Financial capital of India, Mumbai is the city which invokes curiosity in visitors and locals alike.  Besides having vibrant and thrilling present, Mumbai also has an intriguing history. History of Mumbai is long and diverse. Originally Mumbai was the group of seven islands which were occupied at slow pace.  During medieval times, Mumbai used to be the part of kingdom of Great emperor Ashoka. After him, many successors came to rule the land and finally Mumbai came into the hands of Muslim invaders.  Later in 1534, Portuguese captured Mumbai and they built St. Andrew’s Church at Bandra to celebrate their victory.

Portuguese called this land “Bom Baia”   meaning “Good Bay” in Portuguese. Later when a Portuguese princess married King Charles II of England, Mumbai was gifted to as a marriage gift. With British occupation, there came a change in its name too and it became Bombay.  From 1668, onwards, Bombay became important port of South Asia as it was leased to English East India Company for 10 pounds of gold per year. It was a turning point in the Mumbai History. It was the beginning of new of era in Bombay.

To avoid religious prosecution in Iran, many Parsi families came to live in Bombay. However, Kolis were the original inhabitants of Mumbai. Fishermen by profession, Kolis worshipped MumbaDevi, a Hindu Goddess. In respect of culture and traditions of land, the city was later rechristened as Mumbai after MumbaDevi.

Then came the year 1853, which was a great year not only in Mumbai History but in the History of Maharashtra also. It was the year which kick started modernization in the entire region as first train of India ran from Bombay Victoria terminus to Thane. Due to the facility of train transport, Bombay Port became even more important for trade with England. In 1875, Bombay Stock Exchange was established which was one of its kind in India.

When British left India on 15th August, 1947, after ruling for 200 years, the last British official left Indian shores from Bombay. State of Bombay was split into two parts on linguistic basis; Maharashtra and Gujarat.  In 1960, city of Bombay was made the capital of Maharashtra.