l fires, Abul Fazl should take care that
the sacred fire was never allowed to go out either by night or day,
for that it was one of the signs of god and one light from among the
many lights of his creation. Akbar, according to Portuguese accounts,
was invested with the sacred shirt and girdle, and in return granted
the Gujarat priest Meherji Rana an estate near Naosari, where his
descendants have ever since been chief priests. [362]

10. Their wealth and prosperity.

The Parsis had begun to settle in Bombay under the Portuguese
(A.D. 1530-1666). One of them, Dorabji Nanabhai, held a high position
in the island before its transfer to the British in the latter year,
and before the end of the seventeenth century several more families,
of whom the Modis, Pandes, Banajis, Dadiseths and Vadias were among
the earliest, settled in the island. To the Gujarat Parsis more
than to any class of native merchants was due the development of the
trade of Bombay, especially with China. Though many Parsis came to
Bombay, almost all continued to consider Surat or Naosari their home;
and after its transfer to the British in 1759 the Surat Parsis rose
greatly in wealth and position. They became the chief merchants of
Surat, and their leading men were the English, Portuguese and Dutch
brokers. Shortly afterwards, owing to the great development of the
opium and cotton trade with China, the Parsis made large profits in
commerce both at Surat and Bombay. After the great fire at Surat in
1857 Bombay became the headquarters of the Parsis, and since then has
had as permanent settlers the largest section of the community. The
bulk of the native foreign trade fell into their hands, and the very
great liberality of some of the leading Parsis has made their name
honourable. They secured a large share of the wealth that was poured
into western India by the American War and the making of railways,
and have played a leading part in starting and developing the great
factory industry of Bombay. Many of the largest and best managed mills
belong to Parsis, and numbers of them find highly paid employment as
mechanical engineers, and weaving, carding and spinning masters. Broach
ranks next to Bombay in the prosperity of its Parsis; they deal
extensively in cotton, timber, fuel and the manufacture of spirit
from the flowers of the mahua tree. [363] From the Bombay Presidency
the Parsis have spread to other parts of India, following the same
avocations; t