Question

What was the occasion for the Portuguese to hand over Bombay to the British?
$A)$ The Treaty of Madrid concluded in $1630$.
$B)$ The defeat of the Spanish Armada by the British in $1588$.
$C)$ The marriage of Charles II with the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza.
$D)$ Growth of peaceful relations between the English and the Portuguese as a result of Portugal’s independence from the control of Spain.

Answer 1

Hint: Bombay, currently known as Mumbai, Bombaim in Portuguese, is India's financial and commercial centre and one of the world's most populous cities. At the time of the Portuguese arrival, contemporary Bombay was an archipelago of seven islands. Between the third century BCE to $1348$, the islands were ruled by various Hindu kings.

Complete answer:
At the time of the Portuguese invasion, Bombay was administered by Sultan Bahadur Shah of the Gujarat Sultanate and consisted of seven islands: Bombay Island (Bombaim), Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island (also known as Little Colaba). The Salsette group of islands lay east of Bombay, separated by Mahim Bay. Bassein (Baçaim) to the north, Thana to the east, and Chaul to the south were all important strategic settlements near Bombay.

When the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut in $1498$, he was the first to reach India's west coast. They had been strengthening their dominance in north Konkan for several years following their arrival in India. They had a firm footing in Goa, which they had taken from the Sultan of Bijapur in $1510$.

In $1652$, the British Empire's Surat Council pushed the British East India Company to buy Bombay from the Portuguese. In $1654$, the British East India Company drew the attention of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the short-lived Commonwealth, to this request by the Surat Council, emphasising its good harbour and natural seclusion from land-attacks.

In $1659$, the Directors of the Council of Surat reported to King John IV of Portugal that every effort should be made to obtain Bombay. The marriage treaty between Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal, was signed on $11$ May $1661$, and included Bombay as part of Catherine's dowry to Charles.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘C’.

Note: Salsette (including Bandra), Mazagaon, Parel, Worli, Sion, Dharavi, Wadala, and Elephanta island were all still under Portuguese control, just like Thane and Vasai. Cooke was successful in acquiring Mahim, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala for the English between $1665$ and $1666$.