Bombay

(bom-bā'.) [Po. buonbahia, a good harbor.] One of the three presidencies of British India, mostly between Lat. 14° 18' and 28° 30′ N., Lon. 67° and 76° 25' E.; area, 142,043 sq. m. The W. Ghauts separate theW. or maritime from the E. districts, which latter form a part of the great table-land of the Deccan. A great part of the country being under the influence of the sea-breezes, the climate for the most part is le hot than in the other presidencies, but the N. districts are the most unhealthy in India. Rice and cotton are the pp. articles of cultivation. B. was the earliest British po e ion in the E. It was ceded by the Moguls to the Portuguese in 1530, and came into the po e ion of the English in 1662, as a part of the dowry of Catharine of Braganza, wife of Charles II. But by far the largest part of the territory was acquired between 1803 and 1818. rop. 13,039,106.- The city Fig. 93.- A PARSEE. and seaport of BomBAY, the C. of the above presidency, is situated on a narrow neck of land at the S. extremity of the island of same name, Lat. 18° 56′ N., Lon. 72° 53′ E. It consists of the New town, inhabited by the Hindoo andMohammedannative pop., and the Old town, abt. 1m. to the S., in which the European residents, and most of the Parsee merchants, dwell. B. has a pleasant appearance from the sea; but as a city it is greatly inferior to Calcutta or Madras. It is the principal commercial emporium in the East, and its harbor is one of the best in India. The Parsees (Fig. 93), the remnant of the ancient fire-worshippers, form an important cla of the pop., not only by their numbers, but also by their intellectual capacities, habits of busine , and great [s. 103] IMG:p0132_0.jpg:Gravür IMG:p0132_1.jpg:Gravür