INDIAN HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Notes: Marriage of Charles II with the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza was the occasion of handing over of Bombay to Britishers by the Portuguese (as part of dowry ).

Detailed explanation-2: -On 11 May 1661, the marriage treaty of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal, placed Bombay in the possession of the British Empire, as part of Catherine’s dowry to Charles, along with the North African city of Tangier.

Detailed explanation-3: -Charles II (r. 1660–85) married Catherine of Braganza in May 1662. Part of her large dowry was the Portuguese territory of ‘Bom Bahia’ (Bombay) on the western coast of India, modern Mumbai. The king agreed to transfer control of Bombay to the East India Company and it soon became their base.

Detailed explanation-4: -As a marriage treaty the King was given a huge dowry by the Portuguese. As a part of that dowry, Portugal handed over the city of Bombay and Tangiers to Charles II on 3rd July 1661.

Detailed explanation-5: -In 1701 and 1704-5 she acted as regent for her brother, Peter II, and she supported and aided the Treaty of Methuen between Portugal and England in 1703. Catherine died on 31 December 1705 at Bemposta Palace, Lisbon and she was buried at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora.