[1] Hunter, _Hist. of British India_, ii. pp. 212, &c.
[2] See Hunter, op. cit. ii. 205, &c. He received a full pardon, was
appointed later to the command of a frigate in the royal navy, and
fell while leading the assault on St Christopher's (June 21, 1690).
BOMBAY FURNITURE. "Bombay blackwood furniture" is a term applied to a
rather extensive class of articles manufactured in the city of Bombay
and in the towns of Surat and Ahmedabad in India. The wood used is
Shisham or blackwood (_Dalbergia_), a hard-grained dark-coloured timber
which with proper treatment assumes a beautiful natural polish. Much of
the so-called Bombay furniture is clumsy and inelegant in form, defects
which it is suggested by experts, like Sir George Birdwood, it owes to
the circumstance that the original models were Dutch. Some of the
smaller articles, such as flower stands, small tables, and ornamental
stands, are, however, of exceedingly graceful contour, and good examples
are highly prized by collectors. The carving at its best is lace-like in
character, and apart from its inherent beauty is attractive on account
of the ingenuity shown by the worker in adapting his design in detail to
the purpose of the article he is fashioning. The workmen who manufacture
the most artistic Bombay furniture are a special class with inherited
traditions. Often a man knows only one design, which has been
transmitted to him by his father, who in his turn had had it from his
father before him. In recent years under European auspices efforts have
been made with a certain measure of success to modernize the industry by
introducing portions of the native work into furniture of Western
design. In the main, however, the conventional patterns are still
adhered to. "Bombay boxes" are inlaid in geometrical patterns on wood.
The inlaying materials consist of the wire, sandal wood, sapan wood,
ebony, ivory and stags' horns, and the effect produced by the
combination of minute pieces of these various substances is altogether
peculiar and distinctive.
BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, a province or presidency of British India, consisting
partly of British districts, and partly of native states under the
administration of a governor. This territory extends from 13 deg. 53' to
28 deg. 45' N., and from 66 deg. 40' to 76 deg. 30' E., and is bounded
on the N. by Baluchistan, the Punjab and Rajputana; on the E. by Indore,
the Central Provinces and Hyderabad; on the S. by Madras and Mysore; and
on the W. by the Arabian Sea. Within these limits lie the Portuguese
settlements of Diu, Damaun and Goa, and the native state of Baroda which
has direct relations with the government of India; while politically
Bombay includes the settlement of Aden. The total area, including Sind
but excluding Aden, is 188,745 sq. m., of which 122,984 sq. m. are under
British and 65,761 under native rule. The total population (1901) is
25,468,209, of which 18,515,587 are resident in British territory and
6,908,648 in native states. The province is divided into four
commissionerships and twenty-six districts. The four divisions are the
northern or Gujarat, the central or Deccan, the southern or Carnatic,
and Sind. The twenty-six districts are: Bombay City, Ahmedabad, Broach,
Kaira, Panch Mahals, Surat, Thana, Ahmednagar, Khandesh (partitioned
into two districts in 1906), Nasik, Poona, Satara, Sholapur, Belgaum,
Bijapur, Dharwar, Kanara, Kolaba, Ratnagiri, Karachi, Hyderabad,
Shikarpur, Thar and Parkar, and Upper Sind Frontier. The native states
comprise in all 353 separate units, which are administered either by
political agents or by the collectors of the districts in which the
smaller states are situated. The chief groups of states are North
Gujarat, comprising Cutch, Kathiawar agency, Palanpur agency, Mahi
Kantha agency, Rewa Kantha agency and Cambay; South Gujarat, comprising
Dharampur, Bansda and Sachin; North Konkan, Nasik and Khandesh,
comprising Khandesh political agency, Surgana and Jawhar; South Konkan
and Dharwar, comprising Janjira, Sawantwari and Savanur; the Deccan
Satara Jagirs, comprising Akalkot, Bhor, Aundh, Phaltan, Jath and
Daphlapur; the southern Mahratta states, comprising Kolhapur and other
states, and Khairpur in Sind. The native states under the supervision of
the government of Bombay are divided, historically and geographically,
into two main groups. The northern or Gujarat group includes the
territories of the gaekwar of Baroda, with the smaller states which form
the administrative divisions of Cutch, Palanpur, Rewa Kantha, and Mahi
Kantha. These territories, with the exception of Cutch, have an
historical connexion, as being the allies or tributaries of the gaekwar
in 1805, when final engagements were included between that prince and
the British government. The southern or Mahratta group includes
Kolhapur, Akalkot, Sawantwari, and the Satara and southern Mahratta
Jagirs, and has an historical bond of union in the friendship they
showed to the British in their final struggle with the power of the
peshwa in 1818. The remaining territories may conveniently be divided
into a small cluster of independent zamin-daris, situated in the wild
and hilly tracts at the northern extremity of the Sahyadri range, and
certain principalities which, from their history or geographical
position, are to some extent isolated from the rest of the presidency.
