The Churches of Bombay. A fascinating look at a time when each of the seven islands that made up Bombay was land marked by its church.
Bombay came to the Portuguese in 1534 or 1535 as a happy windfall. They had besieged Bassien twice but in the end they did not take it by force. It was through a fortunate alliance with Bahadur Shah, Sultan of Gujarat that in the years 1534-1535 they gained possession not only of Bassien but also Salsette, Bombay, Karanjia and a number of small islands in the North Konkan coast. So fortunate were they that Miguel Vaz, the Vicar General of Goa wrote to King Joao 111 of Portugal: Bassien is one of the best things, indeed the best thing Your Majesty has in that coast of India. Dotted along this enclave was the formidable Bassien fort and a string of fortifications at strategic trading and defence posts such as Mahim, Kelva, Mazagaon, Bandra, Sion, Worli and Tarapur, which guarded the factories or trade deposits. In 1534 the seven small islands that Bombay consisted of had by then partly coalesced. Colaba and Al-Omanis ( Old Womans Island) to the South, still remained separated by narrow channels. But between the islands of Bombay proper and Mazagaon and Parel, the creeks had silted up. A shallow lagoon occupied the centre. The sea flowed in between Mahim and Worli and Mahim and Sion. There was a deep gulf at Breach Candy that required a passage by boat. For administrative purposes the Portuguese divided the island into seven aldeas or villages with two Casbas or chief stations where customs duties were levied. Under the Mahim Casba were Mahim, Parel, Vadala and Sion, while under the Casba of Bombay came Bombay, Mazagaon, and Worli. Smaller hamlets such as Cavel, Colaba, Naigaum, Dongri etc wetre attached to different villages for tax purposes. The whole island was parcelled out on some kind of feudal system to mainly Portuguese in 1545-1548. Bombay Island proper was allotted to the distinguished physician and botanist Garcia da Orta in 1546 and lastly to Dona Ignes de Miranda in whose manor the transfer of possession was made. It was only after Antonio do Portos arrival I Bassien in 1547 that the Franciscans were able to establish themselves in Bombay. Earlier they may have paid periodical visits to the two chapels founded very early at the Manor house on Bombay Island proper and at Mazagaon. Subsequently with the increase in personnel they extended their activities to other parts of Bombay and by 1630 there were four parishes: N.S. da Esperanca on Bombay Island proper; N.S. Gloria, Mazagaon; St. Michaels Upper Mahim, and N.S.da Salvacao, Lower Mahim (Dadar). In 1665 when Bombay was surrendered to the English, its population was 15,600, the vast majority of whom were Catholics. Bombay had become a Christian island. In the first clear reference to a Church in Bombay, dating back to 1570 there is mention of the Church of Our Lady of Expectation or Esperanca. In that year some pirates pillaged the Church and stole the big bell. So by at least 1565 the first Franciscans must have taken up residence there. In 1585 there were two Friars attached to the Church, Gasper de Cruz the Rector, and Father Augustinho and a Pai dos Chrisaos (a Father of the Christians) was appointed to look after the catechumens and the new Christians. By 1630 the parish had 850 adults and 200 children on its rolls. Most of them were people of Bombay, converts the Franciscans had made. This Church was located more or less in the centre of what is now Victoria Terminus according to Fr. E. R. Hulls studies and calculations. That the Church and parish house were of some beauty was the impression they made on Burnell who wrote in 1710: West of Dungarey ( Dongri) over the Bati grounds, is seated a hamlet called Niagona, containing two streets, the principle street being of considerable breadth. At the upper end there is a large spacious convent and Church belonging to the Order of Francis whose inside is extraordinarily beautiful, the alter being adorned with a variety of images. Fronting the Church door are two great crosses, the sight of which and the hour of Trinity (Angelus-bells) call the zealous Roman Catholics to their beads. In 1760 the British for defence purposes ordered that the Church be removed from its original