Category: India

Written by Prof. Stefan Halikowski Smith, Dept. of History, Swansea University.

The Bengal mission was one of the most Christian successful mission-fields in the Orient in early modern times, despite relatively small numbers of active missionaries. However, the mission, despite its successes in ‘harvesting souls’, encountered bitter political vituperation between the two orders active here, the Augustinians and Jesuits, who fought it out amongst each other for the rights to this mission. While the Jesuits liked to call the otherwise controversial Guy Tachard ‘l’apôtre de Bengale’, the most successful churchman was perhaps António da Rozario, an Augustinian who pioneered bilingual catechistic dialogues such as Argument and Dispute Upon the Law between a Roman Catholic and a Braman, composed some time before 1680 in simultaneous Bengali-Portuguese translation, and which quickly became the norm for missionary endeavour elsewhere in Asia, such as Burma. He was also quick to promote usage of canticles, especially those dealing with ‘the Mysteries of the Rosary’. Rozario was the converted son of the King of Busna, a raja in Eastern Bengal, who was ordained in 1682 as an Augustinian, became known simply as Dom António and went on to bring between 27 and 30.000 people into the church. This number is corroborated from sources outside the Church: the French jeweller, Tavernier, reported that ‘in Ogouli [Hughli] alone there were no less than 8 or 9000 souls of Christians’, whilst in the rest of the kingdome ‘there were about 25 thousands’ (Travels in India, vol. II, p. 140).

While the Portuguese had frequented ports like Satgaon (known as ‘porto pequeno de Bengala’) from the 1580s, the Augustinians were the first religious order to make headway in Bengal, specifically in the ‘Kingdom of Chittagong’ where they came to administer three parishes.760 bighas of land were granted by firman by Shahjahan to the Augustinians in 1633, a year after the Hughli community’s notorious expulsion and summons to the Mughal court at Agra, of which there exists an early nineteenth-century Portuguese copy. Augustinian affairs are related in the Brevilogio de notícias das cousas e dos Sujeitos da Congregação da Índia Oriental dos Eremitas Agostinhos (Biblioteca da Ajuda, Lisbon, Cod. 49-I-51) and in Fr. Jorge da Presentação’s História dos Missões dos Padres Augustinianos na India dos princípios do 18 sécolo (see Arnulf Hartmann’s presentation of this text in Analecta Augustiniana, vol. LVII, 1994, pp. 193-341). The Augustinians had acquired a bad reputation in other missions, such as Siam, where they were described by the visiting Portuguese embassy of 1684 as ‘odd and somewhat deranged men’, and other churchmen there had written to the Viceroy that they be excommunicated and sent to a penal colony such as Solor or Timor (Halikowski Smith, Creolization and Diaspora, 2011, pp. 165-66). In Bengal, trouble erupted even within the order, with missionaries like Fray Pedro de Silveira ‘driven out of Bengal by his Superiors because of the scandals he had perpetrated’ (letter of Guy Tachard, ed. Cornelius Buckley, p. 35). Visiting missionaries with their sights set on the mission-grail of China, like Matteo Ripa, were shocked by the ignorant state of the priesthood, their ignorance of Latin and the ‘norms of the Catholic Reform’, and the persistence of heathen practices like the sun-worshipping ceremonies he described which took place in the Ganges (Memoirs of Father Ripa during Thirteen Years Residence, London: 1834, 27). But the Jesuits seem to have been no better. Guy Tachard S.J. relates at the turn of the eighteenth century how in the French stronghold (place), meaning Chandernagore, ‘there are French Jesuits, who similarly contradict the Augustinian fathers, laying claim to joint jurisdiction over the parish, and having buried a dead man, the Augustinian priests went with very many Portuguese to exhume him and take him to their residence, a matter of very great scandal to be sure, but that all things said reveals the very great liberty that is to be enjoyed there’ (Relation de Voyage aux Indes, 1690-99, p. 104). Outside observers, like John Burnell, who visited in 1712, was mugged by ‘rascally Portugueze soldiers’, who stole his sword, and was ‘credibly inform’d’ the Jesuit Superior himself had ordered so (Bombay in the Days of Queen Anne, p. 147). Unpleasant stories of such ‘insolence’ abound in the relics of Portuguese Asia.