_Physical Aspects._--The Bombay Presidency consists of a long strip of
land along the Indian Ocean from the south of the Punjab to the north of
Mysore. The coast is rock-bound and difficult of access; and though it
contains several bays forming fairweather ports for vessels engaged in
the coasting trade, Bombay, Karachi-in-Sind, Marmagoa and Karwar alone
have harbours sufficiently land-locked to protect shipping during the
prevalence of the south-west monsoon. The coast-line is regular and
little broken, save by the Gulfs of Cambay and Cutch, between which lies
the peninsula of Kathiawar.
Mountains.
Speaking generally, a range of hills, known as the Western Ghats, runs
down the coast, at places rising in splendid bluffs and precipices from
the water's edge, at others retreating inland, and leaving a flat
fertile strip of 5 to 50 m. between their base and the sea. In the north
of the presidency on the right bank of the Indus, the Hala mountains, a
continuation of the great Suleiman range, separate British India from
the dominions of the khan of Kalat. Leaving Sind, and passing by the
ridges of low sandhills,--the leading feature of the desert east of the
Indus,--and the isolated hills of Cutch and Kathiawar, which form
geologically the western extremity of the Aravalli range, the first
extensive mountain range is that separating Gujarat from the states of
central India. The rugged and mountainous country south of the Tapti
forms the northern extremity of the Sahyadri or Western Ghats. This
great range of hills, sometimes overhanging the ocean, and generally
running parallel to it at a distance nowhere exceeding 50 m., with an
average elevation of about 1800 ft., contains individual peaks rising to
more than double that height. They stretch southwards for upwards of 500
m., with a breadth of 10 to 20 m. The western declivity is abrupt, the
land at the base of the hills being but slightly raised above the level
of the sea. As is usually the case with the trap formation, they descend
to the plains in terraces with abrupt fronts. The landward slope is in
many places very gentle, the crest of the range being sometimes but
slightly raised above the level of the plateau of the Deccan. Their
best-known elevation is Mahabaleshwar, 4500 ft. high, a fine plateau,
37 m. from Poona, covered with rich vegetation, and used by the Bombay
government as its summer retreat and sanitarium. In the neighbourhood of
the Sahyadri hills, particularly towards the northern extremity of the
range, the country is rugged and broken, containing isolated peaks,
masses of rock and spurs, which, running eastward, form watersheds for
the great rivers of the Deccan. The Satpura hills separate the valley of
the Tapti from the valley of the Nerbudda, and the district of Khandesh
from the territories of Indore. The Satmala or Ajanta hills, which are
rather the northern slope of the plateau than a distinct range of hills,
separate Khandesh from the Nizam's Dominions.
Plains.
The more level parts of Bombay consist of five well-demarcated
tracts--Sind, Gujarat, the Konkan, the Deccan, and the Carnatic. Sind,
or the lower valley of the Indus, is very flat, with but scanty
vegetation, and depending for productiveness entirely on irrigation.
Gujarat, except on its northern parts, consists of rich, highly
cultivated alluvial plains, watered by the Tapti and Nerbudda, but not
much subject to inundation. The Konkan lies between the Western Ghats
and the sea. It is a rugged and difficult country, intersected by
creeks, and abounding in isolated peaks and detached ranges of hills.
The plains of the Deccan and Khandesh are watered by large rivers, but
as the rainfall is uncertain, they are generally, during the greater
part of the year, bleak and devoid of vegetation. The Carnatic plain, or
the country south of the river Kistna, consists of extensive tracts of
black or cotton soil in a high state of cultivation.
Rivers.
