what were the walled forts of Fort William in Bengal, Fort St George in Madras and Bombay castle before they were forts?
The company, which benefited from the imperial patronage, soon expanded its commercial trading operations, eclipsing the Portuguese Estado da Índia, which had established bases in Goa, Chittagong, and Bombay, which Portugal later ceded to England as part of the dowry of Catherine de Braganza.