Church structures, however, were left behind which have lasted up until the present day, although often times restored, and their scolours schemes changed. The Church of the Holy Rosary was built in 1677 around twelve ‘magnificent columns painted in a watered-down green. It was slightly grander than the church of St. Nicholas Tolentino, built in 1695 at Nagori, 35 km north-east of Dhaka, a straightforward rectangular shape with no side chapels, only one floor, a simple wooden beamed roof and a niched altar in the far wall. The nave’s floor was probably covered with Indian or Persian carpets, while niches around the main altar would have contained images of that most important and communicative icon of Christianity in the missions, the Blessed Virgin, or Virgin with Child.

These missions lasted right through until the nineteenth century as the diary of a visiting Archbishop of Goa in 1865-6, D. João Crisóstomo de Amorim Pessoa, testifies to (BGUC, Reservados, no. 1635), although with new evangelical movements in neighbouring Calcutta, many Portuguese forsook Catholicism for the Baptist church. The most substantial mission was at Bandel outside Hughli, where the fifth Bishop of Mylapore Father Francisco Laynes S.J. was buried in 1715, though Father H. Hosten, S.J. claims that the Jesuit house was never more than a small ‘collegium’ or residence, with two or three fathers and occasionally a lay brother (Bengal Past and Present, vol. VI, p. 218; vol. X, pp. 64-70; vol. XXVI, pt. I, p. 77). Other visitors of this period like the Abbate Matteo Ripa, later to found the Collegio dei Cinesi at Naples University, in 1709 also described the church as ‘very pretty’(‘Burnell’s Adventures in Bengal’ in Bombay in the days of Queen Anne, Hakluyt Society, no. LXXII, 1933, p. 145, note 3). It is reproduced here for readers, along with other churches constructed by the Augustinians in the province.

The Church of St. Nicholas Tolentino, Nagori, 1695.

The Church of the Holy Rosary, Tejgaon, Dacca, completed for the Augustinians in 1677. A restoration project of 1940 did no harm to the façade, but unhappily took away the mouldings of alternating arcs and triangles over the aisle windows, which had given character to the sides. In 2000 the church was restored once again under the sponsorship of the Gulbenkian Foundation.

The Basilica of the Holy Rosary, Bandel, Hughli, first built in 1599 to serve diocesan functions, burned down in 1632, but was re-completed in 1660.

While many of the platforms which sustained Roman Catholic religiosity in the East were silenced, perhaps most significantly the suppression of the Jesuit Order in 1773 and the recall of its priests back to Europe, some settlements, which revolved around the spiritual and educational activities of the religious orders, pretty much disappeared; they were gradually incorporated into the administrative machinery of British India, as was the case with Loricul in East Bengal (The Journals of Major James Rennell first Surveyor-General of India : written for the information of the Governors of Bengal during his surveys of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, T.H.D. La Touche (ed.), Calcutta: Asiatic Society 1910, vol. III, 1910, n.3, n.39), or Bandel, to the north of Calcutta (G. Toynbee, Sketch of the Administration of the Hooghly District from 1795 to 1845, with some account of the early English, Portuguese, Dutch, French and Danish settlements. Calcutta, 1888, p.6). And yet, as travel guides report, the pious still made their way for the annual festival of the Novena, celebrated in November, which attracted ‘great numbers of Roman Catholics’ in 1882 (Newman and Co.’s Handbook to Calcutta: historical and descriptive with a plan of the city. 1882, Calcutta: W. Newman, 1882, 6). Today, the numbers of Christians in the area is no less significant.

Bibliography.

Alonso, Carlos. ‘Stato delle missioni agostiniane nelle Indie orientali secondo una relazione inedita del 1640’, sep. Analecta Augustiniana, Louvain, vol. 25 (1962), pp. 291-325.