The chief river of western India is the Indus, which enters the
presidency from the north of Sind and flowing south in a tortuous
course, falls into the Arabian Sea by several mouths, such as the Ghizri
creek, Khudi creek, Pitiani creek, Sisa creek, Hajamro creek, Vatho
creek, Mall creek, Wari creek, Bhitiara creek, Sir creek and Khori
creek. In the dry season the bed varies at different places from 480 to
1600 yds. The flood season begins in March and continues till September,
the average depth of the river rising from 9 to 24 ft., and the velocity
of the current increasing from 3 to 7 m. an hour. Next to the Indus
comes the Nerbudda. Rising in the Central Provinces, and traversing the
dominions of Holkar, the Nerbudda enters the presidency at the
north-western extremity of the Khandesh district, flows eastward, and
after a course of 700 m. from its source, falls into the Gulf of Cambay,
forming near its mouth the alluvial plain of Broach, one of the richest
districts of Bombay. For about 100 m. from the sea the Nerbudda is at
all seasons navigable by small boats, and during the rains by vessels of
from 30 to 50 tons burden. The Tapti enters the presidency a few miles
south of the town of Burhanpur, a station on the Great Indian Peninsula
railway, flows eastward through the district of Khandesh, the native
state of Rewa Kantha and the district of Surat, and falls into the Gulf
of Cambay, a few miles west of the town of Surat. The Tapti drains about
250 m. of country, and is, in a commercial point of view, the most
useful of the Gujarat rivers. Besides these there are many minor
streams. The Banas and the Saraswati take their rise in the Aravalli
hills, and flowing eastward through the native state of Palanpur, fall
into the Runn of Cutch. The Sabarmati and the Mahi rise in the Mahi
Kantha hills, and flowing southwards, drain the districts of Northern
Gujarat, and fall into the sea near the head of the Gulf of Cambay. The
streams which, rising in the Sahyadri range, or Western Ghats, flow
westward into the Arabian Sea, are of little importance. During the
rains they are formidable torrents, but with the return of the fair
weather they dwindle away, and during the hot season, with a few
exceptions, they almost dry up. Clear and rapid as they descend the
hills, on reaching the lowlands of the Konkan they become muddy and
brackish creeks. The Kanarese rivers have a larger body of water and a
more regular flow than the streams of the Konkan. One of them, the
Sharawati, forcing its way through the western ridge of the Ghats,
plunges from the high to the low country by a succession of falls, the
principal of which is 800 ft. in height. The Sahyadri, or Western Ghats,
also throw off to the eastward the two principal rivers of the Madras
Presidency, the Godavari and the Kistna. These rivers collect countless
tributary streams, some of them of considerable size, and drain the
entire plain of the Deccan as they pass eastward towards the Bay of
Bengal.
Lakes.
The Manchar Lake is situated on the right bank of the Indus. During
inundations it attains a length of 20 m., and a breadth of 10, covering
a total area estimated at 180 sq. m. But the most peculiar lacustrine
feature of the presidency is the Runn or Lake of Cutch, which, according
to the season of the year, is a salt marsh, an inland lake, or an arm of
the sea with an area of 8000 sq. m. It forms the western boundary of the
province of Gujarat, and when flooded during the rains unites the Gulfs
of Cutch and Cambay, and converts the territory of Cutch into an island.
_Geology._--South of Gujarat nearly the whole of Bombay is covered by
the horizontal lava flows of the Deccan Trap series, and these flows
spread over the greater part of the Kathiawar peninsula and extend into
Cutch. In Cutch and Kathiawar they are underlaid by Jurassic and
Neocomian beds. The Jurassic beds are marine and contain numerous
Ammonites, but the beds which are referred to the Neocomian include a
series of sandstones and shales with remains of plants. Several of the
plants are identical with forms which occur in the upper portion of the
Gondwana system. Tertiary limestones, sandstones and shales overlie the
Deccan Trap in Cutch, but the greatest development of deposits of this
age is to be met with on the western side of the Indus (see SIND). The
plain of Sind and of eastern Gujarat is covered by alluvium and
wind-blown sand.
_Climate._--Great varieties of climate are met with in the presidency.
In its extreme dryness and heat, combined with the aridity of a sandy
soil, Upper Sind resembles the sultry deserts of Africa. The mean
maximum temperature at Hyderabad, in Lower Sind, during the six hottest
months of the year, is 98 deg. F. in the shade, and the water of the
Indus reaches blood heat; in Upper Sind it is even hotter, and the
thermometer has been known to register 130 deg. in the shade. In Cutch
and in Gujarat the heat, though less, is still very great. The Konkan is
hot and moist, the fall of rain during the monsoon sometimes approaching
300 in. The table-land of the Deccan above the Ghats, on the contrary,
has an agreeable climate except in the hot months, as has also the
southern Mahratta country; and in the hills of Mahabaleshwar, Singarh,
and other detached heights, Europeans may go out at all hours with
impunity. Bombay Island itself, though in general cooled by the sea
breeze, is oppressively hot during May and October. The south-west
monsoon generally sets in about the first week in June, and pours down
volumes of rain along the coast. From June to October travelling is
difficult and unpleasant, except in Sind, where the monsoon rains exert
little influence.
_Forests._--Bombay Presidency possesses two great classes of
forests--those of the hills and those of the alluvial plains. The hill
forests are scattered over a wide area, extending from 23 deg. to 14
deg. N. lat. Most of them lie among the Sahyadri hills or Western Ghats.
