It is something of an
oxymoron to imagine that a king, a veritable emperor, would be forced to marry
for money, and yet, that is precisely the fate that befell Charles II of
England. Charles II had not had a very happy life – at least, not by monarchical
standards. His father had been deposed and then beheaded, at the end of an English
Civil War (in 1649) which had led to Oliver Cromwell[1] declaring England to be a
republic. Notwithstanding his love for a good beheading, it is safe to assume that
Oliver did not fancy the royalty.
While parliamentary rule prevailed
in the England, Charles II had to maintain his head on his shoulders by seeking
refuge in various European courts. Upon Oliver Cromwell’s death in 1658, the parliamentary
republic crumbled (ironically, on account of his son succeeding him – not the best
advert for a republic). In 1660, Charles II returned to the England and
monarchy was restored. As a blue- blooded royal, Charles II was unsurprisingly keen
to order a few beheadings himself. Determinedly, he did not let the small matter
of Oliver Cromwell already having died, stand in the way of his plans. Oliver
Cromwell’s corpse was exhumed, hung, beheaded and the severed head placed on a
spike above Westminster Hall. It is hard to imagine that this decorative motif enhanced
the London skyline, but the monarch’s desire probably trumped the architect’s.
Unfortunately, by the time Charles II reclaimed the throne, he was incredibly broke and not unlike the parents of many Indian men, he decided to earn a fortune through marriage. The Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza, was identified as the most suitable combination of bride and bank, and negotiations were initiated to draft a marriage treaty. The Portuguese were at war with the Spanish[2] and conflicting with the Dutch, so alliance with England was an attractive proposition.
The marriage treaty (image below) was
sealed in 1661 with the Portuguese offering: 2 million Portuguese Crowns, the
right of English merchants to trade in Portugal and the Portuguese empire, and the
ports of Tangier and Bombay[3]. In return, the English composed
a poem, an extract of which is below[4]:
“England and Portugal are one in Fame
There is no
difference ‘twixt ‘em but in Name,
Lisbon is London
Tagus Thames, and then,
The Portugues are
become Englishmen
The English,
Portugues, both meet in hearts,
Thus Providence
unites remotest parts”
It would not be an exaggeration
to say that this was not a fair deal. The marriage took place the next year in
England.
 |
| Source: Royal Museums Greenwich |
Unfortunately for the English,
the negotiating party that finalized the marriage treaty had skipped Geography
101 and Contract 101 in college. For
one thing, they believed that Bombay was ‘within a very little distance’ from
Brazil[5]. A cursory glance at a map
of the world created by Nicolaes Visscher in 1658 (image below), shows just how deluded it was for anyone to believe
that Bombay and Brazil were neighboring lands. It is no wonder that Oliver
Cromwell was so exasperated with the royalty and peerage.
 |
| Source: Wikipedia Commons |
More damagingly though,
the English failed to realize that the treaty was not drafted to their
advantage. The clause of the treaty that conferred English sovereignty over
Bombay was as follows: “…the King of Portugal with the assent and advice of his Council gives,
transfers, and by these presents grants and confirms unto the King of Great
Britain, his heirs and successors for ever, the Port and Island of Bombay in
the East Indies…”[6] The use of the singular was critical.
The Bombay of 1660s was worlds
apart from what it is today. For one thing, the construction of the Bandra Worli
Sea Link had only just begun. The Bombay of then was quite literally fragments of
lands with connecting swamps, that would be swallowed by the sea at high tide. The
seven original rocky islands that today comprise South Bombay were: Bombay (the
largest central landmass that today includes the Fort area and Girgaum), Colaba,
Old Woman’s Island (said to be a British corruption of its earlier name, Al Omani’s
Island[7]), Mazgaon, Parel, Mahim,
Worli[8]. Separated from these, was
the larger landmass of Salsette (with Bandra at its southern tip).
_1670.jpg) |
| Source: Wikipedia Commons |
When the English set sail
in 1662 to assume ownership of these lands, they were blithely unaware of any
of this. Much to their chagrin and surprise, they discovered that the
Portuguese were not really in the mood to co-operate. In Europe, the canniness
of the Portuguese had already come to the fore when they substituted the dowry
of promised gold with sacks of sugar and spice[9]. The English fleet met
similar reception when it reached Bombay and was informed by the Portuguese that
the marriage treaty did not include the dependencies of Bombay (the other
islands around the central Bombay island) since it referred to the singular ‘Island
of Bombay’. This was unacceptable to the British; dominion over the solitary island
of Bombay in the middle of (literally) a sea of Portuguese territories was untenable.
However, the terms of the treaty were quite clear. To quote Samuel Pepys[10], the English belatedly realized
that they had been ‘choused’[11].
As negotiations continued, the English fleet, having been rebuffed at Bombay, sought refuge in Anjediva (an island off Goa). Reportedly, nearly 300 lives were lost to the 'deadly climate' while they waited for the deadlock to be resolved. It seems that the Portuguese Viceroy tried his best to cling on to even the single island of Bombay and wrote the following words to his King: “…India will be lost the same day in which the English nation is settled in Bombay.”[12] Prophetic words indeed, but ultimately, to no avail. The Portuguese King decided to honor the treaty and in January, 1665, the English, at last, acquired possession of the Island of Bombay and ineluctably changed the history of our country.
[1] Incidentally, Oliver Cromwell was related
(via a few hops, skips and jumps) to the more famous Cromwell, Thomas – who was
Prime Minister to Henry VIII and the reason why Ms. Hilary Mantel has won two Booker
Awards.
[2] In 1580, Spain had taken advantage
of a succession war and subsumed Portugal to form the Iberian Union. However, by
1640, the Portuguese had become restless and yearned to re-establish their rule.
Eventually, they succeeded in ousting the Spanish from Portugal when
[4]
Aqua Triumphalis (1662), John Tatham (available at: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A63171.0001.001/1:7.2?rgn=div2;view=fulltext)
[5]
Bombay in the Making (1661 – 1726), Phiroze B. M. Malabari
[6] Ibid
[7] The name could be attributed to
the fact that the deep – sea Koli fishermen of the island were known as ‘Al
Omanis’; ‘Oman’ being the Persian name for the Arabian Sea. (The Rise of
Bombay: A Retrospect, Stephen Meredyth Edwardes)
[8] See: City of Gold: The Biography
of Bombay, Gillian Tindall
[10]
Sameul Pepys’ diary is an authoritative source of events that transpired during
this period and is available online. This particular entry (dated May 15, 1663)
can be accessed at: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1663/05/
[11]
Meaning to cheat or trick. This has now been inducted into my list of Ten Words
I Love (which is topped by hullabaloo).
[12]
Bombay in the Making (1661 – 1726), Phiroze B. M. Malabari
