Introduction
The great cities of Madras and Calcutta sprang up from the energy and enterprise of British merchants, but Bombay’s history was different. It was a gift from the Portuguese, and for some years it looked as if the beneficiary, Charles II, would be only too pleased to give it back.
IN 1662, King Charles II married Catherine of Braganza, daughter of the King of Portugal. Her dowry included the port of Bombay, but the East India Company was already happily head-quartered at Surat a hundred and fifty miles to the north,* and Charles even considered selling Bombay back to the Portuguese, to complement their post on neighbouring Salsette Island. However, in 1668 the cash-strapped King leased it to the Company, who seemed to want it, for a £50,000 loan and £10 a year.
The Company’s interest was owing to Shivaji, a Maratha warlord.* The Maratha were implacable enemies of the Mughal Empire,* whose Islamic government in Delhi was unwelcome to the Hindus further south. Resentment grew, and in Shivaji the Hindus found their inspiration. By 1660, most of the Deccan supported him,* and he turned his gaze on the wealthy port of Surat — gateway to Arabia, pride of Emperor Aurangzeb and also home to Dutch, French, Portuguese and English merchants. Shivaji arrived on January 5th, 1664, at the head of four thousand cavalry.
Surat in Gujarat is a city and harbour on the west coast of India, some 145 miles north of Bombay (Mumbai). It stands at the mouth of the River Tapi.
Shivaji Bhonsle I (?1627-1680), warrior-chieftain of the Maratha, and from 1674 their King and Emperor.
The Mughal Empire was established in 1526 by Babur, a warrior chieftain from modern-day Uzbekistan backed by Safavid (Persian) and Ottoman (Turkish) troops. At the time of the sack of Surat, the reigning Emperor was Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707). The Mughal Empire was dissolved in 1857, by the British Crown.
The Deccan Plateau is a vast area of central India in the V-shape bounded by the mountains of the Western and Eastern Ghats, and by the Narmada River to the north. See Wikipedia.
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