Bombay Castle

For the feature called Bombay Castle in South China Sea, see Bombay Castle (South China Sea).

The Old Barb Tree at Bombay Castle circa 1893

Bombay Castle (also Casa da Orta) is one of the oldest defensive structures built in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). The current castle is a structure built by the British on the site of the Manor House built by a Portuguese nobleman Garcia de Orta.^[1]^[2] Orta had leased the island of Bombay from the King of Portugal between 1554 and 1570.

The castle was built of local blue Kurla stone and red laterite stone from the Konkan region to the south. In 1662, after the islands came under the hands of the English, the East India Company took possession of the castle in 1665. Over the next ten years, they built a defensive structure around the manor. Around the same time, a wall was being built around a new urban centre. Although the wall was demolished in 1865 after the city grew rapidly, fragments still exist in some areas.

Few records of the original Portuguese castle remain and historians are trying to piece together the original location of the manor. Two gates of the manor are located within INS Angre, a naval station in South Mumbai. A sundial thought to date back to the Portuguese era is also present. This sundial does not mark out the 12 hours of a day, but rather marks out certain periods that the people of the time deemed important.

The main building within the castle was the Governor's House, in which Gerald Aungier, the first Governor of Bombay used to stay. The residence was later moved to Parel and then to Malabar Hill over the next two centuries.^[3] The current building houses the offices of the Flag Officer Commander-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command.^[4]

References

↑ Bombay Castle Raj Bhavan, Govt. of Maharashtra, Official website.
↑ Bombay Castle still enchants 21st century Mumbai by Satish Nandgaonkar, Indian Express, March 24, 2003.
↑ "The History of Raj Bhavan, Mumbai". Raj Bhavan Maharashtra. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
↑ Joseph, Anjali (2007-03-27). "Navy steps in to restore historic fort". Times of India. Times Group. p. 4. Retrieved 2008-09-30.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Forts in Mumbai.

Coordinates: 18°55′55″N 72°50′16″E / 18.93194°N 72.83778°E / 18.93194; 72.83778

Forts around Mumbai

Bassein Fort Belapur Fort Bombay Castle Castella de Aguada Dongri Fort Fort George Madh Fort Mahim Fort Mazagon Fort Riwa Fort Sewri Fort Sion Hillock Fort Worli Fort

Forts in India

Vijayanagara	Gingee Fort Bangalore Fort Udayagiri Fort Vellore Fort

Deccan sultanates	Ahmednagar Fort Gawilghur Narnala Panhala Fort

Gujarat Sultanate	Mahim Fort Bhadra Fort Surat Castle

Delhi Sultanate	Aligarh Fort Bandhavgarh Fort Hathras Fort Qila Mubarak Siri Fort Tughlaqabad Salimgarh Fort Daulatabad

Nayak Dynasty	Chitradurga Fort Bekal Fort Dindigul Fort Gingee Fort Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort Chandragiri Fort Hosdurg Fort

Malwa Sultanate	Mandsaur Fort Mandavgadh

Faruqi dynasty	Asirgarh Laling Thalner

Rabari	Achalgarh Amber Fort Bhangarh Fort Chittorgarh Fort Jaigarh Fort Jaisalmer Fort Jalore Fort Junagarh Fort Kankwadi Kumbhalgarh Nahargarh Fort Qila Rai Pithora Taragarh Fort Lal Kot Gwalior Fort Kalinjar Hinglajgarh Mehrangarh Fort Narwar Fort Senapati fortress Sabalgarh Fort Bahu Fort Kangra Fort Ranthambore Fort Derawar fort Umarkot Fort

Maratha Empire	Dongri Fort Harishchandragad Kolaba Fort Lohagad Sudhagad Sinhagad Tikona Panhala Fort Pratapgad Vishalgad Rajgad Sindhudurg Vijaydurg Shivneri Raigad Gajendragarh Gingee Fort Shaniwar Wada Jhansi Fort Hinglajgarh Manora Visapur Fort Sadashivgad

Mughal Empire	Purana Qila Chanderi Fort Agra Fort Allahabad Fort Fatehpur Sikri Red Fort Akola Fort Hari Parbat Ramnagar Fort

Jat	Gohad Fort Lohagarh Fort Nahar Singh Mahal

Mysore Kingdom	Devanahalli Fort Palakkad Fort Bekal Fort Sankagiri Fort

Siddi	Murud-Janjira Belapur Fort Underi

Travancore	Vattakottai Fort Udayagiri Fort East Fort

Portuguese	Bassein Fort Bombay Castle Fort Arnala Castella de Aguada Fort Emmanuel Korlai Fort Madh Fort St Thomas Fort St. Angelo Fort Pallipuram Fort Fort Aguada Fort Anjediva Cranganore Fort Ghodbunder fort Diu Fort Terekhol Fort

British Raj	Anchuthengu Fort Fort St. George Fort William Bombay Fort Riwa Fort Worli Fort Mazagon Fort Sion Hillock Fort Sewri Fort Mahim Fort Tellicherry Fort Fort St. David

Sur Empire	Chunar Fort Rohtasgarh Munger Fort

Ahom Dynasty	Talatal Ghar Kareng Ghar Rang Ghar Garchuk Lachit Garh

Kakatiya Dynasty	Golkonda Warangal Fort

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