Abstract:
Mumbai was a cluster of 7 islands, but subsequent land reclamation has turned all of them into a single land mass.Mumbai being a natural port with a sheltered harbour developed further into its own manufacturing centre, with the coming of the steam ships in the 1830's and the opening of the Suez Canal a generation later.
When the Portuguese first arrived on the scene the main inhabitants of the islands were the simple fisherfolks known as the kolis, whose hamlets developed in coastal localities like Kolbhat or Colaba, PalvaBunder later known as Apollo Bunder, Dongri, Mazgaon, Naigaon and Worli. A shrine of their patron goddess, Mumbadevi, was built to the south of Dongri and gave the main island its name Mumbai. Now, it is the fastest moving, most affluent and most industrialized city of India. It has the country's busiest airport and port, handling 50% of the country's trade.
