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
Company rule in India to the Dogra Dynasty of Jammu, and thereby became a princely state. In 1854 Berar was annexed, and the state of Oudh two years later. The second form of asserting power involved treaties in which Indian rulers acknowledged the Company's hegemony in return for limited internal autonomy. Since the Company operated under financial constraints, it had to set up "political" underpinnings for its rule. The most important such support came from the "subsidiary alliances" with Indian princes during the first 75 years of Company rule. In the early 19th century, the territories of these princes accounted for two-thirds of India.