Editing Colaba (section)

==History==
[[File:Sevenislandsofbombay.png|left|upright=0.6|thumb|[[Seven Islands of Bombay|Seven Islands of Mumbai]], before reclamation]]
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/printthread.php/Cat/0/Board/modEarthTourism/main/1067868/type/thread|title=Google Groups|website=bbs.keyhole.com|access-date=18 August 2017}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 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 Bombay|Seven Islands of Mumbai]] ruled by the [[Portuguese India|Portuguese]].

The Portuguese had acquired these lands from the [[Cambay State|Sultanate of Cambay]] by the [[Treaty of Bassein (1534)|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.

[[File:Bombay 1909.jpg|left|upright=0.6|thumb|[[South Mumbai|Old Mumbai]], 1909]][[File:BombayReclamation 1911.jpg|left|140px|thumb|Ambitious reclamation plans from 1912 have been only partly realised.]]
[[File:Colaba Chapel, Bombay (Clutterbuck, p. 173) - Copy.jpg|thumb|upright|Colaba Chapel, Mumbai (Clutterbuck, 1889, p. 173)<ref name=Clutterbuck>{{cite journal|last1=Clutterbuck|first1=G W|title=A Sketch of the Mission in Bombay|journal=Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine|date=1889|page=[https://archive.org/details/wesleyanmethodi00unkngoog/page/n558 199]|url=https://archive.org/details/wesleyanmethodi00unkngoog|access-date=3 November 2015}}</ref>]]

In 1743, British Colaba was leased to [[Richard Broughton (Colaba)|Richard Broughton]] at Rs. 200 yearly, and the lease was renewed in 1764.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/physical/geo/colaba.html|title=Colaba, Cuffe Parade and Navy Nagar: Mumbai/Bombay pages|first=Sourendu|last=Gupta|date=28 October 1999|website=theory.tifr.res.in|access-date=18 August 2017}}</ref> By 1796, Colaba had become a cantonment. Colaba was known for the variety of fishes &ndash; the [[bombil]] ([[Bombay duck]]), [[Eleutheronema tetradactylum|rawas]], [[Black pomfret|halwa]], turtles, crabs, prawns and lobsters.

A [[Colaba Observatory]], a [[Meteorology|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.

[[File:Colonial-era building opposite the Regal Cinema, Mumbai.jpg|thumb| One of the Colonial-era buildings opposite [[Regal Cinema]]]]
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 (architecture)|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.

The Prong's lighthouse was constructed at the southern tip of the island in 1875. The eponymous [[Sassoon Docks]] were built by [[David Solomon Sassoon]] on reclaimed land in the same year. The BB&CI Railways established the [[Colaba railway station]] or [[Terminal station|terminus]], the site of which is now occupied by the [[Badhwar Park]] layout. The development of Colaba pushed the native [[kolis]] to the edges of the island.

The [[Bombay City Improvement Trust|Mumbai City Improvement Trust]] reclaimed around {{convert|90000|yd2|m2}} on the western shore of Colaba. Eminent citizens of Mumbai, such as Sir [[Pherozeshah Mehta]], opposed the work, fearing that the reclamation would depress prices of land. However, the reclamation work continued and was completed in 1905. There was no fall in the land prices. In 1906, a seafront road with a raised sea-side promenade was completed, and named as "[[Cuffe Parade]]" after T. W. Cuffe of the Trust.