‘Burnell’s Adventures in Bengal’ in Bombay in the days of Queen Anne, Hakluyt Society, no. LXXII, 1933.

Campos, Joachim Joseph. A history of the Portuguese in Bengal, London: Buttersworth& Co., 1919.

Celso Constantini, L’arte Cristiana nelle missioni (Roma: Tipografiapoliglotta Vaticana, 1940).

Hawkesworth, John. Asiaticus in two parts; Ecclesiastical, Chronological, And, Historical Sketches Respecting Bengal (1803).

Hosten, Henry. ‘The Marsden Manuscripts and Indian Mission Bibliography’, in The Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, vol. 3, no. 1, 1923, pp. 129-50. See also his contributions to Bengal Past and Present, vol. VI, p. 218; vol. X, pp. 64-70; vol. XXVI, pt. I, p. 77.

The Tejgaon church restoration work is detailed in Maria João Avillez, Portugal: As sete partidas para o Mundo, Lisboa: Temas e Debates, 2000, ch. 6.

‘Privilegios que o Imperador Mogol concedeo á caza do Bandel de Ugoly dos Padres Augustinianos da Congregação da India Oriental’, in O Chronista de Tissuary, no. 32, August 1868, pp. 60-2.

Rozario, António da. Argument and Dispute Upon the Law between a Roman Catholic and a Braman, c. 1680, published by the University of Calcutta, 1937.

Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster.

INDIA:

Diu: (20°43’N – 71°00’E) Forte or Castelo do Mar, Castelo de Diu or Fortaleza de São Tomé

Portuguese: 21 Dec. 1535 fortress – 18/19 Dec. 1961

Leao “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

Island of Diu: Fortaleza de Nagoa (1744), Fortaleza de Brancavara (1774), Forte de Simbor, Forte de Gogola.

Portuguese: 1554 – 18/19 Dec 1961

Leao “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

Bulsar or Balsar (Valsad ?): (20°37’N – 72°55’E)

Portuguese: 1559 fort – 1560 abandoned

Danvers “The Portuguese in India” 

Parnel (Parnera ?): (20°33’N – 72°57’E) three leagues from Daman

Portuguese: 1559* the fort is conquered and then razed to the ground

Leao “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia” * 1569 according to Danvers “The Portuguese in India” 

Damão Grande or Praça de Damão (Damão, Moti Daman or Daman): (20°25’N – 72°50’E) Castelo de Hieronymus

Portuguese: 1559 fort – 18/19 Dec.1961

Rossa “Indo-Portuguese cities” Leao “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia” Danvers “The Portuguese in India”

Damão Pequeno (Nani Daman): (20°26’N – 72°50’E) Forte de São Jerónimo (1614/15)

Portuguese: 1614/5 fort – 18/19 Dec 1961

Rossa “Indo-Portuguese cities “Leao “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

Dadrá: (20°19’N – 72°58’E)

Portuguese: 1779 – 24 July 1954

Rossa “Indo-Portuguese cities”

Nagar Haveli: 

Portuguese: 1779 – 2 Aug. 1954

Rossa “Indo-Portuguese cities”

São Gens or Samges:

Portuguese: round fortress with 6 bastions

Umbargão (Umargam): (20°12’N – 72°45’E)

Portuguese: fort – Nov. 1738

to Marathas

Leao “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia” Danvers “The Portuguese in India” 

Danu (Dahanu): (19°58’N – 72°44’E) round fort with a bulwark

Portuguese: 1533 ? 1560c. fort – November 1738

to Marathas

Danvers “The Portuguese in India” Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India” 

Trapor or Tarapor (Tarapur): (19°53’N – 72°41’E) fort with round and square bastions

Portuguese: 15 ? – 1739

to the Marathas

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein” Danvers “The Portuguese in India”

Kari de Chikli or Tchikla (Chinchani ?): (19°53’N – 72°41’E) ?

