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The city of Mumbai or Bombay is a
place where tourists fall in love with the history. The present city
was constructed to serve the British mercantile purposes.
The city of Bombay was formerly the
home to Koli Fishermen. There are historical records to prove that
Bombay had trade connections with Romans and Persians.
The arrival of the Portuguese to
Bombay is an important part of the history of Maharashtra.
The seven islands of Bombay were
divided between the Franciscan and Jesuit orders that destroyed
temples, built churches and converted the native population. This
Portuguese era is a very vital part of Maharashtra history.
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Bombay would have a swampy marsh of land if
Governor Gerald Aungier had not shifted his residence to Bombay. He
planned the groundwork for Bombay. The future of Bombay looked very
uncertain for decades.
The massive turn in Maharashtra history
came in 1716 as Governor Boone completed the fort construction,
abolished taxes that were levied on essential items and also custom
duties. The sea walls were also improvised so that the low lying land
would not get flooded.
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Boone was able to prove that security,
strength as well as effective administration made economic success and
also created a city that was to become the center of history in
Maharashtra.
The city was left out of the British
Imperial policy for a long time. However, this picture changed as the
Marathas stormed the fort of Bassein in the year 1739.
This ended the influence of the
Portuguese in the region.
This is a very significant aspect in
Maharashtra history as the purpose of the city shifted from storing
goods to a strategic position.
The construction of Taj Mahal Hotel
was completed in the year 1903.
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There were also other important parts of
history in Maharashtra like 1911 when King George V visited this city,
1913 when the first Indian film was released and the city was one of
the greatest spots for nationalist movements.
After Independence, the city became a
bilingual state capital that comprised of a large chunk of western
India. The year 1955 was a testimony to the riots between the Gujarathi
and Marathi speaking people in the state.
Maharashtra history was also created in the
year 1996 as the name of the city was changed to Mumbai. This has a lot
of reasons.
Some believe it denotes the re-emergence of
the city from its ashes of colonization, while others consider it as a
denotation of the city’s Maratha identity. This city accounts for a lot
of history in Maharashtra and is home to several ‘Mumbaikars’ today.
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