. In the 17th century, Bombay was a group of seven islands under the Portuguese control. . In 1661, control of islands passed into British hands after the marriage of Britain’s King Charles II to the Portuguese princess. . The East India Company quickly shifted its base from Surat, its principal western port, to Bombay. . In the 19th century, the city functioned as a port through which large quantities of raw materials such as cotton and opium would pass. . Gradually, it also became an important administrative centre in Western India, and then, by the end of the 19th century, a major industrial centre.