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BOMBAY CITY
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BOMBAY See also:CITY , the See also:capital of Bombay See also:Presidency, and the See also:chief seaport of western See also:India, situated in 18° 55' N. and 72° 54' E. The city stands on an See also:island of the same name, which forms one of a See also:group now connected by causeways with the mainland. The See also:area is 22 sq. m.; and the See also:population of the See also:town and island (19o1) 776,006 (estimate in 1906, 977,822). Bombay is the second most populous city in the See also:Indian See also:empire, having fallen behind See also:Calcutta at the See also:census of 1901. Its position on the See also:side of India nearest to See also:Europe, its advantages as a See also:port and a railway centre, and its See also:monopoly of the See also:cotton See also:industry, are counteracted by the fact that the region which it serves cannot See also:vie with the valley of the See also:Ganges in point of fertility and has no See also:great waterway like the Ganges or See also:Brahmaputra. Nevertheless Bombay pushes Calcutta hard for supremacy in point of population and commercial prosperity. The Bombay Island, or, as it ought to be more correctly called, the Bombay See also:Peninsula, stands out from a See also:coast ennobled by lofty hills, and its See also:harbour is studded by rocky islands and precipices, whose peaks rise to a great height. The approach ' V. C. Mahillon, Elements d'acoustique musicale et instrumentale (Bruxelles, 1874), p. 153. 2 The See also:bombardon is used in the military bands of See also:Austria, but in those of See also:Germany it has been superseded by a See also:bass See also:tuba differing slightly in See also:form and construction from the bombardons and bass tubas used in See also:England, See also:France, See also:Belgium and Austria.from the See also:sea discloses one of the finest panoramas in the See also:world, —the only See also:European See also:analogy being the See also:Bay of See also:Naples. The island consists of a See also:plain about 11 m. See also:long by 3 broad, flanked by two parallel lines of See also:low hills. A See also:neck of See also:land stretching towards the See also:south-See also:west forms the harbour on its eastern side, sheltering it from the force of the open sea, and enclosing an expanse of See also:water from 5 to 7 M. wide. At the south-west of the island, Back Bay, a shallow See also:basin rather more than 2 M. in breadth, runs inland for about 3 M. between the extreme points of the two ranges of hills. On a slightly raised See also:strip of land between the See also:head of Back Bay and the harbour is situated the fort, the See also:nucleus of the city of Bombay. From this point the land slopes westward towards the central plain, a low-lying See also:tract, which before the construction of the See also:embankment known as the See also:Hornby Vellard, used at high See also:tide to be submerged by the sea. The town itself consists of well-built and unusually See also:hand-some native bazaars, and of spacious streets devoted to European See also:commerce. In the native See also:bazaar the houses rise three or four storeys in height, with elaborately carved pillars and front See also:work. Some of the European hotels and commercial buildings are on the See also:American See also:scale, and have no See also:rival in any other city of India. The Taj Mahal hotel, which was built by the See also:Tata See also:family in 1904, is the most palatial and See also:modern hotel in India. The private houses of the European residents See also:lie apart alike from the native and from the See also:mercantile quarters of the town. As a See also:rule, each is built in a large See also:garden or See also:compound; and although the See also:style of See also:architecture is less imposing than that of the stately residences in Calcutta, it is well suited to the See also:climate, and has a beauty and comfort of its own. The favourite suburb is See also:Malabar See also: Of See also:recent years wealthy natives have been competing with Europeans for the See also:possession of this desirable See also:quarter. To the right of this ridge, looking towards the sea, runs another suburb known as See also:Breach Candy, built See also:close upon the See also:beach and within the refreshing See also:sound of the waves. To the See also:left of Malabar hill lies Back Bay, with a promontory on its farther See also:shore, which marks the site of the old Bombay Fort; its walls are demolished, and the area is chiefly devoted to mercantile buildings. Farther See also:round the island, beyond the fort, is Mazagon Bay, commanding the harbour, and the centre of maritime activity. The defences of the port, remodelled and armed with the latest guns, consist of batteries on the islands in the harbour, in addition to which there are three large batteries on the mainland. There is also a See also:torpedo-See also:boat detachment stationed in the harbour.
