The English Fort of Bombay

1704

Later hand-coloured copper engraving on verge type hand laid paper

Print size: 10.75 x 14 in (27 x 35.5 cm)
Sheet size: 11.5 x 15 in (29.5 x 38.2 cm)

This important engraving is from Awnsham Churchill's A Collection of Voyages and Travels from the first-ever English translation of Baldeaus' work.

"The area of Bombay was controlled by the Portuguese from 1534 until 1661, when it was ceded to the English as part of the marriage dowry Catherine of Braganza. In 1668, the directors of the English East India ordered the construction of a custom house, warehouse and quay around the Portuguese settlement on Bombay Island. In the 1670s, under the governorship of Gerald Aungier, Bombay was developed as a trading centre. In 1716, his plans for a walled town with bastions were implemented by a later governor, Charles Boone. By 1710, the fort included a magazine, quarters for soldiers and two water tanks. This engraving shows two views of the fort, one from the landward side and the other from the harbour." (Source: British Library Board, online)

This work will be shipped unframed

NON-EXPORTABLE