Portuguese: square fort with 4 bastions

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein” Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India” 

Serra de Açarim, Azarim or Aserim: 

Portuguese: 1556 tranqueira, mountains fort – 13 Feb. 1739

to the Marathas

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein” Danvers “The Portuguese in India”

Manora’ or Manori: round fort

Portuguese: 1556 fort – ?

Danvers “The Portuguese in India”

Sirgão or Seridão (Shirgaum): (19°44’N – 72°44’E)

Portuguese: ? – 1739

to the Marathas

Danvers “The Portuguese in India” Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India”

Mahim: (19°39’N – 72°44’E) round fort

Portuguese: 1532 – 20 January 1739

to Marathas

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein” Danvers “The Portuguese in India” 

Kari de Mahim: small triangular fort with two bastions

Portuguese: ? – ?

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein” 

Quelme (Kelve): (19°35’N – 72°45’E)

Portuguese: ? – 1739

to the Marathas

Leao “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia” Danvers “The Portuguese in India”Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India” 

Ilha das Vacas (Arnalla): (19°28’N – 72°44’E) circular tower

Portuguese: ? – 13 February 1739

to Marathas

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein” Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India” 

Asserim or Agaçaim (Agashi): (19°28’N – 72°47’E)

Portuguese: fort and custom house

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein” Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India” 

Sopera or Supara (Sopara): (19°25’N – 72°47’E)

Portuguese: four wooden stockades

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein” 

Saibana:

Portuguese: stockade

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein”

Bassein or Baçaim (Vasai): Cidadela de São Sebastiao (19°20’N – 72°49’E)

Portuguese: 1528 sacked, 1532 conquered and abandoned, 23 December 1534 ceded by a treaty

Portuguese: May 1536 fortress – 16 May 1739 surrender, 23 May 1739 the Portuguese leave the town

Leao “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia” Danvers “The Portuguese in India” 

Galiana (Kalyana): (19°14’N – 73°10’E)

Portuguese: 1535 – lost a short time after

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein”

Salsette Island:

Portuguese: 1534 – 1737

to Marathas

Gerson de Cunha “The origin of Bombay”

Thana (Salsette Island): (19°11’N – 72°58’E) two towers (São Pedro and São Jeronimo) and one small square fort (Reis Magos) with two bastions.

Portuguese: 1534 – 1737

to Marathas

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein”

Portuguese: There were three bulwarks near Thana: Forte Santa Cruz (Salcete is.), Forte do Passo Seco or do Rio (in front of Thana), Baluarte do Mar (in the direction of Bombay)

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein”

Bandora:

Portuguese: Torre Agoada (1640s.) small watch tower

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein”

Dharavi Island: (19°16’N – 72°50’E) ?

Portuguese: fort

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein” Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India” 

Versova Island:

Portuguese: fort

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein”

Bombaim or Mobaim (Bombay): (18°55’N – 72°50’E) quadrangular fort

Portuguese: 1534 ceded by treaty – 18 February 1665

to the British by treaty

Belaflor, Sambayo or Sabayo (Belapur): (19°01’N – 73°02’E)

Portuguese: fortification

Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein” Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India” 

Caranja or Juem: circa (18°54’N – 72°55’E) There were 2 forts, one, smaller, on the east side of the island, the other, bigger, on a hill, was a square fort, three angles, of which each had a bastion each.

Portuguese: – 28 March 1739

to Angria

Danvers “The Portuguese in India” Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein”

Portuguese: From Bassein to Caranja there were 14 Portuguese forts or towers. Gerson de Cunha “Notes on the history of Chaul and Bassein”

In 1739 the Portuguese lost: 20 fortresses, 2 fortified hills, 8 towns. Danvers “The Portuguese in India”

Chaul (Revdanda): (18°33’N – 72°56’E) Fortaleza de Santa Maria do Castelo

Portuguese: 1503 feitoria ?, 1509 vassal, 1516 feitoria, 1521 fort, October 1531 fortress – 18 September 1740

transfer by treaty to the Marhattas

Rossa “Indo-Portuguese cities” Danvers “Portuguese in India” Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India” 