The alluvial forests lie in Sind, on or close to the banks of the Indus,
and extend over an area of 550 sq. m. The principal timber trees in the
forests are--teak; blackwood of two varieties (_Dalbergia Sisu_ and
_Dalbergia latifolia_), _Dalbergia ujainensis, Pterocarpus Marsupium,
Terminalia glabra, Acacia arabica, Acacia Catechu, Nauclea cordifolia,
Nauclea parvifolia, Bidelia spinosa, Hardwickia binata, Juga xylocarpa,
Populus euphratica_, and _Tamarindus indica_. The forests contain many
trees which, on account of their fruits, nuts or berries, are valuable,
irrespective of the quality of their timber. Among these are the mango
(_Mangifera indica_); the jack (_Artocarpus integrifolia_), _Zizypkus
Jujuba, Aegle Marmelos, Terminalia Chebula, Calophyllum Inophyllum,
Bassia latifolia and Pongamia glabra_. The jungle tribes collect gum
from several varieties of trees, and in Sind the Forest Department
derives a small revenue from lac. The palms of the presidency consist of
cocoa-nut, date, palmyra and areca catechu.
_Population._--The census of 1901 gave a total of 25,468,209, out of
which the chief religions furnished the following numbers:--
Hindu 19,916,438
Mahommedan 4,567,295
Jain 535,950
Zoroastrian 78,552
Christian 216,118
In Sind Islam has been the predominant religion from the earliest Arab
conquest in the 8th century. In Gujarat the predominant religion is
Hinduism, though petty Mahommedan kingdoms have left their influence in
many parts of the province. The Deccan is the home of the Mahrattas, who
constitute 30% of the population. The Konkan is notable for various
Christian castes, owing their origin to Portuguese rule; while in the
Carnatic, Lingayatism, a Hindu reformation movement of the 12th century,
has been embraced by 45% of the population. The Mahrattas are the
dominating race next to the Europeans and number (1901) 3,650,000,
composed of 1,900,000 Kunbis, 350,000 Konkanis, and 1,400,000 Mahrattas
not otherwise specified.
_Languages._--The chief languages of the presidency are Sindhi in Sind,
Cutchi in Cutch, Gujarati and Hindustani in Gujarat, Mahratti in Thana
and the central division, Gujarati and Mahratti in Khandesh, and
Mahratti and Kanarese in the southern division. There are also Bhil
(120,000) and Gipsy (30,000) dialects.
_Agriculture._--The staple crops are as follows:--Joar (_Sorghum
vulgare_) and bajra (_Holcus spicatus_) are the staple food grains in
the Deccan and Khandesh. Rice is the chief product of the Konkan. Wheat,
generally grown in the northern part of the Presidency, but specially in
Sind and Gujarat, is exported to Europe in large quantities from
Karachi, and on a smaller scale from Bombay. Barley is principally grown
in the northern parts of the presidency. Nachani (_Eleusine coracana_)
and kodra (_Paspalum serobiculatum_), inferior grains grown on the
hill-sides, furnish food to the Kolis, Bhils, Waralis, and other
aboriginal tribes. Of the pulses the most important are gram (_Cicer
arietinum_), tur (_Cajanus indicus_), kulti (_Dolichos biflorus_), and
mug (_Phaseolus Mungo_). Principal oil-seeds: til (_Sesamum orientale_),
mustard, castor-oil, safflower and linseed. Of fibres the most important
are cotton, Deccan hemp (_Hibiscus cannabinus_), and sunn or tag
(_Crotalaria juncea_). Much has been done to improve the cotton of the
presidency. American varieties have been introduced with much advantage
in the Dharwar collectorate and other parts of the southern Mahratta
country. In Khandesh the indigenous plant from which one of the lowest
classes of cotton in the Bombay market takes its name has been almost
entirely superseded by the superior Hinganghat variety. Miscellaneous
crops: sugar-cane, requiring a rich soil and a perennial water-supply,
and only grown in favoured localities, red pepper, potatoes, turmeric
and tobacco.
_Manufactures._--The chief feature of the modern industrial life of
Bombay is the great development in the growth and manufacture of cotton.
