History of Bombay under British rule 1947, finally India was declared independent. The last British troops to leave India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through the arcade of the Gateway of India in Bombay on 28 February 1948. The 282-year-long period of the British period in Bombay ended after India's Independence in 1947. History of Bombay under British rule The History of Bombay (earlier known as Bombay) under British rule recounts the development of Mumbai into a modern port and city. On 18 January 1665, King Charles granted Humphrey Cooke the possession of Bombay. However, Salsette, Mazagaon, Parel, Worli, Sion, Dharavi, and
Colonial India in 1858. A few years later, Queen Victoria took the title of Empress of India. India suffered a series of serious crop failures in the late 19th century, leading to widespread famines in which at least 10 million people died. Responding to earlier famines as threats to the stability of colonial rule, the East India Company had already begun to concern itself with famine prevention during the early colonial period. This greatly expanded during the "Raj", in which commissions were set up after each famine to investigate the causes and implement new policies, which took until the early 1900s to