Morro de Chaul (Korlai): (18°32’N – 72°55’E) Fortaleza do Morro de Chaul

Portuguese: 1594 the fortress was conquered – 1739

Rossa “Indo-Portuguese cities” Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India”

Goa: At the beginning of 17th century the Portuguese ruled over a territory of about 275 square miles. Disney “Twilight of the pepper empire”

Portuguese: 4 March 1510 – 20 May 1510

Portuguese: 25 November 1510 – 18/19 Dec. 1961

to India

Rossa “Indo-Portuguese cities” Salcete or Salsete: 1543 – Rossa “Indo-Portuguese cities”

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[divider]

Bardez (Goa): 

Portuguese: 1543 – ?

Rossa “Indo-Portuguese cities”

Reis Magos or Magus (Bardez, Goa):

Portuguese: 1550s. – ?

Aguada or Agoada (Bardez, Goa): Forte Santa Caterina (1604)

Portuguese: 1604 – ?

Alorna (Goa): fort

Portuguese: 5 May 1746 – ?

Danvers “The Portuguese in India”

Nossa Senhora do Cabo (near Aguada fort, Goa): rectangular fort

Gaspar Dias, St. Ignes (Panjim, Goa): square fort (1598)

Portuguese: 1598 – ?

Mormugão (Goa): fort (1624)

Portuguese: 1624 – ?

Rachol (Salcete, Goa):

Portuguese: Fortress of Indian origin with Portuguese additions (1604)

Torre de Noroa (Goa):

See: “Os Portugueses no Malabar” p. 59 note 64

Neutim fort (Goa):

Portuguese: 1746 – ?

Rarim fort (Goa):

Portuguese: 1746 – ?

Cabo do Rama (Goa): 

Portuguese: Fort

Chapora (Goa): fort (1617)

Portuguese: 1617 – 1684

Portuguese: ? – 1739

Portuguese: ? – 1961

Tiracol (Tarekhol, Goa): fort (1746)

Portuguese: 1746 – 15 Aug. 1954 for a few hours is occupied by the Indians, a few hours after it is taken up by the Portuguese

Cintacola or Cintacora (Sadashivgad, Goa): (14°51’N – 74°07’E) Forte de Pito or Piro

Portuguese: 30 Jan. 1791 – 16 Mar. 1793

to Tipu Sultan

Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India” Danvers “The Portuguese in India” 

Angediva (Anjediv): (14°49’N – 74°03’E) Forte Nossa Senhora das Brotas (1682)

Portuguese: 14 Sep. 1505 fort – 1506/7 abandoned

Portuguese: 5 May 1682 fort – 20 Dec.1961

to India

Danvers “The Portuguese in India”

Onor (Honawar): (14°17’N – 74°26’E) Fortaleza de Santa Catarina (1568/9)

Portuguese: 1568/9 fort – 1654

Disney “Twilight of the pepper empire” 

Gersoppa (30 miles upstream of Onor): (14°15’N – 74°39’E)

Portuguese: Casa do Peso

Disney “Twilight of the pepper empire”

Bhatkal: (13°59’N – 74°32’E)

Portuguese: 1514 the harbour is dismantling, 1542 conquered and after two days abandoned and burnt, 1548 tributary

Danvers “The Portuguese in India” 

Barcelor or Braçalor (Basrur): (13°38’N – 74°44’E) square shaped fortress.

Portuguese: 1568/9 fort – 1652

to Ikerri

Disney “Twilight of the pepper empire”

Cambolin (Coondapoor, near Barcelor): (13°38’N – 74°41’E) square shaped fortress.

Portuguese: 1629 fort – 15 Jan 1653

to Ikerri

Disney “Twilight of the pepper empire” Danvers “The Portuguese in India”

Mangalore (Mangalor): (12°54’N – 74°50’E) Forte São Sebastiao (1567/68/69) square shaped fortress with a bastion at every corner.