Large steam mills have rapidly sprung up in Bombay City, Ahmedabad and
Khandesh. In 1905 there were 432 factories in the presidency, of which
by far the greater number were engaged in the preparation and
manufacture of cotton. The industry is centred in Bombay City and
Island, which contains nearly two-thirds of the mills. During the decade
1891-1901 the mill industry passed through a period of depression due to
widespread plague and famine, but on the whole there has been a marked
expansion of the trade as well as a great improvement in the class of
goods produced. In addition to the mills there are (1901) 178,000
hand-loom weavers in the province, who still have a position of their
own in the manipulation of designs woven into the cloth. Silk goods are
manufactured in Ahmedabad, Surat, Yeola, Nasik, Thana and Bombay, the
material being often decorated with printed or woven designs; but owing
to the competition of European goods most branches of the industry are
declining. The custom of investing savings in gold and silver ornaments
gives employment to many goldsmiths; the metal is usually supplied by
the customer, and the goldsmith charges for his labour. Ahmedabad and
Surat are famous for their carved wood-work. Many of the houses in
Ahmedabad are covered with elaborate wood-carving, and excellent
examples exist in Broach, Baroda, Surat, Nasik and Yeola. Salt is made
in large quantities in the government works at Kharaghoda and Udu in
Ahmedabad, whence it is exported by rail to Gujarat and central India.
There is one brewery at Dapuri near Poona.
_Railways and Irrigation._--The province is well supplied with railways,
all of which, with one exception, concentrate at Bombay City. The
exception is the North-Western line, which enters Sind from the Punjab
and finds its natural terminus at Karachi. The other chief lines are the
Great Indian Peninsula, Indian Midland, Bombay, Baroda & Central India,
Rajputana-Malwa & Southern Mahratta systems. In 1905 the total length of
railway under the Bombay government open for traffic was 7980 m. These
figures do not include the railway system in Sind. With the exception of
Sind, the water-supply of the Bombay Presidency does not lend itself to
the construction of large irrigation works.
_Army._--Under Lord Kitchener's re-arrangement of the Indian army in
1904 the old Bombay command was abolished and its place was taken by the
Western army corps under a lieutenant-general. The army corps was
divided into three divisions under major-generals. The 4th division,
with headquarters at Quetta, comprises the troops in the Quetta and Sind
districts. The 5th division, with headquarters at Mhow, consists of
three brigades, located at Nasirabad, Jubbulpore and Jhansi, and
includes the previous Mhow, Deesa, Nagpur, Nerbudda and Bundelkhand
districts, with the Bombay district north of the Tapti. The 6th
division, with headquarters at Poona, consists of three brigades,
located at Bombay, Ahmednagar and Aden. It comprises the previous Poona
district, Bombay district south of the Tapti, Belgaum district north of
the Tungabhadra, and Dharwar and Aurungabad districts.
_Education._--The university of Bombay, established in 1857, is a body
corporate, consisting of a chancellor, vice-chancellor and fellows. The
governor of Bombay is _ex officio_ chancellor. The education department
is under a director of public instruction, who is responsible for the
administration of the department in accordance with the general
educational policy of the state. The native states have generally
adopted the government system. Baroda and the Kathiawar states employ
their own inspectors. In 1905 the total number of educational
institutions was 10,194 with 593,431 pupils. There are ten art colleges,
of which two are managed by government, three by native states, and five
are under private management. According to the census of 1901, out of a
population of 25-1/2 millions nearly 24 millions were illiterate.
_Administration._--The government of Bombay is administered by a
governor in council consisting of the governor as president and two
ordinary members. The governor is appointed from England; the council is
appointed by the crown, and selected from the Indian civil service.
These are the executive members of government. For making laws there is
a legislative council, consisting of the governor and his executive
council, with certain other persons, not fewer than eight or more than
twenty, at least half of them being non-officials. Each of the members
of the executive council has in his charge one or two departments of the
government; and each department has a secretary, an under-secretary, and
an assistant secretary, with a numerous staff of clerks. The political
administration of the native states is under the superintendence of
British agents placed at the principal native courts; their position
varies in different states according to the relations in which the
principalities stand with the paramount power. The administration of
justice throughout the presidency is conducted by a high court at
Bombay, consisting of a chief justice and seven puisne judges, along
with district and assistant judges throughout the districts of the
presidency. The administration of the districts is carried on by
collectors, assistant collectors, and a varying number of supernumerary
assistants.
