The first British settlement in the Bombay Presidency was in 1618 , when the East India Company established a factory at Surat . The British were protected by a charter from the Mughal Emperor Jahangir . The first English settlement in the Presidency known as Western Presidency was in 1618 at Surat , when the East India Company established a factory at Surat in present-day Gujarat , protected by a charter obtained from the Mughal Emperor Jahangir .