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Mumbai also known as Bombay, ''Bombaim'' in Portuguese, is the financial and commercial capital of India and one of the most populous cities in the world. At the time of arrival of the Portuguese, current Bombay was an archipelago of seven islands. Between the third century BCE and 1348, the islands came under the control of successive Hindu dynasties. The Muslim rulers of Gujarat, who had been ruling current Thane and Vasai for a few decades, annexed the islands in 1348, that were later governed by the Gujarat Sultanate from 1391 to 1534. Growing apprehensive of the power of the Mughal emperor Humayun, Sultan Bahadur Shah of the Gujarat Sultanate was obliged to sign the Treaty of Bassein with the Portuguese Empire on 23 December 1534. According to the treaty, the seven islands of Bombay, the nearby strategic town of Bassein and its dependencies were offered to the Portuguese. The territories were later surrendered on 25 October 1535. The Portuguese were actively involved in the foundation and growth of their Roman Catholic religious orders in Bombay. They called the islands by various names, which finally took the written form ''Bombaim''. The islands were leased to several Portuguese officers during their regime. The Portuguese Franciscans and Jesuits built several churches in the city, prominent being the St. Michael's Church at Mahim, St. John the Baptist Church at Andheri, St. Andrew's Church at Bandra, and Gloria Church at Byculla. The Portuguese also built several fortifications around the city like the Bombay Castle, ''Castella de Aguada'' (Castelo da Aguada or Bandra Fort), and Madh Fort. The British were in constant struggle with the Portuguese vying for hegemony over Bombay, as they recognized its strategic natural harbour and its natural isolation from land-attacks. By the middle of the 17th century the growing power of the Dutch Empire forced the British to acquire a station in western India. On 11 May 1661, the marriage treaty of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal, placed Bombay in possession of the British Empire, as part of dowry of Catherine to Charles. Even after the treaty, some villages in Bombay remained under Portuguese possession, but many were later acquired by the British. ==Arrival of the Portuguese== Between the third century BCE and 1534, the islands had come under the control of successive dynasties: Mauryas (3rd century BCE - around 185 BCE), Satavahanas (Around 185 BCE - 250 CE), Abhiras and Vakatakas (250 CE - early 5th century), Kalachuris (5th century), Konkan Mauryas (6th and early 7th century), Chalukyas (later 7th century), Rashtrakutas (mid-8th century), Silharas (810 to 1260), Yadavas (late 13th century - 1348), Muslim rulers of Gujarat (1348–1391), and the Gujarat Sultanate (1391–1534). At the time of arrival of the Portuguese, Bombay was ruled by Sultan Bahadur Shah of the Gujarat Sultanate, and was an archipelago of seven islands: Bombay Island (''Bombaim''), Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island (also known as ''Little Colaba''). The Salsette group of islands were located east of Bombay, separated by the Mahim Bay. Important strategic towns located near Bombay were; Bassein (''Baçaim'') to the north, Thana to the east, and Chaul to the south. The Portuguese first reached the west coast of India when the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut in 1498. For several years after their arrival in India, they had been consolidating their power in north Konkan.〔 They had established a strong foothold in Goa, which they captured from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1510. Portuguese explorer Francisco de Almeida's ship sailed into the deep natural harbour of Bombay in December 1508 on his expedition from Cannanore to Diu. The Portuguese paid their first visit to the islands on 21 January 1509, when they landed at Mahim after capturing a barge of the Gujarat Sultanate in the Mahim creek. Between 1513-14, they requested Sultan Bahadur Shah to allow them build a fortress at Mahim. In 1517, during the viceroyalty of Lopo Soares de Albergaria (1515–18), João de Monroyo entered the Bandora creek (Bandra creek) and defeated the Gujarat commandant of Mahim. Between 1522 and 1524, when Duarte de Menezes was viceroy of Goa, the Portuguese were constantly prowling about Bombay for the ships of the Gujarat Sultante. 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 Sultan Bahadur Shah was at war with Nizam-ul-mulk, the emperor of Chaul. Bombay came into prominence in connection with the attempt of the Portuguese to capture Diu in 1530-31. Nuno da Cunha, the viceroy of Goa, commanded the largest fleet seen in India, which passed through Bombay Harbour. In March–April 1531, the Portuguese torched the towns of Thana and Mahim. In consequence of this success, and later of Nuno da Cunha's capture of Bassein in January 1533, the islands of Bombay and Mahim, together with Bandra, became tributary to the Portuguese. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Bombay under Portuguese rule (1534–1661)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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