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THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN THE TRANSFER AND RISE OF BOMBAY, C. 1661–1687

Based on hitherto unexplored sources in Lisbon and Goa, this article re-examines the imbroglio relating to the transfer of Bombay from the Portuguese crown to Charles II of England from 1661 to 1665. In doing so, it provides new information on the motivation of the Portuguese viceroy Antonio de Mello de Castro, particularly religious factors, which initially compelled him to refuse to hand over this imperial possession to the English. The article then examines the pivotal importance of the religious policies adopted by the English crown and East India Company, in the years after 1665, in Bombay's rise to commercial prominence by 1687.