Colaba
Colaba
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Colaba

Colaba ([koˈlaːbaː]; or ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During the Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was known as Kolbhat. After the British took over the island in the late 17th century, it was known as Kolio.[citation needed]

The name Colaba comes from Kolabhat, a word in the language of Kolis, the indigenous inhabitants of the islands, before the arrival of the Portuguese. The area that is now Colaba was originally a region consisting of two islands: Colaba and Little Colaba (or Old Woman's Island). The island of Colaba was one of the Seven Islands of Mumbai ruled by the Portuguese.

The Portuguese had acquired these lands from the Sultanate of Cambay by the Treaty of Vasai (1534). The group of islands was given by Portugal to Charles II of England as a dowry when he married Catherine of Braganza in 1661. The cession of Mumbai and dependencies was strongly resented by Portuguese officials in Goa and Mumbai, who resisted transfer of possession for several years, while the English representatives were confined to the island of Anjediva while negotiations continued. Angered by the back-tracking, Charles II leased these lands to the British East India Company for a nominal annual rent. Gerald Aungier, second Governor (1672), and the president of the English settlement of Surat, took possession of the Colaba and Old Woman's Island on behalf of the Company in 1675.

Portugal continued to hold Little Colaba island for several decades more before ceding it to the English in about 1762, subject to the retention of Portuguese ownership of a house on the island, that is now the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in Middle Colaba. This was leased by the Portuguese Government of Goa to the Bishop of Damao, the head of the Padroado party in Mumbai, as his residence. After an attempt by the Propaganda Fide party to seize the chapel, a court ruled that the house remained the property of the Government of Portugal and evicted the Propaganda Fide party.

In 1743, British Colaba was leased to Richard Broughton at Rs. 200 yearly, and the lease was renewed in 1764. By 1796, Colaba had become a cantonment. Colaba was known for the variety of fishes – the bombil (Bombay duck), rawas, halwa, turtles, crabs, prawns and lobsters.

A Colaba Observatory, a meteorological observatory was established in 1826 in the part that was called Upper Colaba. The Colaba Causeway was completed in 1838, and thus, the remaining two islands were joined to the others. Gradually, Colaba became a commercial center, after the Cotton Exchange was opened at Cotton Green in 1844. The real estate prices in the area went up. The Colaba Causeway was widened in 1861 and 1863.

Colaba became a separate municipality ward in 1872. The Sick Bungalows (now known as INHS Asvini) were built in the 19th century. The construction of the Afghan Church after the First Afghan War of 1838) began in 1847. The Church was consecrated in 1858, with the work on the steeple being concluded in 1865.

The horse-drawn tram-cars were introduced in 1873 by Stearns and Kitteredge, who had their offices on the west side of the Causeway, where the Electric House now stands.

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