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