_History._--In the earliest times of which any record remains the
greater part of the west coast of India was occupied by Dravidian
tribes, living under their kings in fortified villages, carrying on the
simpler arts of life, and holding a faith in which the propitiation of
spirits and demons played the chief part. There is evidence, however,
that so early as 1000 B.C. an export trade existed to the Red Sea by way
of East Africa, and before 750 B.C. a similar trade had sprung up with
Babylon by way of the Persian Gulf. It was by this latter route that the
traders brought back to India the Brahmi alphabet, the art of
brick-making and the legend of the Flood. Later still the settlement of
Brahmans along the west coast had already Aryanized the country in
religion, and to some extent in language, before the Persian conquest of
the Indus valley at the close of the 6th century B.C. The Persian
dominion did not long survive; and the march of Alexander the Great down
the Indus paved the way for Chandragupta and the Maurya empire. Under
this empire Ujjain was the seat of a viceroy, a prince of the imperial
house, who ruled over Kathiawar, Malwa and Gujarat. On the death of
Asoka in 231 B.C. the empire of the Mauryas broke up, and their heritage
in the west fell to the Andhra dynasty of the Satavahanas of Paithan on
the Godavari, a Dravidian family whose dominion by 200 B.C. stretched
across the peninsula from the deltas of the Godavari and Kistna to Nasik
and the Western Ghats. About A.D. 210, however, their power in the west
seems to have died out, and their place was taken by the foreign dynasty
of the Kshaharatas, the Saka satraps of Surashtra (Kathiawar), who in
120 had mastered Ujjain and Gujarat and had built up a rival kingdom to
the north. Since about A.D. 40 the coast cities had been much enriched
by trade with the Roman empire, which both the Satavahanas and the
satraps did much to encourage; but after the fall of Palmyra (273) and
the extinction of the main Kshaharata dynasty (c. 300) this commerce
fell into decay. The history of the century and a half that follows is
very obscure; short-lived Saka dynasties succeeded one another until,
about 388, the country was conquered by the Guptas of Magadha, who kept
a precarious tenure of it till about 470, when their empire was
destroyed by the White Huns, or Ephthalites (q.v.), who, after
breaking the power of Persia and assailing the Kushan kingdom of Kabul,
poured into India, conquered Sind, and established their dominion as far
south as the Nerbudda.
Under the Hun tyranny, which lasted till the overthrow of the White Huns
on the Oxus by the Turks (c. 565), native dynasties had survived, or new
ones had established themselves. In Kathiawar a chief named Bhatarka,
probably of foreign origin, had established himself at Valabhi (Wala) on
the ruins of the Gupta power (c. 500), and founded a dynasty which
lasted until it was overthrown by Arab invaders from Sind in 770.[1] The
northern Konkan was held by the Mauryas of Puri near Bombay, the
southerly coast by the Kadambas of Vanavasi, while in the southern
Deccan Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas struggled for the mastery. A new
power, too, appeared from the north: the Gurjaras (ancestors, it is
supposed, of the Gujar caste), who had probably entered India with the
White Huns, established their power over Gujarat and (c. 600) overran
north-eastern Kathiawar, made the raja of Valabhi their tributary, and
established a branch at Broach (585-740). During the short-lived empire
of Harsha (d. 647 or 648), Malwa, Gujarat and Kathiawar were subject to
his sway; but the southern boundary of his kingdom was the Nerbudda,
south of which the Chalukyas in the 7th century, having overcome the
Rashtrakutas and other rivals, had absorbed the smaller kingdoms into
their empire. In 710-711 (92 A.H.) the Arabs invaded India, and in 712
conquered and established themselves in Sind; they did not, however,
attempt any serious attack on the Gurjara and Chalukya empires,
confining themselves to more or less serious raids. In 770 they
destroyed the city of Valabhi and, as already mentioned, brought its
dynasty to an end. Meanwhile the Chalukyas, after successfully
struggling with the Pallavas (whose capital was taken by Vikramaditya
II., c. 740), had in their turn succumbed to their ancient rivals the
Rashtrakutas, who succeeded to the bulk of their dominions, including
Gujarat, where they had set up a branch line. For some two centuries (c.
750-950) there was a balance of power between the Gurjaras and
Rashtrakutas, neither kingdom being strong enough to encroach on the
other to any extent. The Rashtrakutas were, moreover, debarred from
large schemes of conquest by dissensions with the branch dynasty which
they had set up in Gujarat and by the constant threat of attack by the
Chalukyas from Mysore. Nevertheless their power and magnificence (they
were notable builders and patrons of literature) greatly impressed the
Arabs, by whom the king was known as Balhara (_i.e. Vallhaba_,
"well-beloved"), a title borrowed from the preceding dynasty. Under them
the Konkan and the coast farther south were governed by chiefs of the
Silahara family, whose rule is mainly notable for the revival of trade
with the Persian Gulf and, doubtless as a result of this, the arrival in
775 on the west coast of a number of Parsee refugees, who found, in a
country where three religions were already equally honoured, the
toleration denied to them in Mussulman Persia. But in the 10th century
the Rashtrakuta power began to break up; in 961 Mularaja Solanki
(Chalukya) conquered the kingdom of Anhilvada (Anhilvara) in Gujarat,
where his dynasty reigned till 1242; and twelve years later the
Chalukyas once more overthrew the Rashtrakutas in the Deccan,
establishing their capital at Kalyani, while a branch line was set up in
southern Gujarat. Farther south the Silaharas, however, continued to
rule the coast, and succeeded in maintaining their independence until
after the final fall of the Chalukyas in 1192. The cause of the downfall
of the dynasty, splendid and enlightened as any of its predecessors, was
the system of governing by means of great feudatories, which also proved
fatal to the Solanki rajas of Anhilvada. From 1143 onward the power of
the latter had been overshadowed by that of the Vaghela chiefs of
Dholka, and during the same period the Deccan had been rapidly lapsing
into absolute anarchy, amid which rival chiefs struggled for the supreme
power. In the end the Yadavas of Devagiri (Daulatabad) prevailed, and in
1192 established a short-lived empire to which the Dholka princes were
ultimately forced to become tributary.
