| Lying to on the western coast of India, Mumbai or Bombay has
enjoyed its prosperity from maritime trade since the ancient
times. There is no recorded ancient past of Mumbai; people just
scattered around on seven islands that compose the city. Until
the 16th century, the Portuguese reached the city, naming it as
"Bom Baia" which means "good bay" in
Portuguese (which later corrupted to Bombay by the British).
Meanwhile, they also brought Catholicism with them, leading to
the establishment of many churches throughout the city, but only
one has left to these days. In 1662, the Portuguese presented
Mumbai as a part of dowry of Catherine of Braganza, bride of
Charles II of the Great Britain. Later, Bombay was officially
reverted to the British Crown when the East India Company took
control over India's maritime trade and soon over the
administration of a whole country.
Under the British Rule, Bombay's affluence is desperately
prominent when the railway networks were developed into the
city, paving the way to efficient commerce and communication.
The city's rapid growth and wealth channeled into an Imperial
Bombay by a succession of Governors. Many of Bombay's famous
landmarks, for example, the Gateway of India, the General Post
Office, the Town Hall, and the Prince of Wales Museum, came then
into its existence as still seen today.
In 20th century, the freedom movement against the British
reached its head. Gandhi returned form South Africa and arrived
in Mumbai on January 12, 1915. Through many campaigns in the
following years, the end of the British imperial rule in India
was clearly foreshadowed by the Quit India declaration by the
Indian National Congress on August 8, 1942, in Gowalia Tank
Maidan, near Kemp's Corner. India finally achieved its
independence on August 15, 1947. In the mean time, Greater
Bombay had come into existence through an Act of The British
Parliament in 1945.
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