History of Mumbai
have inhabited Mumbai since the Stone Age. The were the earliest known settlers of the islands. Between the 2nd century BCE and the 10th century CE, the islands came under the control of successive indigenous dynasties: the Satavahanas, Vakatakas, Konkan Mauryas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Shilaharas, Seuna Yadavas
Bhima of Mahikavati established a small kingdom in the area during the late 13th century and brought settlers. The Delhi Sultanate captured the islands in 1348, and they were later passed to the Sultanate of Guzerat in 1391. The Treaty of Bassein, between the Portuguese viceroy Nuno da Cunha and Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, placed the islands into Portuguese possession in 1534.
The islands suffered the Anglo-Mughal War and the Maratha Liberation of Vasai towards the transition to the 18th century. During the English East India Company's rule the mid-18th century, it emerged as an important port city, having maritime trade contacts with Mecca, Basra, etc. Economic development characterised British Bombay in the 19th century; the first-ever Indian railway line commenced operations between Bombay Harbour and Taana city in 1853. Since the early 1900s, the city has also been the home base of the Bollywood film industry. The city became a strong base for the Indian independence movement during the early 20th century, it was the centre of the Rowlatt Satyagraha of 1919 and the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny of 1946. After India's independence in 1947, the territory of the Bombay Presidency retained by India was restructured into Bombay State. The area of Bombay State increased after several erstwhile princely states that joined the Indian union were integrated into Bombay State.
In 1960, following protests from the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, the city was incorporated into the newly created Maharashtra State from Bombay state. The Bombay metro area faced some unfortunate events like the inter-communal riots of 1992–93, while the 1993 Mumbai bombings caused extensive loss of life and property. Bombay was renamed Mumbai on 6 March 1996.
Early history
Prehistoric period
Geologists believe that the coast of western India came into being around 100 to 80 mya, after it broke away from Madagascar. Soon after its detachment, the peninsular region of the Indian plate drifted over the Réunion hotspot, a volcanic hotspot in the Earth's lithosphere near the island of Réunion. An eruption here some 66 mya is thought to have laid down the Deccan Traps, a vast bed of basalt lava that covers parts of central India. This volcanic activity resulted in the formation of basaltic outcrops, such as the Gilbert Hill, that are seen at various locations in the city. Further tectonic activity in the region led to the formation of hilly islands separated by a shallow sea. Pleistocene sediments found near Kandivali in northern Mumbai by British archaeologist Malcolm Todd in 1939 indicate habitation since the Stone Age. The present day city was built on what was originally an archipelago of seven islands of Mumbai Island, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island. The islands were coalesced into a single landmass by the Hornby Vellard engineering project in 1784. By 1000 BCE, the region was heavily involved in seaborne commerce with Egypt and Persia. The Koli fishing community had long inhabited the islands. They were Dravidian in origin and included a large number of scattered tribes along the Vindhya Plateau, Gujarat, and Konkan. In Mumbai, there were three or four of these tribes. Their religious practices could be summed up as animism.Age of Dynastical Empires
The islands were incorporated into the Maurya Empire under Emperor Ashoka of Magadha in the mid third-century BCE. The empire's patronage made the islands a centre of Buddhist religion and culture. Buddhist monks, scholars, and artists created the artwork, inscriptions, and sculpture of the Kanheri Caves in the mid third century BCE and the Mahakali Caves. After the decline of the Maurya Empire around 185 BCE, these islands fell to the Satavahanas. The port of Sopara was an important trading centre during the first century BCE, with trade contacts with Rome. The islands were known as Heptanesia to the Greek geographer Ptolemy in 150 CE. After the end of the Satavahana rule in 250 CE, the Abhiras of Western Maharashtra and the Vakatakas of Vidarbha held dominion over the islands. The Abhiras ruled for 167 years, till around 417 CE. The Kalachuris of Central India ruled the islands during the fifth