The city of Bombay originally consisted of seven islands called Colaba, Mazagaon, Old Woman's Island, Wadala, Mahim, Parel, and Matunga-Sion. This group of islands has been joined together by a series of reclamations. In 1534 the Portuguese took Bombay by force of arms from the Mohammedans. This led to the establishment of numerous churches which were constructed in areas where the majority of people were Roman Catholics. Only one church with Portuguese-style facade still remains i.e. St. Andrew's church at Bandra. They named their new possession as "Bom Baia" which in Portuguese means "Good Bay". 

Later the islands were given to the English King Charles II in dowry on his marriage to Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza in 1662. In the year 1668 the islands were acquired by the English East India Company on lease from the crown for an annual sum of 10 pounds in gold. The British corrupted the Portuguese name "Bom Baia" to "Bombay". The Zoroastrian Towers of Silence on Malabar hill were built by Seth Modi Hirji Vachha in 1672. Sir Robert Grant governed Bombay from 1835 to 1838 and was responsible for the construction of a number of roads between Bombay and the hinterland. The Thana and Colaba Causeways were built during his tenure as well as the Grant Medical College. 

On Saturday 16th of April, 1853 a 21-mile long railway line, the first in India, between Bombay's Victoria Terminus and Thana was opened. The Great Indian Peninsular and the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway were started in 1860 and a regular service of steamers on the west coast was commenced in 1869. In 1858, following the First War of Independence of 1857, the East India Company was accused of mismanagement and the islands

reverted to the British Crown. The later half of the 19th century was also to see a feverish construction of buildings in Bombay, many of which such as, the Victoria Terminus, the General Post Office, Municipal Corporation, the Prince of Wales Museum, Rajabai Tower and Bombay University, Elphinstone College and the Cawasji Jehangir Hall, the Crawford Market, the Old Secretariat (Old Customs House) and the Public Works Department (PWD) Building, still stand today as major landmarks. The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of king George V and Queen Mary for the Darbar at Delhi in 1911. 

On Saturday 16th of April, 1853 a 21-mile long railway line, the first in India, between Bombay's Victoria Terminus and Thana was opened. The Great Indian Peninsular and the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway were started in 1860 and a regular service of steamers on the west coast was commenced in 1869. In 1858, following the First War of Independence of 1857, the East India Company was accused of mismanagement and the islands reverted to the British Crown. The later half of the 19th century was also to see a feverish construction of buildings in Bombay, many of which such as, the Victoria Terminus, the General Post Office, Municipal Corporation, the Prince of Wales Museum, Rajabai Tower and Bombay University, Elphinstone College and the Cawasji Jehangir Hall, the Crawford Market, the Old Secretariat (Old Customs House) and the Public Works Department (PWD) Building, still stand today as major landmarks. The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of king George V and Queen Mary for the Darbar at Delhi in 1911. 

Lord Sandhurst governed Bombay between 1895 and 1900 and it was during his tenure that the Act was passed which constituted the City Improvement Trust which, among other things, built the Sandhurst Road in 1910 and handed it over to the municipality. The Sandhurst Road railway station (upper level) was built in 1921. The Bombay Gymkhana was formed in 1875 exclusively for Europeans. Other communities followed this example, and various Parsi, Muslim, and Hindu gymkhanas were started nearby with fierce sports competitions among them being organized on a communal basis. 

The historic session of the All India Congress Committee began on the 7th of August 1942. Its venue was the Gowalia Tank Maidan, where the congress was born in 1885. It was at this session that the "Quit India" call was given by Mahatma Gandhi and other Indian National Congress leaders. The last British troops on Indian soil left for England through the archway of the Gateway of India on that day. 

After independence the Congress party led by Jawaharlal Nehru at the Center was swept to power in most of the Indian States, which were constituted on the basis of language spoken by the majority of its people. The Bombay State included the city as its seat of government. In 1960 the state of Bombay was split into Maharashtra and Gujarat states again on linguistic basis, the former retaining Bombay city as its capital. 

Today Bombay (Mumbai) is the financial and business capital of India.