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 BASSE IN TO WN. last-named

feet in height, the

being 2160 feet above sea pleasant and equable

known

the coast the climate

inland the heat



Peak or Kamandrug,

as Bassein

On

level.

191

is

great,

and

is

generally

in the rains

much

fever prevails.

—

Bassein ( IVasdi). Chief town of the Sub-division of Bassein in Thana District, Bombay Presidency about 5 miles from the Bassein Road Station on the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway, and

Lat. 19° 20' 20" n., long. 72° 51' 20" e.

28 miles north of Bombay. population (1882) 10,357,

836 town



Jains, 5 site,

of taxation,

Christians, 2623



1926

Jains, 14

‘



Municipal income

(1880-81), ^714; rate per head of the population within municipal limits ;

acres.

is. 4-|d.





6850; Muhammadans, and others,’ 29. Area of

Hindus,

namely,

municipal expenditure in same year,

^ 66

In

^.

1880-81 the

total

value of the sea trade of Bassein, exclusive of Government stores, was _;,Cio2,329, of

which ^28,257 represented the value of imports, and Sub-judge’s court, post-office, and dispensary.


 * ^74,o72 that of exports.

Bassein early attracted the notice of the Portuguese, as the river or strait

separating

rendezvous

the

island

from In

the

mainland was a convenient

1534, Bassein, with

the land in its neighbourhood, was ceded to them by Bahadur Shah, King of Guzerat, For more than two centuries and two years later the fort was built. for

shipping.

Bassein remained in the hands of the Portuguese, and during

time

it

rose to such

prosperity that

the city

came

to

this

be called the

Court of the North, and its nobles were proverbial for their wealth and magnificence. With plentiful supplies of both timber and stone, Bassein was adorned by many noble buildings, including a cathedral, The dwellings of 5 convents, 13 churches, and an asylum for orphans. the Hidalgos, or aristocracy, who alone were allowed to live within the city walls, are described (1675) as stately buildings,

graced with covered balconies and large windows.

two storeys high,

Towards the end of

the 17th century Bassein suffered severely from outbreaks of the plague, so deadly that in 1695 one-third of the population was swept away.

Notwithstanding the decay of Portuguese power in the 17th century, seem to have retained much of its

Bassein, as late as 1720, would prosperity.

In that year, the population

is

returned at 60,499 souls,

and the revenue a few years later (1729) at as much as ^45,706. But the wealth of one city was unable to stay the (Xer. 914,125.) In 1739, Chimnajf Apa, a distinadvance of the Marathi power. guished Maratha general, at the head of a powerful army, aj> peared before Bassein.

I

After a siege of three months, conducted on both sides with the greatest skill and courage, the garrison was forced to capitulate, and the town and District of Bassein passed into the hands of the Peshwa. Under the Marathas, Bassein became the chief place in their territories between the Bankot river and

Daman



but