🏝️ The Seven Islands of Bombay: What Were They?

🏝️ The Seven Islands of Bombay: What Were They?

Originally, Mumbai was made up of seven separate islands:

Colaba
- Little Colaba (or Old Woman's Island)
- Bombay Island (now South Mumbai)
- Mazagaon
- Worli
- Parel
- Mahim

These were marshy, swampy lands separated by creeks, tidal inlets, and the Arabian Sea.

⛴️ Early Control: Portuguese to British

In 1534, the Portuguese took control of the islands from local rulers.

In 1661, the islands were given to the British as part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry when she married King Charles II of England.

In 1668, Charles II leased the islands to the British East India Company for just £10 a year.

🛠️ Land Reclamation: The Joining of the Islands

📍 The Hornby Vellard Project (1784)
The first major reclamation effort, named after Governor William Hornby.

Objective: Close the Worli creek, which caused flooding at high tide.

This was the first step in connecting the islands of Bombay, Parel, and Worli.

📍 19th Century Projects
Over the 1800s, several major landfills and causeways were constructed to connect the other islands:

- Colaba Causeway (1838): Linked Colaba to Bombay Island.
- Mahim and Sion Causeways (1840s): Linked Mahim and Sion to the rest of the land.

The British reclaimed land from the sea using mud, stone, and debris.

🏙️ By the Mid-19th Century
The once fragmented islands were fully connected.

The result: A single landmass known as Bombay Island, the core of modern-day Mumbai.

🚆 Railways, Docks & Urban Growth
The development of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (1853) and Bombay docks further spurred urbanization.

The city became a major hub for cotton trade, shipping, and administration.

🌇 Today's Mumbai
Modern-day Mumbai has expanded way beyond the original seven islands, incorporating suburbs, reclaimed coastal areas, and satellite towns.

Reclamation continues even today — think Nariman Point, BKC, and upcoming Mumbai Coastal Road Project.

🎯 Summary
Mumbai's journey from seven islands to India's financial capital is a story of:

- Colonial engineering
- Land reclamation
- Economic opportunity
- Urban planning (and sometimes, lack thereof!)