Dorabji Nanabhoy


Dorabji Nanabhoy was reputedly the first Parsi to arrive on the islands where the modern Indian city of Mumbai is located in 1640. This was soon after the Portuguese established the town of Bombay. Darabji Nanabhoy worked as a manager for the Portuguese. In 1668, when Bombay was given to the British, Dorabji became the tax collector and his family held this position till 1834.
“He was employed by the authorities in transacting miscellaneous business with the natives of the place. When the island was ceded to England, he was appointed to a similar office; and as the new rulers were ignorant of the place, manners, language and customs of the people he was frequently consulted by them on the affairs of state.” - ‘The Parsees: Their History, Manners, Customs, and Religion’, a significant work by Dosabhai Framji Karaka mentions the story of the Dorabji family.