History of Karachi

to the area, the British East India Company captured the town when HMS Wellesley anchored off Manora island on 1 February 1839. Two days later, the little fort surrendered. The town was later annexed to British India when Sindh was annexed by Major-General Charles James Napier at the Battle of Miani on 17 February 1843.

On his departure in 1847, Napier is said to have remarked, "Would that I could come again to see you in your grandeur!" Karachi was made the capital of Sindh in the 1840s. On Napier's departure, it was added along with the rest of Sindh to the Bombay Presidency, a move that caused resentment among the native Sindhis. The British realized the importance of the city as a military cantonment and as a port for exporting the produce of the Indus River basin, and developed its harbor for shipping. The foundations of a city municipal government were laid down and infrastructure development was undertaken. New businesses opened up and the population of the town began rising.

The arrival of the troops of the Kumpany Bahadur in 1839 spawned the foundation of the new section, the military cantonment. The cantonment formed the basis of the 'white' town, where the native population had restricted access. The 'white' town was modeled after English industrial parent-cities, where work and residential spaces were separated, as were residential from recreational places. Karachi was divided into two major poles. The 'native' town in the northwest, now enlarged to accommodate the burgeoning Indian mercantile population. When the Indian Rebellion of 1857 broke out in South Asia, the 21st Native Infantry, then stationed in Karachi, declared allegiance to rebels and joining their numbers on 10 September 1857. Nevertheless, the British were able to quickly reassert control over Karachi and defeat the uprising. Officer William 'Waf' Frost was considered to be instrumental in