Portuguese Cession of Bombay

Timeline

1. 1601–1605Bombay (Bassein district) · West CoastIn the early 1600s, Portugal still controlled the Bombay Islands through outposts such as Bassein (Vasai), levying customs duties and monopolizing the spice and cloth trade, but its naval superiority was already being eroded by Ottoman and European rivals.
2. 1608–1610Surat and the waters around Bombay · IndiaBetween 1608 and 1610, the British East India Company established a trading factory at Surat and expanded its West Coast trade, with friction against Portuguese patrols increasing and Portuguese control over the waters around Bombay noticeably declining.
3. 1610the seven islands of Bombay · IndiaBy around 1610, Portugal's de facto control over Bombay could no longer stem British penetration; decades later, the 1661 Anglo-Portuguese marriage treaty formally ceded the seven islands to England, with the conflicts and diplomatic compromises of the 1600s forming the prelude to this historic transfer.