site to a place northwest of the fort, later known as Cross Maidan. This Church was a formidable structure. Its walls were 125cm thick and it faced the sea, which in those days was a stones throw away. In 1804 again for military reasons (Napoleon was rumoured to be preparing to invade India) in spite of the pleas of the Vicar Apostolic and the Roman Catholic community to spare the Church, it was dismantled and erected with the same material in Bhuleshwar. The shoddy structure had to be demolished in 1832 and Esperanca 1V erected on the same spot and in 1886 raised it to the status of a Cathedral when Bombay became a Diocese. In 1941, as practically all the Catholics had migrated elsewhere, Archbishop Roberts sold it. A fleet of Dutch and English attacked Bombay in 1626. 300 English and Dutchmen burned all the thatched houses, mostly fishermens huts. A Dutch officer desecrated a large crucifix in the Church of Esperanca while the Rector of the Church was in Bassein. It was not by force but an outright donation that the English came into possession of Bombay in 1665 and later expelled the Franciscans not only from the Church of N.S. da Esperanca, but also from the whole island as well. Mahim: After Bombay Island proper the most important village during the Portuguese period was Mahim. It was the head of the Cassabe (enclave)comprising Parel, Wadala, Sion and Mahim itself. Two Churches were built by the Franciscans within its limits. The first dedicated to St. Michael, was located in what was called Upper Mahim. The other was N. S. da Salvacao located in Lower Mahim, now called Dadar. There were two chapels, one at Parel and the other at Sion. The one at Parel was located in the estate of the Jesuits, the income of which was meant for support of the missions. The property was purchased with funds donated by a rich Armenian of the court of Agra. The chapel at Sion was built after 1720 when the Franciscans were expelled from Bombay. In 1630 the number of Catholics in the parish was 743 and 292 children. Dadar: The second church in the Cassabe of Mahim was that of Our Lady of Salvation, in what was called Upper Mahim, or now Dadar. It was founded between 1595 and 1610. In 1630 the parish numbered 770 adults and 235 children. The Church the Franciscans built in the days of yore is no longer the same, but occupies the same site. Gloria Mazagaon: Like the Church of N.S.da Eaperanca, another Church that was wiped off the map by the British Government was N. S. Gloria, founded between 1585 and 1595. It was located in what are now the Bombay Port Trust premises. A new plot was secured opposite Byculla Railway station and the new Gloria Church erected. By 1630 there were 2130 Christians of whom 1700 were adults. The village of Mazagaon was entirely made up of Hindus, but through the preaching and industry of our Friars, they were all converted together in a solemn baptism, more than 3000 souls. Most of these converts must have been Kolis. ( Fishermen) . There existed a chapel within the boundaries of the Gloria Parish on Mazagaon hill. Today at the foot of Mazagaon hill are the Baptista Gardens, so called after the great nationalist and co-founder of the Home Rule League. Kaka Joseph Baptistas home was in Matharpacardy not very far away on a hill of memories commanding a view of the creek and beyond the majestic sweep of the Sahyadris. (A range of hills across the harbour). The above is an extract from the Examiner Kaka (as he was affectionately called) Baptista was a brilliant lawyer, was called to The Lincoln Inns in U. K. in the late 1800 century. He was honoured and dishonoured by the British. On an occasion when the Lord withdrew an honour he quipped, The Lord grivet and the Lord taketh, blessed be the Lord. Winifred House, our (Colin Duarte) bungalow (that I visited so often as a kid), adjoined his bungalow. He was a good friend of my Grand Father Theophilus Turner. There is a 137-year-old small Emmanuel Church located in Girgaum. In 1869 the congregation numbered 51, today it has 30-40 parishioners for Sunday service. There is an Armenian Church in Bombay that is attached to the Eastern Rites celebrating Christmas on the 6 Jan. There only Four Armenians in Bombay. The South Indian Church also uses the Church. Colin Duarte