Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/298

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BOMBAY. 262 BOMBAY ISLAND, British portion of the province, inchuling Aden (attached to the Province of Bombay), was 18,873,342 in 1891, and 18,584,4'Jti in 1901, while the population of the native States de- creased during the same period from 8.059,298 to li.S91.U91. Includinj; the native States, the poi)ulation of the province is composed of the following elements: Hindu.'*, 78 per cent.; JMo- haniniedans, IG per cent.; Jains, about 2 per cent.; the remainder comprising over 300.000 Animists, about 77.000 Parsees, over 170,000 Christians, and 13,000 .Tews. Consult: Drew, Jlambiiy and Its Feudatories (Bombay. 1892) ; Douglas, (Uiinpses of Old Bom- bay and' M'estcrn India (London, 1900). BOMBAY (Hind. Bamhai, IMalay BamM, after the goddess BamW Mumba. through popu- lar etymology turned by the Portuguese into Br.rn hahia : bon, Lat. bonus, good, fair + bahia, haven, port). The capital of the province of the same name, British India, lies in latitude 18" o(i' N., longitude 72° 54' E.. on the former island of Bombay, now a peninsula artificially connected with Trombay, Salsette, and other adjacent islands, and with the mainland (Jlap: India, B 5). Bombay Island. llVo miles long, from 3 to 4 miles broad, has an estimated area of 22 square miles, and with the city forms an administrative district. The city occupies the entire l)readth of the soutli end of the island, 'and has two water-fronts, one on the outer Back Bay and the other on the splendid inner land-locked harbor, which has an area available for shipping purposes 14 miles long by 5 miles broad. It is defended by batteries equipped with modern armament, and by a small navy comprising torpedo-boats, torpedo-catchers, and two conspicuous monitors. IJombay vies with Calcutta as the commercial capital of India, sur- passing the former as a centre of distribution and having double the coasting trade. It is the terminus and departing point of various Kuro- pe:in steanisliip and mail lines, and of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, and of the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway. It pos- sesses one of the linest railway depots in the world, extensive docks, basins, graving-docks, and shipbuilding slips: the Government dock- yard covers about 200 acres. The principal por- tion of the city, with long, wide streets, tra- versed by street railways and lined by fine com- mercial establishments of every description, pre- sents a thoroughly European aspect. The ob- jects most worthy of note are the town hall, the library of the Asiatic Society, the mint, cathedral and various ehurclies, the University Librarj', University Hall, custimi-house, post-otlice, pub- lic-works odicc. missionary houses, the Elphin- stone Institution, the (irant ^Medical College, Bassoon's High School, the .Tamsetjee Hospital, and the Janisetjee Obstetric Hospital. The city possesses a chamber of commerce, two English theatres and a native theatre, and besides those especially noted, numerous other educational, be- nevolent" and charitable institutions. Since 1892 the city has owned a mod<'rn system of water- works, supplied from Lake Tansa, 05 miles north. It is lighted by gas and electricity, and owns and maintains abattoirs, markets, public swimming and other baths, gardens, with weekly band concerts, and the esplanade, a favorite prom- enade. The streets of the native quarter are narrow and winding, but marked by cleanli- ness ; and the well-stocked "bazars, temples, and curicmsly painted houses, thronged by polyglot Oriental crowds, present a most picturesque ap- pearance. Besides several native news])a])ers. there are three published in the English language. Always favorably situated for foreign trade, Bombay profited largely by the opening of the Suez Canal, as saving more distance in pro- portion than any other emporium in the East, and also as being on the direct line between Madras and Calcutta on the one side and .Aden on the other. When the Civil War in the Unit- ed States caused a sudden cessation of American supplies, cotton began to be exported from Bom- bay in vast quantities, and although the re- opening of the Southern ports soon cheeked the extraordinary activity of trade, Bombay was permanently benefited by the stimulus its com- merce received. The chief articles of export arc cotton, shawls, oi)ium, colVee, jiepper, ivory, and gums. The local industries include the manufacture of yarn, cotton cloth, copper and brass utensils, wood-carving, lacquer-work, pot- tery, gold and silver thread, leather, and dye- ing, llore than seventy steam mills are in opera- tion. The chief imports are piece goods, thread, yarn, metals, wine, beer. tea. and silk. Bombay is the seat of various foreign representatives, including a United States consul. The average temperature is 79.2° F., and the average rain- fall 70.30 inches. The population, which is ex- ceedingly heterogeneous and dense, amounted in 1S91 to' 821,800; in 1901 to 770.800. The bu- bonic plague, in the fall of 1890, proved most destructive among the poorer classes. The Hin- dus form the largest section of the population, the Parsees number about 50.000. and the rest are Mussulmans, native Christians, Europeans, Indo-Portugucse, Jews, etc. Amid these various classes, the Parsees, or Persians, descendants of fiie-worsliipcrs- driven from their homes by Mo- hammedan bigotry. r:ink next to the English in respectability and inlluence. The late Sir Jani- setjee Jeejeebhoy and Sir Dinshaw Manoekjee Petit stand forth as models of merchant princes in enterprise and integrity, in nniiiificence and patriotism; and ever since the ship-building business was established in 1735, the Lowji fam- ily, assisted chiefly by operatives of the same race, has been at the very head of this, one of the most imjiortanl interests of the city — not merely the Indian Xavy, but several Imperial men-of- war, both frigates and line-of-battle ships, having been almost exclusively the work of Parsees. Rudyard Kipling is numbered among the celeb- rities born in Bombay. The Portuguese visited B<mibay in 1509, about a year before the capture of Goa, and by 1530 it had passed into their possession. In 1001 the island was ceded to Charles II. of England, as fiart of the dowry of his bride, the Infanta Catharine. He granted it to the East India Company in 1685, who then transferred their presidency from Surat to Bombay. Consult: Windham, "The Town iind Isles of Bombay, Past ■ind Present," in Vol. XLIX. of Socieli/ of Arts Journal (London, 1901): Eastwick, Handbook to Bombay (London, 1881); Hunter, Bombay, h^S.'i-OO (London. 1890). BOMBAY DUCK. See Bummaloti. BOMBAY ISLAND. See BoMlUY, city.