#17: Give ₹993.33 and own Bombay!
7 islands, Arabian sea, £10, A Royal Wedding and the East India Company
I have a love-hate relationship with the city of Bombay/Mumbai but two stories I love to tell people about this city are these:
It was given to East India Company for just £10 (₹993.33 in today’s terms) per annum by King Charles II. How did the king get it? He got it in dowry for marrying Portuguese Princesses Catherine who was the sister of the King of Portugal.
Present-day Mumbai city was created by reclaiming land between 7 islands.
(see picture)
Wait, So am I telling you that India’s commercial capital this cheap that it was given away for almost nothing?
Well, yeah! If you take a look at this image above, the real Bombay was just this island marked as number 3. Later, EIC reclaimed the land and created what is the present-day city of Mumbai.
If you'd want to read more about these respective stories, follow these links:
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