Control of the Physical Space: Progression of Islands After 1764

The Hornby Vellard project was completed in 1784 and connected all seven islands into one using causeways.

This map is eerily similar to the Bellin’s map drawn in 1764. The only discernable differences are that the orientation of the words is changed.

The control over the space can be also viewed overtime as land reclamation projects drastically reshaped the physical space of Bombay (and modern-day Mumbai). The European powers also created changes in the physical land through reclamation projects – building causeways and turning sea into land. By 1838, the island of Bombay was contiguous. The Portuguese before the British also may have attempted to build causeways, meaning there were likely four according to the Guardian article [2]. However, Bellin’s map suggests differently.

Originally, the land before any of the reclamation projects was “dangerous and unhealthy” [1]. The islands were separated by swamps – perhaps the dotted areas near some of the islands represent this type of geography. After the East Indian Company obtained control, there were monetary motivations for changing the landscape. The Company knew more land would increase revenue and reclamation projects had been undertaken before in Europe (in Holland a century earlier). Decades later, William Vellard, the governor of Bombay, started the Hornby Vellard Project, a project to build a causeway uniting all seven islands into one with a deep natural harbor, which was completed in 1784, 20 years after the map was created [2]. The projects were ambitious requiring engineering experience and skill and financial resources and management.

[1] Bombay: History of a City. (2006).

[2] Perur, Srinath. “Stories of cities #11: the reclamation of Mumbai – from the sea, and its people?” The Guardian. Cities: The story of cities. March 30, 2016.