Portuguese: 1568/9* fort – 165?

Portuguese: feitoria (there was in 1750)

Danvers “The Portuguese in India” Disney “Twilight of the pepper empire” * 1567 Danvers “The Portuguese in India”

Mount Delly (Ettikulam): (12°05’N – 75°11’E)

Portuguese: fort ?

Naravane “The maritime and coastal forts of India” 

Cannanore or Cananor: (11°51’N – 75°22’E) Fortaleza de Santão Gil or Santo Angelo (1505)

Portuguese: 1501 ally of Portugal and feitoria, Oct. 1505 fort – 15* Feb. 1663 (*13 Feb. 1663 according to Danvers “The Portuguese in India”)

to The Netherlands

Correia “Os Portugueses no Malabar 1498-1580” Koshy “Dutch power in Kerala”

Calecut or Calicut (Kozikode): (11°15’N – 75°47’E)

Portuguese: 1514/15 fort – 1525* (*1522-1525 according to Disney “Twilight of the pepper empire”)

Portuguese: feitoria (there was one in 1750)

Danvers “The Portuguese in India” Correia “Os Portugueses no Malabar 1498-1580”

Chalé or Chale (Chalyam or Beypore): (11°09’N – 75°49’E) rectangulare shaped fort

Portuguese: 1531 fort – 1571

Disney “Twilight of the pepper empire” Correia “Os Portugueses no Malabar 1498-1580” 

Ponanni or Panane: (10°46’N – 75°55’E)

Portuguese: 1535 attempt to build a fort, never finished.

Disney “Twilight of the pepper empire”

Cranganore or Cranganor (Kodungallor): (10°13’N – 76°13’E) Castelo de São Tomé (1536) square-shaped fort

Portuguese: 1536 fort – 15 Jan. 1662

to The Netherlands

Correia “Os Portugueses no Malabar 1498-1580” Koshy “Dutch power in Kerala” Danvers “The Portuguese in India” 

Cochin de Cima (Pallipuram): (10°10’N – 76°11’E) Castelo de Cima (1502 ?)

Portuguese: 1502 ? fort – 16 Feb. 1661

to The Netherlands

Correia “Os Portugueses no Malabar 1498-1580” Danvers “The Portuguese in India”

Cochin, Cochin de Baixo or Santa Cruz: (09°57’N – 76°15’E) Fortaleza Manuel (1503)

Portuguese: 1501 ally of Portugal, 26/27 Sep. 1503 timber fortress, 1505/6 stone fortress – 7/8 Jan. 1663

to The Netherlands

Correia “Os Portugueses no Malabar 1498-1580” Koshy “Dutch power in Kerala” Danvers “The Portuguese in India” 

Rossa “Indo-Portuguese cities” (27 Sep. 1503 timber fortress, 3 May 1506 stone fortress) 

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[divider]

Coulão or Coullam (Quilon): (08°53’N – 76°35’E) Forte São Tomé or Tangesseri (1518)

Portuguese: 1505 feitoria, 1518 fortress – 29 Dec. 1658

to The Netherlands (29 Dec. 1658 – 14 Apr. 1659)

Portuguese: 14 Apr. 1659 – 24 Dec. 1661

to The Netherlands

Correia “Os Portugueses no Malabar 1498-1580” Koshy “Dutch power in Kerala” Danvers “The Portuguese in India” 

Punicale (Punnaikayal): Punicale was the chief Portuguese settlement of the Fishery Coast between 1532 and the 1580s; from about the 1580s their chief settlement was Tuticorin.

Portuguese: settlement 1532c. fort – 1552

Portuguese: 1553 – ?

Caldwell “A history of Tinnevelly”

Tuticorin or Tutucorim: (08°48’N – 78°09’E) Punicale was the chief Portuguese settlement of the Fishery Coast between 1532 and 1580s; from about 1580s their chief settlement was Tuticorin.