century, which were then acquired by the Mauryas of Konkan in the sixth and early part of the seventh century. The Mauryas were feudatories of the Kalachuris, and the Jogeshwari Caves were constructed during their regime between 520 and 525. The Greek merchant Cosmas Indicopleustes visited Kalyan during 530–550 CE. The Elephanta Caves also dates back to the sixth century. Christianity arrived in the islands during the sixth century, when the Nestorian Church made its presence felt in India. The Mauryan presence ended when the Chalukyas of Badami in Karnataka under Pulakeshin II invaded the islands in 610 CE. Dantidurga of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty of Karnataka conquered the islands during 749–750 CE.File:Banganga Tank and Walkeshwar Temple, Bombay, c. 1855.jpg|thumb|right|Banganga Tank and Walkeshwar Temple
The Silhara dynasty of Konkan ruled the region between 810 and 1260. The Walkeshwar Temple was constructed during the 10th century and the Banganga Tank during the 12th century under the patronage of the Silhara rulers. The Italian traveler Marco Polo's fleet of thirteen Chinese ships passed through Mumbai Harbour during May — September 1292. King Bhimdev founded his kingdom in the region in the late 13th century and established his capital in Mahikawati. He belonged to either the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri in Maharashtra or the Anahilavada dynasty of Gujarat. He built the first Babulnath temple in the region and introduced many fruit-bearing trees, including coconut palms to the islands. The Pathare Prabhus, one of the earliest settlers of the city, were brought to Mahim from Patan and other parts of Saurashtra in Gujarat around 1298 by Bhimdev during his reign. He is also supposed to have brought Palshis, Pachkalshis, Bhandaris, Vadvals, Bhois, Agris and Brahmins to these islands. After his death in 1303, he was succeeded by his son Pratapbimba, who built his capital at Marol in Salsette, which he named Pratappur. The islands were wrested from Pratapbimba's control by Mubarak Khan, a self-proclaimed regent of the Khalji dynasty, who occupied Mahim and Salsette in 1318. Pratapbimba later reconquered the islands which he ruled till 1331. Later, his brother-in-law Nagardev for 17 years till 1348. The islands came under the control of the Muslim rulers of Gujarat in 1348, ending the sovereignty of Hindu rulers over the islands.
Islamic period
The islands were under Muslim rule from 1348 to 1391. After the establishment of the Gujarat Sultanate in 1391, Muzaffar Shah I was appointed viceroy of north Konkan. For the administration of the islands, he appointed a governor for Mahim. During the reign of Ahmad Shah I, Malik-us-Sharq was appointed governor of Mahim, and in addition to instituting a proper survey of the islands, he improved the existing revenue system of the islands. During the early 15th century, the Bhandaris seized the island of Mahim from the Sultanate and ruled it for eight years. It was reconquered by Rai Qutb of the Gujarat Sultanate. Firishta, a Persian historian, recorded that by 1429 the seat of government of the Gujarat Sultanate in north Konkan had transferred from Thane to Mahim. On Rai Qutb's death in 1429–1430, Ahmad Shah I Wali of the Bahmani Sultanate of Deccan captured Salsette and Mahim.Ahmad Shah I retaliated by sending his son Jafar Khan to recapture the lost territory. Jafar emerged victorious in the battle fought with Ahmad Shah I Wali. In 1431, Mahim was recaptured by the Sultanate of Gujarat. The Sultanate's patronage led to the construction of many mosques, prominent being the Haji Ali Dargah in Mahim, built in honour the Muslim saint Haji Ali in 1431. After the death of Kutb Khan, the Gujarat commandant of Mahim, Ahmad Shah I Wali again despatched a large army to capture Mahim. Ahmad Shah I responded with a large army and navy under Jafar Khan leading to the defeat of Ahmad Shah I Wali. During 1491–1494, the islands suffered sea piracies from Bahadur Khan Gilani, a nobleman of the Bahamani Sultanate. After the end of the Bahamani Sultanate, Bahadur Khan Gilani and Mahmud Gavan broke out in rebellion at the port of Dabhol and conquered the islands along with the whole of Konkan. Portuguese explorer Francisco de Almeida's ship sailed into the deep natural harbour of the island in 1508, and he called it Bom baía. However, the Portuguese paid their first visit to the islands on 21 January 1509, when they landed at Mahim after capturing a Gujarat barge in the Mahim creek. After a series of attacks by the Gujarat Sultanate, the islands were recaptured by Sultan Bahadur Shah.
