The Transfer of Bombay: A Landmark Moment in Colonial History
British East India Company Receives Royal Charter for Governance
This day marks the issuance of the British Royal Charter, which gave the British East India Company ownership of the port and island of Bombay from King Charles II. The charter stipulated that the property would "be held in free and common soccage, as of the Manor of East Greenwich," with an annual rent payment of 10 pounds due on September 30. The charter was carried by a ship that arrived off the coast of Surat on September 1, 1668.
About the same time Job Charnock arrived in Bengal to work for the company, the city of Bombay started to take shape. Sir George Oxenden served as Bombay's first governor while it was governed by the company. Bombay would soon have a mint and a printing press, and the shoreline would be developed for trade.
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