Portuguese: settlement 1532c., Portuguese governor 1542c. – Feb. 1658

to The Netherlands

Danvers “The Portuguese in India” Caldwell “A history of Tinnevelly”

Nagapatão or Negapatão (Negapatam or Nagapattinam): (10°47’N – 79°50’E)

Portuguese: 1520/30s. settlement, 1642/43 fort and custom house – 23 July 1658

to The Netherlands

Subrahmanyam “The South Coromandel Portuguese in the late 17th…” in Studia n° 49 Danvers “The Portuguese in India”

Porto Novo (Parangi-Pettai): (11°29’N – 79°46’E)

Portuguese: 1590s. settlement – 18th. ?

Diffie-Winius “Foundation of the Portuguese empire 1415-1580” Subrahmanyam “The South Coromandel Portuguese in the late 17th…” in Studia n° 49 Subrahmanyam “Improvising Empire – Portuguese trade and settlements in the Bay of Bengal 1500 – 1700” or “”Comércio e conflito – A presença portuguesa no Golfo de Bengala 1500 – 1700”

Tegenapatam: (11°44’N – 79°47’E)

Portuguese: fort ?

Raychaudhuri “Jan Company in Coromandel 1605-1690” p. 19

São Tomé de Meliapor: (13°00’N – 80°15’E)

Portuguese: 1522/3 settlement, 1614 fort – 1662

to Qutbshahi (Golconda) (1662 – 1672)

to the French (1672 – 6 September 1674)

to The Netherlands (6 September 1674 – 10 October 1674)

to the Qutbshahi (Golconda) (10 October 1674 – 1687)

Portuguese attempt to reestablish a Portuguese settlement: 1687 – 21 Oct. 1749

to the British (21 October 1749 – ?)

Lotika Varadarajan “San Thomé: early European activities and aspirations” Diffie-Winius “Foundation of the Portuguese empire 1415-1580” Subrahmanyam “The South Coromandel Portuguese in the late 17th…” in Studia n° 49 Subrahmanyam “Improvising Empire – Portuguese trade and settlements in the Bay of Bengal 1500 – 1700” or “”Comércio e conflito – A presença portuguesa no Golfo de Bengala 1500 – 1700” 

Paliacate or Paleacate (Pulicat): (13°24’N – 80°19’E)

Portuguese: 1518 settlement – 1600s.

Dutch factory: (Apr. 1610 – 12 Jun. 1612)

Portuguese: 12 Jun 1612 conquered and destroyed by the Portuguese and abandoned

Subrahmanyam “Improvising Empire – Portuguese trade and settlements in the Bay of Bengal 1500 – 1700” or “”Comércio e conflito – A presença portuguesa no Golfo de Bengala 1500 – 1700” Diffie-Winius “Foundation of the Portuguese empire 1415-1580” Subrahmanyam “The South Coromandel Portuguese in the late 17th…” in Studia n° 49

Masulipatam or Masulipatão: (16°11’N – 81°08’E)

Portuguese: settlement

Diffie-Winius “Foundation of the Portuguese empire 1415-1580”

Portuguese: A Portuguese captain was appointed in Masulipatam between 1598 and 1605/1610 according to Subrahmanyam “Improvising Empire – Portuguese trade and settlements in the Bay of Bengal 1500 – 1700” or “”Comércio e conflito – A presença portuguesa no Golfo de Bengala 1500 – 1700”

Balasore or Balasor: (21°29’N – 86°57’E)

Portuguese: settlement

Campos “History of the Portuguese in Bengal”

Pipli: circa (21°37’N – 87°20’E)

Portuguese: 1514 settlement – ?

Campos “History of the Portuguese in Bengal”

Bandel: (22°56’N – 88°24’E)

Portuguese: 1599 friary – ?

Diffie-Winius “Foundation of the Portuguese empire 1415-1580” 

Porto Pequeno de Bengala, Sategão, Satigão, Sateguam or Satigam (Satgaon): (22°57’N – 88°24’E)

Portuguese: 1536/7 customs house, feitoria – ?

