Cowasji Dinshaw Adenwalla
Encyclopedia
Cowasji Shavaksha Dinshaw (Adenwalla) (1827–1900) was a Parsi trader who emigrated from Surat
/Bombay
to Aden
around 1855, and went on to develop that town into a thriving port city. The family name Adenwalla ("from Aden") was a later addition, and is the name by which he is today remembered.
Cowasji travelled extensively and set up trading posts in other British possessions/protectorates, most notably on the east-African coast in Zanzibar
and Mombasa
. He was however best known for his business acumen, and the foresight that Aden would become an important port within the framework of the (modern-day) Suez Canal
.
He had an entire floating dock shipped from Britain in 1895 and was known locally as "Dinshaw Pontoon".
Although of the Zoroastrian faith (and founder of the Fire Temple
in Aden), he also financed the construction of a mosque
for the local Muslim population.
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
/Bombay
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
to Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
around 1855, and went on to develop that town into a thriving port city. The family name Adenwalla ("from Aden") was a later addition, and is the name by which he is today remembered.
Cowasji travelled extensively and set up trading posts in other British possessions/protectorates, most notably on the east-African coast in Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
and Mombasa
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
. He was however best known for his business acumen, and the foresight that Aden would become an important port within the framework of the (modern-day) Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
.
He had an entire floating dock shipped from Britain in 1895 and was known locally as "Dinshaw Pontoon".
Although of the Zoroastrian faith (and founder of the Fire Temple
Fire temple
A fire temple in Zoroastrianism is the place of worship for Zoroastrians. Zoroastrians revere fire in any form. In the Zoroastrian religion, fire , together with clean water , are agents of ritual purity...
in Aden), he also financed the construction of a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
for the local Muslim population.