Surat
Port, 1612–1947
Sūratસુરત
Today Surat, Gujarat, India. Same place, same name.
Key facts
- Historical name
- Surat
- Type
- Port
- Coordinates
- 21.2050° N, 72.8400° E(seed dataset)
- Governance
- Directly administered
- Record confidence
- High confidence
- Identifiers
- Q4629
Directly administered by the Governor-General of India, and therefore part of British India in the statutory sense of the Interpretation Act 1889, s.18.
Location
Pin placed at the coordinates recorded for this place. Colonial-era boundaries are not drawn.
Description
Tapti port and district head-quarters, site of the East India Company's first factory in western India (1612) and its presidency seat before Bombay.
Historical notes
The Company's Surat factory dates from 1612-13; the city hosted the Congress split of 1907. Still a textile and diamond centre.
Administrative history
Administrative parenthood changed over time. Each row states the years it is recorded for, and the source it comes from.
| Years | Relation | Unit | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| from 1901 | Part of | Bombay PresidencyPresidency · Directly administeredSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | High confidencesource |
| from 1901 | Part of | SuratDistrict · Directly administeredSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | High confidencesource |
Recorded names
Every documented spelling and transliteration held for this place. The historical name is canonical; modern names redirect to it.
| Name | Script | Type | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surat | Latin | Historical English | — |
| Navi surat | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Sūrat | Other script | Alternative spelling | — |
| Surat City | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Western Presidency | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| સુરત | Gujarati | Indigenous | — |
Records and references
- Imperial Gazetteer of India
- Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31), Vol. XXIII (23)
- Census of India
- Census of India, 1901, Vol. IX (9): Bombay (Town and Island excepted)
Sources
- Database· identityCC0
Wikidata (Q4629), Wikimedia Foundation
Wikidata, CC0 1.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Gazetteer· administrativeLicence unverified
Digital South Asia Library, University of Chicago — the 1908–31 text is public domain, but DSAL's digital presentation states no licence; link-out only
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Archive· descriptionPublic domain
Internet Archive scan: in.ernet.dli.2015.55938, Internet Archive
Scanned volume of a pre-1929 publication (Imperial Gazetteer of India 1908–31 / Census of India 1901); public domain. Digitisation courtesy of the Internet Archive.
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Encyclopedia· generalCC BY-SA
Wikipedia: Surat, Wikimedia Foundation
Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
Sources tagged “Licence unverified” are linked to rather than reproduced. Scans and images are only displayed inline where the licence is confirmed permissive.