were killed, the East India Company was accused of mismanagement and the islands reverted to the British Crown. In 1862 Sir Baartle Frere was appointed Governor, an office which he held until 1867. By 1862 the town had spread over the lands reclaimed through constructions of causeways and it is from this date we have the rise of the modern city of Bombay. In 1864 a fountain was to be erected in his honour at the Victoria Gardens by the Agri-Horticultural Society of Western India. Somehow, the plans were changed at the last moment and the fountain, named after the Greek goddess Flora, was placed in the centre of the city on what used be known as Hornby Road. Unfortunately, no plaque was placed on the fountain to commemorate the name of Governor in whose memory it was supposed to have been erected.

Around 1860 the piped water supply from Tulsi and Vehar lakes (and later Tansa) was inaugurated. One reform which met with much superstitious opposition, before it was implemented, was the sealing and banning the use of water from open wells and tanks that bred mosquitoes. A good drainage system was also constructed at the same time. However, several decades later, the same wells were to serve Bombay by providing non-potable water to supplement the same from the lakes. This was true especially during those years when the monsoons failed to provide sufficient water in the catchment areas of the lakes. However, well water is now used all over the city to supplement the water received from the lakes.

The later half of the 19th century was also to see a feverish construction of buildings in Bombay, many of which such as, the Victoria Terminus, the General Post Office, Municipal Corporation, the Prince of Wales Museum, Rajabai Tower and Bombay University, Elphinstone College and the Cawasji Jehangir Hall, the Crawford Market, the Old Secretariat (Old Customs House) and the Public Works Department (PWD) Building, still stand today as major landmarks. The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary for the Darbar at Delhi in 1911.

The docks at Bombay are a monument of the industry, enterprise and integrity of the Wadia family which moved in from Surat at the instigation of the British. In 1870 the Bombay Port Trust was formed. In 1872, Jamshedji Wadia, a master ship-builder constructed the “Cornwalis", a frigate of 50 guns, for the East India Company, a success which led to several orders from the British Navy. In all the Wadias, between 1735-1863 built 170 war vessels for the Company, 34 man-of-war for the British Navy, 87 merchant vessels for private firms, and three vessels for the Queen of Muscat at Bombay docks.

The Princess Dock was built in the year 1885 and the Victoria Dock and the Mereweather Dry Docks in 1891. Alexandra Dock was completed in 1914. The closing years of the 19th Century were tragic for Bombay as the bubonic plague caused great destruction of human life once more. One significant result of the plague was the creation of the City Improvement Trust which in later years encouraged the development of the suburbs for residential purposes to remove the congestion in the city.

By the 18th century the population had grown and basic amenities and public services introduced like piped water supply, Hospitals, Railways, Tramcars, Courts, Mint, etc. The Victoria Terminus Railway Station was made in 1887, designed by F. W. Stevens and built in Gothic style. Till today it is one of the most imposing and impressive structures and the credit for this plus other Gothic structure goes to the then governor Sir Bartle Frere who took a keen interest in the making of Bombay. By 1862 the seven islands had joined together to form one huge mass of land .The arrival of the Great Indian Peninsular Railways signaled improved communications. The American civil war gave a further boost to the cotton and textile industry, which emerged as the main manufacturing activity. With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 Bombay prospered as an International port, and reinforced its position as a major commercial and industrial center in India.
Many of Bombay’s famous landmarks, the Flora Fountain and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus formerly known as Victoria Terminus date from this time. The water works, including the Hanging Gardens and the lakes were also built around this time. The Bombay Municipal Corporation was founded in 1872.

As Bombay’s superintendent of police in 1885, Charles Forjett was a favourite of the Indian people. Many wept openly when he returned to England. He sacked British constables who unduly harassed the locals and cracked down on the Parsi mafia which was involved in the liquor business in the Falkland Road area, which included the famous “Play House” which the locals corrupted to “pillhouse". The “Pillhouse” area would acquire notoriety in later years as the infamous “cages” area housing Bombay’s infamous red-light district.

Lord Sandhurst governed Bombay between 1895 and 1900 and it was during his tenure that the Act was passed which constituted the City Improvement Trust which, among other things, built the Sandhurst Road in 1910 and handed it over to the municipality. The Sandhurst Road railway station (upper level) was built in 1921.

The historic session of the All India Congress Committee began on the 7th of August 1942. Its venue was the Gowalia Tank Maidan, where the congress was born in 1885. It was at this session that the “Quit India” call was given by Mahatma Gandhi and other Indian National Congress leaders. The Indian leaders were arrested by the British soon afterwards but the momentum of the Quit India movement could not be stopped and led to the final withdrawal of the British on 15 August 1947. The last British troops on Indian soil left for England through the archway of the Gateway of India on that day. They bade farewell from where they had entered 282 years before. The people of Bombay, in a gesture of generosity wished them bon voyage, forgetting the bitter memories of the fight for independence. Today the maidan from where the call to “Quit India” was given is called the “August Kranti Maidan".

When India became Independent in 1947 Bombay became the capital of Bombay state. In 1960 Bombay state was dissolved and the state of Maharashtra came into being, with Bombay as its state capital. In 1995 Bombay changed its name to Mumbai. The name Mumbai is derived from “Mumbadevi” the patron goddess of the Koli fisher folks, the earliest known inhabitants.

In 1995 the operations and dealings of the BSE were fully computerized and thus the famous out-cry system of share trading was replaced by screen based trading as in other modern stock exchanges around the world. Today Bombay is the financial and business capital of India. The BSE is housed in the 28-storied Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers in the same place where the old building once stood. Sir Phiroze Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy was the Chairman of the Exchange from 1966 till his death in 1980. The building has been named after him since its construction commenced during his Chairmanship and was completed just as he passed away.