SURAT

SURAT is a city in the state of Gujarat in India. It headquarters the district of the same name. It is located on the Tapti, 14 m. from its entrance into the Gulf of Bombay; stretches along the S. bank of the river, presenting no architectural features of interest save some Mohammedan, Parsee, and Hindu temples, and an old castle or fortress. Its chief exports are cotton and grain

During British Raj in India, it was part of Bombay Presidency. The English erected here their first factory on the Indian continent in 1612, and with Portuguese and Dutch traders added, it became one of the principal commercial centres of India; in the 18th century the removal of the English East India Company to Bombay drew off a considerable portion of the trade of Surat, which it has never recovered.