But meanwhile a new power had appeared, which was destined to establish
the Mussulman domination in western and southern India. In 1023 Mahmud
of Ghazni had already invaded Gujarat with a large army, destroyed the
national Hindu idol of Somnath, and carried away an immense booty.
Mahommed Ghori also invaded Gujarat, and left a garrison in its capital.
But it was not till after the Mussulman power was firmly established in
northern India that the Mahommedan sovereigns of Delhi attempted the
conquest of the south. In 1294 the emperor Ala-ud-din first invaded the
Deccan, and in 1297 he conquered Gujarat. In 1312 the Mahommedan arms
were triumphant through the Mahratta country; and seven years later the
whole of Malabar fell a prey to the invaders. In the middle of the 14th
century the weakness of the Delhi sovereigns tempted the governors of
provinces to revolt against their distant master, and to form
independent kingdoms. In this way the Bahmani kingdom was established in
the Deccan, and embraced a part of the Bombay presidency. Ahmednagar and
Gujarat also became the seats of a new kingdom. In 1573 Akbar conquered
Gujarat and reannexed it to the empire; in 1599 he effected the
reconquest of Khandesh, and in 1600 that of Ahmednagar. From this time
the country was never tranquil, and Ahmednagar became the focus of
constant rebellions. During the latter part of the 17th century the
Mahrattas rose into power, and almost every part of the country now
comprising the presidency of Bombay fell under their sway. In 1498 the
Portuguese came first to Calicut, their earliest possession in the
presidency being the island of Anjidiv. After their victory at Diu over
the Egyptian fleet their mastery of the Indian Ocean was undisputed, and
they proceeded to establish themselves on the coast. They captured Goa
in 1510, Malacca in 1511, and Ormuz in 1515. They next took advantage of
the decay of the kingdom of Gujarat to occupy Chaul (1531), Bassein with
its dependencies, including Bombay (1534), Diu (1535) and Daman (1559).
But the inherent vices of their intolerant system undermined their
power, even before their Dutch and English rivals appeared on the scene.
The first English settlement in the Bombay presidency was in 1618, when
the East India Company established a factory at Surat, protected by a
charter obtained from the emperor Jahangir. In 1626 the Dutch and
English made an unsuccessful attempt to gain possession of the island of
Bombay, and in 1653 proposals were suggested for its purchase from the
Portuguese. In 1661 it was ceded to the English crown, as part of the
dower of the infanta Catherine of Portugal on her marriage with Charles
II. So lightly was the acquisition esteemed in England, and so
unsuccessful was the administration of the crown officers, that in 1668
Bombay was transferred to the East India Company for an annual payment
of L10. At the time of the transfer, powers for its defence and for the
administration of justice were also conferred; a European regiment Vas
enrolled; and the fortifications erected proved sufficient to deter the
Dutch from their intended attack in 1673 (see BOMBAY CITY: History). In
1687 Bombay was placed at the head of all the Company's possessions in
India; but in 1753 the government of Bombay became subordinate to that
of Calcutta. The first collision of the English with the Mahratta power
was in 1774 and resulted in 1782 in the treaty of Salbai, by which
Salsette was ceded to the British, while Broach was handed over to
Sindhia. More important were the results of the second Mahratta war,
which ended in 1803. Surat had already been annexed in 1800; the East
India Company now received the districts of Broach, Kaira, &c.
In 1803 the Bombay presidency included only Salsette, the islands of the
harbour (since 1774), Surat and Bankot (since 1756); but between this
date and 1827 the framework of the presidency took its present shape.