No city in the world has a finer water-front than Bombay. The great See also:line of public offices along the esplanade and facing Back Bay, which are in the See also:Gothic style mixed with Saracenic, are not individually distinguished for architectural merit, but they have a cumulative effect of great dignity. The other most notable buildings in the city are the See also:Victoria See also:terminus of the Great Indian Peninsula railway and the Taj Mahal hotel. Towards the See also:northern end of Malabar hill lie the Parsee Towers of Silence, where the See also:Parsees expose their dead till the flesh is devoured by vultures, and then See also:cast the bones into a well where they crumble into dust. The See also:foundation-See also: The municipal government of the city was framed by an See also:act of the Bombay legislative See also:council passed in 1888. The governing See also:body consists of a municipal See also:corporation and a town council. The corporation is composed of 72 members, of whom 16 are nominated by the government. Of the See also:remainder, 36 are elected by the ratepayers, 16 by the justices of the See also:peace, 2 by the See also:senate of the university, and 2 by the chamber of commerce. The council, which forms the See also:standing See also:committee of the corporation, consists of 12 members, of whom 4 are nominated by the government and the See also:rest elected by the corporation. The members of the corporation include Europeans,
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See also:Hindus, Mahommedans and Parsees. The Bombay University was constituted in 1857 as an examining body, on the See also:model of the university of See also:London. The chief educational institutions in Bombay City are the government See also:Elphinstone See also:College, two missionary colleges (See also: Bombay is the only important place near the sea in India where the rise of the tide is sufficient to permit docks on the largest scale. The highest See also:spring tides here reach 17 ft., but the See also:average is 14 ft. Prince's dock, of which the foundation-stone was laid by the prince of Wales in 1875, was opened in 1879, and is 146o ft. long by r000 ft. broad, with a water area of 30 acres; while the Victoria dock, which was completed and opened in 1887-1888, has a water area of 25 acres. South of the Victoria dock, the foundation-stone of the Alexandra dock, the largest in India, was laid by the prince of Wales in 1905. Cotton See also:Mills.—The milling industry is, next to the docks, the chief feature of Bombay's commercial success. The See also:staple manufacture is cotton-See also:spinning, but in addition to this there are See also:flour mills and workshops to See also:supply local needs. The number of factories increased from fifty-three in 1881 to eighty-three in 1890, and that See also:decade saw the influx of a great See also:industrial population from the surrounding districts; but the decade 1891-1901 witnessed at least a temporary set-back owing to the ravages caused by See also:plague and the effects of over-See also:production. In addition to the actual mortality it inflicted, the plague caused an See also:exodus of the population from the island, disorganized the labour at the docks and in the mills, and swallowed up large sums which were spent by the See also:municipality on plague operations and sanitary improvements. After 1901, however, both population and See also:trade began to revive again. In 1901 there were 131,796 persons employed in the cotton industry. Population.—Owing to its central position between East and West and to the diversity of races in India, no city in the world can show a greater variety of type than Bombay. The Mahratta See also:race is the dominant See also:element next to the European rulers, but in addition to them are a great and influential See also:section of Parsee merchants, Arab traders from the Gulf, Afghans and Sikhs from northern India, Bengalis, Rajputs, See also:Chinese, See also:Japanese, See also:Malays, negroes, Tibetans, Sinhalese and Siamese. 
Bombay is the great port and See also:meeting-place of the Eastern world. Out of the large sections of its population, See also:Hindu, See also:Mahommedan, Parsee, Jain and See also:Christian, the Parsees are one of the smallest and yet the most influential. They number only some 46,000 all told, but most of the great business houses are owned by Parsee millionaires and most of the large charities are founded by them. See also:History.—The name of the island and city of Bombay is de-rived from Mumba (a form of Parvati), the goddess of the See also:Kolis, a race of husbandmen and fishermen who were the earliest known inhabitants, having occupied the island probably about the beginning of the Christian era. Bombay originally consisted of seven islands (the Heptanesia of See also:Ptolemy) and formed an outlying portion of the dominions of successive dynasties dominant in western India: Satavahanas, Mauryas, Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas. In the Maurya and See also:Chalukya See also:period (450-750) the city of See also:Puri on Elephanta Island was the See also:principal place in Bombay harbour. The first town built on Bombay Island was Mahikavati (Mahim) ,founded byKing See also:Bhima, probably a member of the See also:house of the Yadavas of Deogiri, as a result of See also:Ala-ud-din Khilji's See also:raid into the See also:Deccan in 1294. It remained under Hindu rule until 1348, when it was captured by a Mahommedan force from See also:Gujarat; and the islands remained See also:part of the See also:province (later See also:kingdom) of Gujarat till 1534, when they were ceded by See also:Sultan Bahadur to the Portuguese. The island did not prosper under Portuguese rule. By the See also:system known as aforamento the lands were gradually parcelled out into a number of fiefs granted, under the See also:crown of See also:Portugal, to individuals or to religious corporations in return for military service or See also:equivalent quit-rents. The northern districts were divided among the See also:Franciscans and See also:Jesuits, who built a number of churches, some of which still survive. The intolerance of their rule did not favour the growth of the See also:settlement, which in 1661, when it was transferred to the See also:British, had a population of only 1o,000. The See also:English had, however, long recognized its value as a See also:naval See also:base, and