The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History

by Sanjeev Sanyal

The next major settlement was Bombay which was acquired from the Portuguese as part of the dowry when King Charles II married Catherine of Braganza. Bombay was then a group of small islands and the king leased them to the EIC in 1668 for ten pounds per annum. Unlike Madras, it already had a small but functioning settlement and also a good harbour. As a naval power, the English would have found its island geography easier to defend. Given the unpredictable demands of the Mughal governor in Surat and raids by Maratha rebels led by Shivaji, the EIC’s agents soon preferred to operate out of Bombay. Thus, a more substantial fort was built on the main island—in the area still known as the Fort. However, a series of smaller fortifications were also maintained at various strategic points. One surviving example is Worli Fort that was built to defend the northern approach. To get there today one has to walk through the narrow lanes of a former fishing village but the fort itself has been recently restored. From the top one gets a panoramic view of Mahim Bay and of the recently built Bandra-Worli Sea-Link. One can immediately see why this would have been a good location for a cannon battery. I stood on the ramparts at sunset and imagined myself an English gunner keeping a suspicious eye on the Portuguese in Bandra.