Gerald Aungier

Gerald Aungier (1640 – 30 June 1677), of Anglo-Irish stock, was the 2nd British Governor of Bombay, and is often spoken of as the city's "founding father". As president of the English East India Company's factory in Surat, in 1669 he took control of the small territorial possession which had been ceded from Portugal to Britain at the time of the marriage of King Charles II to Catherine of Braganza, and laid the foundations of its development into a great city. During his tenure, the small town island of Bombay was converted into a promising hub for commerce. Great care was taken to bring the best traders, artisans and other professions to settle in Bombay. He is credited with adopting principles of religious tolerance, empowered local self-government, and a strong focus on commerce supported by the creation of courts and by enforcement through the formation of the local militia of Bhandari youth which evolved into the Bombay Police. By his leadership Aungier drew upon the experience of the English Plantations of Ireland, in which his grandfather, his father and brother were closely involved, carrying the interests of commerce and colonialism far afield in the wider formation of Empire.

He called Bombay "the city which by God's assistance is intended to be built".