In 1526, the Portuguese established their factory at Bassein. During 1528–29, Lopo Vaz de Sampaio seized the fort of Mahim from the Gujarat Sultanate, when the King was at war with Nizam-ul-mulk, the emperor of Chaul, a town south of the islands. Bahadur Shah had grown apprehensive of the power of the Mughal emperor Humayun and he was obliged to sign the Treaty of Bassein with the Portuguese on 23 December 1534. According to the treaty, the islands of Mumbai and Bassein were offered to the Portuguese. Bassein and the seven islands were surrendered later by a treaty of peace and commerce between Bahadur Shah and Nuno da Cunha, Viceroy of Portuguese India, on 25 October 1535, ending the Islamic rule in Mumbai.
Portuguese period
The Portuguese were actively involved in the foundation and growth of their religious orders in Bombay. The islands were leased to Mestre Diogo in 1534. The San Miguel in Mahim, one of the oldest churches in Bombay, was built by the Portuguese in 1540. Parel, Wadala, Sion, and Worli were granted to Manuel Serrão between 1545 and 1548, during the viceroyalty of João de Castro. Mazagaon was granted to Antonio Pessoa in 1547. Salsette was granted for three years to João Rodrigues Dantas, Cosme Corres, and Manuel Corres. Trombay and Chembur were granted to Dom Roque Tello de Menezes, and the Island of Pory to João Pirez in 1548. Garcia de Orta, a Portuguese physician and botanist, was granted the possession of Bombay in 1554 by viceroy Pedro Mascarenhas.File:SEEPZ church 4.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Ruins of the St. John the Baptist Church in SEEPZ, one of the earliest churches built by the Portuguese in the city
The Portuguese encouraged intermarriage with the local population, and strongly supported the Roman Catholic Church. In 1560, they started proselytising the local Koli, Kunbi, Kumbhar population in Mahim, Worli, and Bassein. These Christians were referred to by the British as Portuguese Christians, though they were Nestorian Christians who had only recently established ties with the Roman Catholic Church. During this time, Bombay's main trade was coconuts and coir. After Antonio Pessoa's death in 1571, a patent was issued which granted Mazagaon in perpetuity to the Sousa e Lima family. The St. Andrew Church at Bandra was built in 1575.
The annexation of Portugal by Spain in 1580 opened the way for other European powers to follow the spice routes to India. The Dutch arrived first, closely followed by the British. The first English merchants arrived in Bombay in November 1583, and travelled through Bassein, Thane, and Chaul. The Portuguese Franciscans had obtained practical control of Salsette and Mahim by 1585, and built Nossa Senhora de Bom Concelho at Sion and Nossa Senhora de Salvação at Dadar in 1596. The Battle of Swally was fought between the British and the Portuguese at Surat in 1612 for the possession of Bombay. Dorabji Nanabhoy, a trader, was the first Parsi to settle in Bombay in 1640. Castella de Aguada was built by the Portuguese at Bandra in 1640 as a watchtower overlooking the Mahim Bay, the Arabian Sea and the southern island of Mahim. The growing power of the Dutch by the middle of the seventeenth century forced the Surat Council of the British Empire to acquire Bombay from King John IV of Portugal in 1659. The marriage treaty of Charles II of England and Catherine of Portugal on 8 May 1661 placed Bombay in British possession as a part of Catherine's dowry to Charles.