The seven islands of Bombay were 16th-century Portuguese territories lying off the west coast of India, that were handed over to England under this title as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza when she married Charles II in 1661.The isles had earlier been part of indigenous empires like the Silhara dynasty and the Sultan of Gujarat before they were captured by the Portuguese in 1534. After acquiring them as dowry, Charles II rented the islands to the East India Company in 1668 for £10 a year. By 1845, the islands had been merged[1] into one landmass by means of multiple land reclamation projects.