it was for this See also:reason that they fought the See also:battle of Swally (1614-1615), attempted to See also:capture the place in 1626, and that the See also:Surat Council urged the See also:purchase of Bombay from the Portuguese. In 1654 the See also:directors of the See also:Company See also:drew See also:Cromwell's See also:attention to this See also:suggestion, laying stress on the excellence of its harbour and its safety from attack by land. It finally became the See also:property of the British in 1661 as part of the See also:dowry of the infanta See also:Catherine of Portugal on her See also:marriage to See also: With the See also:con-sent of " a See also:general See also:assembly of the chief representatives of the See also:people " he commuted the burdensome land tax for a fixed See also:money See also:payment; he protected all castes in tho celebration of their religious ceremonies; and he forbade any compulsion of natives to carry burdens against their will. The result was that the population of Bombay increased rapidly; a See also:special quarter was set apart for the banya, or capitalist, class of Hindus; while Parsees and Armenians flocked to a city where they were secure of freedom alike for their trade and their See also:religion. Within eight years the population had grown from 1o,000 to 6o,000. The immediate result of this concentration of people in a spot so unwholesome was the prevalence of disease, produced by the appalling sanitary conditions. This, too, Aungier set himself to remedy. In 1675 he initiated the See also:works for draining the foul tidal swamps; and, failing the consent of the Company to the erection of a See also:regular See also:hospital, he turned the law court into an infirmary. He also set up three courts of See also:justice: a tribunal for See also:petty causes under a See also:factor with native assessors, a court of See also:appeal under the See also:deputy See also:governor and members of council, and a court-See also:martial. A regular See also:police force was also established and a See also:gaol built in the Bazaar.. During this period, however, the position of Bombay was sufficiently See also:precarious. The Malabar pirates, though the city itself was too strong for them, were a See also:constant menace to its 1 See also:Hunter, Hist. of British India, ii. pp. 212, &c. trade; and it required all the See also:genius of Aungier to maintain the settlement, isolated as it was between the rival See also:powers of the Mahrattas and the See also:Mogul empire. After his See also:death, on the 30th of See also:June 1677, its situation became even more precarious. Even under Aungier the Siddi admirals of the Moguls had asserted their right to use Bombay harbour as See also:winter quarters for their fleet, though they had failed to secure it as a base against the Mahrattas. Under his weak successor (Rolt, 1677—1682), the English See also:waters, the value of which had now been proved, became the battle-ground between the rival navies, and for some years Bombay See also:lay at the See also:mercy of both. The Company's rule, more-over, was exposed to another danger. The niggardly policy of the See also:board of directors, more See also:intent on peaceful dividends than on warlike rule, could not but be galling to soldiers of See also:fortune. A See also:mutiny at Bombay in 1674 had only been suppressed by the See also:execution of the ringleader; and in 1683 a more formidable See also:movement took place under See also:Richard Keigwin, a naval officer who had been appointed governor of St See also:Helena in See also:reward for the part played by him in the capture of the island from the Dutch in 1673. Keigwin, elected governor of Bombay by popular See also:vote, issued a See also:proclamation in the See also: During this period, too, the importance of Bombay as a naval base, long since recognized, was increased by the building of a dock (1750), a second being added in 1762. The See also:year 1770 saw the beginning of the cotton trade with See also:China, the result of a See also:famine in that See also:country, the Chinese government having issued an See also:edict commanding more land to be used for growing See also:grain. This, too, was a period of searching reforms in the See also:administration and the planning and building of the city; the result being a further immense growth of its population, which in 178o was 113,000. This was still further increased by the famine of 1803, which drove large See also:numbers of people from See also:Konkan and the Deccan to seek employment in Bombay. A great See also:fire See also:broke out in the fort in the same year and caused enormous loss; but it enabled the government to open wider thoroughfares in the more congested parts, and greatly stimulated the tendency of the natives to build their houses and ' See Hunter, op. cit. ii. 205, &c. He received a full See also:pardon, was appointed later to the command of a See also:frigate in the royal See also:navy, and See also:fell while leading the See also:assault on St See also:Christopher's (June 21, 169o).shops outside the walls of the fort in what are now some of the busiest parts of the city. The British victory over the Mahrattas and the See also:annexation of the Deccan opened a new period of unrestricted development for Bombay. At this time, too (1819), its fortunes were vigorously fostered by Mountstuart Elphinstone, and in 1838 the population had risen to 236,000. But in the next fifty years it more than doubled itself, the figures for 1891 being 821,000. This great leap was due to the See also:influence of See also:railways, of which the first line was completed in 1853, the opening of the See also:Suez See also:Canal, and the foundation of cotton factories. In 1866—1867 the tide of prosperity was interrupted by a See also:financial crisis, due to the fall in the See also:price of cotton on the termination of the American See also:war. Bombay, however, soon recovered herself, and in 1891 was more prosperous than ever before; but during the ensuing decade great havoc was played by plague (q.v.) with both her population and her trade. In addition to a decline of 6 % in the population, the exports also declined by 7 %, whereas Calcutta's exports See also:rose during the same period by 38 %.
See S. M. See also:Edwardes, The Rise of Bombay (1902) ; See also: Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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