Posted on: 19 July 2011

Fort and Cotton Market, Bombay - 1860

This photograph showing the fort and cotton market at Bombay, what is now modern-day Mumbai, was taken in the 1860s to form part of an album entitled 'Photographs of India and Overland Route'. The fort was constructed between 1715 and 1722 under Charles Boone’s governorship to protect the island city from seabourne assailants. Early in the nineteenth century the area expanded with the construction of several public buildings including the Town Hall (1833), the Mint (1824-29), Customs House and St. Andrew’s Church (1819). With the acceleration of trade and commerce later in the century Bombay was transformed into a colonial town of high architectural accomplishment. This was largely due to Governor Sir Bartle Frere, who in 1862 initiated improvements such as road widening and the restructuring of squares.

Source : British Library


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I find it impossible to connect it with the present Fort area.

This is not the present day Fort area. In all likelihood, this is the present day "Cotton Green" area. There still is a railway station with that name on the harbour line.The station is at an elevated level like the Dockyard Road and Sandhurst Road stations. Luckily, "change the name" chauvinist bug has not touched these three and some more stations on this route. Another station in this area is the Reay Road station which is at the ground level. The entire line traverses the Bombay Port area. The chimneys in the distance are the textile mills some of which still stand tall albeit in ruins.

See you tube video on Cotton Exchange building .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftwDhb_HGsc .

Iconic and first art deco type building of The east India cotton exchange is in Bhuleshwar Kalbadevi Area."The cotton exchange" was one of the first tallest building in India .It was center of the cotton trade in India until Independence .It was in disuse after the decline of cotton trade and mills in Mumbai for nearly 2/3 decades.Today it is beautifully conserved and converted into Diamond and Jewelry Mall. To see images of old cotton exchange building and its newly restored look please see this link http://jewelworld.co.in/History.html .Thank you .

The cotton satodias of Bombay used to trade (speculate) on open and close of the New York cotton exchange before the Bombay Cotton Exchange was opened. The Great Depression demonstrated the linkages and the severe impact for Indian producers of cotton when commodity prices had fallen dramatically in the run-up years to WW II.

If I remember correctly "New York Cotton" figures used to be published in newspapers also which then (in my schooldays) was an enigma to me!

Deepak Ingawale If you remember, news papers also used to publish the "Matka Numbers" of Ratan Khatri! Jokes apart, what was considered speculative, and banned for 6 decades in independent India is now accepted as a legitimate market place where producers and traders of cotton can hedge from the risk arising from volatility of prices. We have now formalised the futures market for commodities. There still are more commodities to be decontrolled.

... and we call these things as derivatives, these days!

Sorry, Matka is not a derivative. Matka is a wager which is rightly prohibited by law. Yes, "Futures" are one type of derivatives.

Yes, of course. Matka was pure wager, the simplicity of which attracted droves of people - most of them unfortunately from poor strata and illiterates evn - and ruined many.