The Gujarat districts were taken over by the Bombay government in 1805
and enlarged in 1818; and the first measures for the settlement of
Kathiawar and Mahi Kantha were taken between 1807 and 1820. Baji Rao,
the last of the peshwas, who had attempted to shake off the British
yoke, was defeated, captured and pensioned (1817-1818), and large
portions of his dominions (Poona, Ahmednagar, Nasik, Sholapur, Belgaum,
Kaladgi, Dharwar, &c.) were included in the presidency, the settlement
of which was completed by Mountstuart Elphinstone, governor from 1819 to
1827. His policy was to rule as far as possible on native lines,
avoiding all changes for which the population was not yet ripe; but the
grosser abuses of the old regime were stopped, the country was pacified,
the laws were codified, and courts and schools were established. The
period that followed is notable mainly for the enlargement of the
presidency through the lapse of certain native states, by the addition
of Aden (1839) and Sind (1843), and the lease of the Panch Mahals from
Sindhia (1853). The establishment of an orderly administration, one
outcome of which was a general fall of prices that made the unwonted
regularity of the collection of taxes doubly unwelcome, naturally
excited a certain amount of misgiving and resentment; but on the whole
the population was prosperous and contented, and under Lord Elphinstone
(1853-1860) the presidency passed through the crisis of the Mutiny
without any general rising. Outbreaks among the troops at Karachi,
Ahmedabad and Kolhapur were quickly put down, two regiments being
disbanded, and the rebellions in Gujarat, among the Bhils, and in the
southern Mahratta country were local and isolated. Under Sir Bartle
Frere (1862-1867) agricultural prosperity reached its highest point, as
a result of the American Civil War and the consequent enormous demand
for Indian cotton in Europe. The money thus poured into the country
produced an epidemic of speculation known as the "Share Mania"
(1864-1865), which ended in a commercial crisis and the failure of the
bank of Bombay (1866). But the peasantry gained on the whole more than
they lost, and the trade of Bombay was not permanently injured. Sir
Bartle Frere encouraged the completion of the great trunk lines of
railways, and with the funds obtained by the demolition of the town
walls (1862) he began the magnificent series of public buildings that
now adorn Bombay.
During recent times the entire history of Bombay has been sadly affected
by plague and famine. Bubonic plague, of a fatal and contagious nature,
first broke out in Bombay City in September 1896, and, despite all the
efforts of the government, quickly spread to the surrounding country.
Down to the end of October 1902 over 531,000 deaths had taken place due
to plague. In 1903-1904 there were 426,387 cases with 316,523 deaths,
and 1904-1905 there were 285,897 cases with 212,948 deaths. The great
cities of Bombay, Karachi and Poona suffered most severely. A few
districts in Gujarat almost entirely escaped; but the mortality was very
heavy in Satara, Thana, Surat, Poona, Kolaba, and in the native states
of Cutch, Baroda, Kolhapur and Palanpur. The only sanitary measure that
can be said to have been successful was complete migration, which could
only be adopted in villages and smaller towns. Inoculation was
extensively tried in some cases. Segregation was the one general method
of fighting the disease; but, unfortunately, it was misunderstood by the
people and led to some deplorable outbreaks. In Poona, during 1897, two
European officials were assassinated; the editor of a prominent native
paper was sentenced to imprisonment for sedition; and two leaders of the
Brahman community were placed in confinement. At Bombay, in March 1898,
a riot begun by Mahommedan weavers was not suppressed until several
Europeans had been fatally injured. In Nasik district, in January 1898,
the native chairman of the plague committee was brutally murdered by a
mob. But on the whole the people submitted with characteristic docility
to the sanitary regulations of the government. Bombay, like the Central
Provinces, suffered from famine twice within three years. The failure of
the monsoon of 1896 caused widespread distress throughout the Deccan,
over an area of 46,000 sq. m., with a population of 7 millions. The
largest number of persons on relief was 301,056 in September 1897; and
the total expenditure on famine relief was Rs. 1,28,000,000. The
measures adopted were signally successful, both in saving life and in
mitigating distress. In 1899 the monsoon again failed in Gujarat, where
famine hitherto had been almost unknown; and the winter rains failed in
the Deccan, so that distress gradually spread over almost the entire
presidency. The worst feature was a virulent outbreak of cholera in
Gujarat, especially in the native states. In April 1900 the total number
of persons in receipt of relief was 1,281,159 in British districts,
566,671 in native states, and 71,734 in Baroda. For 1900-1901 the total
expenditure on famine relief was nearly 3 crores (say, L2,000,000
sterling); and a continuance of drought necessitated an estimate of 1
crore in the budget of the following year. The Bombay government
exhausted its balances in 1897, and was subsequently dependent on grants
from the government of India.
See Sir James Campbell, _Gazetteer of Bombay_ (26 vols., 1896); S.M.
Edwardes, _The Rise of Bombay_ (1902); James Douglas, _Bombay and
Western India_ (1893); and Sir William Lee-Warner, _The Presidency of
Bombay_ (Society of Arts, 1904); _The Imperial Gazetteer of India_
(Oxford, 1908); and for the early history, V.A. Smith, _The Early
History of India_ (2nd ed., Oxford, 1908).