During the initial days, before its formal discovery, Mumbai was a seven island cluster of the Koli islands, as Gujarat’s part. It was basically a land of fishermen, and until the Sultan Muhamed Begada’s conquest, the place remained primarily occupied by Hindus. The first time Mumbai truly got noticed was when the famous Portuguese explorer discovered the way to reach Mumbai via sea, for the first time in its history.

While discovering the sea route was one thing, capturing the land was quite another for the Portuguese. They met with strong resistance, and it was not until 1534 that the Sultan finally surrendered. Unfortunately, according to the Portuguese, who were now the rulers of the place, there was not much that could be done with the city, and they finally gave it up as a present to the Charles11 of great Britain, as he got married to the Braganza’s princess Catherine, ( whose brother was the king of Portugal).

It was only a matter of few years when Charles took over the leftover islands and leased it to the East India Company, (a British company that had based itself in the city of Surat in Gujarat). The strategic location of Mumbai proved to be quite a blessing, and it soon turned into a trading hot-spot. As reclamation began assisted with rapid development, the governor began to invite businessmen from all over the world, to come and join them. The man on the governor chair during this period, Gerald Aungier has been titled as the "Father of Mumbai" sine it was during this period and because of his persisting efforts that that Mumbai soon turned into one of the leading commercial centers.

The first ones to arrive were the Zorastrian Parsis, who even built a tower of silence (year 1675) and got many of the local streets named after their most successful businessmen, philanthropists and industrialists. Among them the most famous were the Tata’s who built Air India and the TajMahal hotel. This was followed by Goan Catholic, Hindu and Muslim settlements. However, the turning point was when the East India Company shifted their presidency and finally the headquarters here in 1687 and 1708 respectively.  

With rapid development of population, the 18th century saw Mumbai finally introducing public services such as hospital’s water supply, better transportation options, etc. F. W. Steven’s famous gothic-style Victoria Terminus Railway Station came up in 1887. 

Following this governor Bartle Frere started taking even greater enthusiasm in building Mumbai, who developed many more gothic structures and buildings during 1860-1900, including banks, offices, etc. Finally the seven islands were joined in 1862. This provoked development of the Peninsular Railways, for improving transport and communications. 

At the same time the textile industry was developing at a fast pace, with the civil war in America giving it a major boost, thrusting it up at the major activity in Mumbai. The Suez Canal opening in 1869 accelerated international trade 

It was little surprise therefore, when after independence Mumbai became the capital of the Bombay state (soon to be dissolved to form Maharashtra). The former name (Bombay), was also changed to what we know today as ‘Mumbai’ in the year 1995, to remind us of the goddess "Mumbadevi"  of the earliest inhabitants of the place, the  fisher folks of koli.