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Image details : Aquatint published by R. Cribb in 1803 and part of King George III's Topographical Collection, with a view from above of the seven islands which initially made up the settlement of Bombay (now Mumbai), together with Salsette Island. The islands, located in the Arabian sea on the west coast of India, originally contained small fishing villages of the Koli community. The Sultans of Gujarat ceded the site to the Portuguese in 1534 and they established a trading post. Bombay was passed to the English Crown in 1661 as part of the dowry when Charles II married Catherine of Braganza. At first the settlement appeared unfavourable, with low lying marshes, a hot climate and heavy monsoon rains, but its natural harbour and strategic location led the English to embark on a programme of developing it. By 1708 it became the headquarters of the East India Company on the west coast. The town was centred around Bombay Fort which can been seen in the print. By the late 18th century it was prospering as a major centre of the cotton trade. Source : British Library

The marraige of Catherine of Braganza to the recently 'restored ' King Charles II was arranged as a matter of political expediency ... and as the pair never produced any children, the acquisition of Bombay could be said to be the only enduring advantage to accrue to Britain from their union... not that, in 1661, many Englishmen had much of a clue as to exactly how strategically and commercially important Bombay would eventually prove to be... Indeed many members of the Royal court were not even entirely sure of Bombay's exact geographic location or what manner of society might be found there, Lord Clarendon writing that " the Island of Bombay with the towns and castles therein [ ! ! ] is a very little distance from Brazil [ ! ! ] " ... Needless to say, most of the early East India Company functionaries who, subsequently, arrived at Bombay were rather disappointed to discover that it was nothing more than a hamlet surrounded by disease- riddled swamps !

We have to at least admire Lord Clarendon for his prescience...if not for his imagination ! : )