Portuguese: 1590s. – ?

Campos “History of the Portuguese in Bengal” Diffie-Winius “Foundation of the Portuguese empire 1415-1580”

Ugolim, Golim or Dogolim (Hugli or Hooghly): (22°54’N – 88°24’E)

Portuguese: 1579/80 – 25 September 1632

to the Mughals

Portuguese: July 1633 new Portuguese settlement – 18th century ?

Campos “History of the Portuguese in Bengal” Diffie-Winius “Foundation of the Portuguese empire 1415-1580”

Tambolim (Tamluk or Tumlook): (22°18’N – 87°55’E)

Portuguese: settlement

Campos “History of the Portuguese in Bengal”

Angelim (Hidgelee or Hijili): circa (22°14’N – 88°03’E)

Portuguese: 1520s settlement – 1636

Campos “History of the Portuguese in Bengal” 

MALDIVES:

Ilhas de Maldiva, Male: (04°10’N – 73°30’E)

Portuguese: 1517/18 feitoria, 1519 wooden fort – 1519 (1521 ?)

Portuguese: 1558 fort – 1573

Bell, H.C.P. “Excerpta Maldiviana” from the Ceylon Royal Archaeological Society Journal, 1931 VOL. XXXII 

BANGLADESH:

Sundiva (Sandwip island): circa (22°30’N – 91°28’E)

Portuguese: 1590s. tributary of Portugal, 1602 conquered by Portugal – 1605?

Portuguese: 1607 – 1616

Campos “History of the Portuguese in Bengal” Guedes “Interferencia e integração dos Portugueses na Birmania 1580-1630”

Porto Grande de Bengala or Chatigam (Chittagong): (22°20’N – 91°50’E)

Portuguese: 1536/7 customs house and feitoria

Portuguese: In 1590 the fort is conquered by the Portuguese – in the 1590s the Portuguese are expelled.

Campos “History of the Portuguese in Bengal”

Dianga: circa (22°15’N – 91°50’E)

Portuguese: ? settlement – 1607

Portuguese: after 1615 new Portuguese settlement

Campos “History of the Portuguese in Bengal”

Dacca: (23°42’N – 90°24’E)

Portuguese: 1580 settlement – ?

Campos “History of the Portuguese in Bengal” 

Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster.

Diu: (20°43’N – 71°00’E)

Damão Grande or Praça de Damão (Damão, Moti Daman or Daman): (20°25’N – 72°50’E)

1634: 400 “almas entre portugueses e nativos cristãos”. Source: Leão “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

1662: 100 “casais portugueses”. Source: Leão “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

Bassein or Baçaim (Vasai): (19°20’N – 72°49’E)

1634: 400 “casados brancos”, 200 “pretos cristãos” and 1.800 slaves in the town, “fora dos muros” there were 250/300 “casados brancos” and 2.000 “nativos”. Source: Leão “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

1662: 5.000 “homens de armas”. Source: Leão “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

1720: the Province of Baçaim numbered 890 “europeus”, 58.131 “cristãos”. Source: Leão “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

Tana:

1634: 80 “casas de brancos” and 100 “casas de pretos”. Source: Leão “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

Bombaim:

1634: 12 “casados portugueses” and 50 “pretos”. Source: Leão “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

Chaul:

1634: 200 “casados portugueses” and 50 “pretos cristãos”. Source: Leão “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

1666: 21 “chefes de família portugueses”. Source: Boxer “O Império colonial português 1415-1825”

Goa:

1550: 2.000 “casados”. Source: Disney “Twilight of the pepper Empire”

1630: 800 “casados”. Source: Disney “Twilight of the pepper Empire”

16th – 17th centuries between 1.000/2.000 and 4.000/5.000 “soldados”. Source: Disney “Twilight of the pepper Empire”

1666: 320 “chefes de família portugueses”. Source: Boxer “O Império colonial português 1415-1825”

1866: 2.240 “descendentes” or “mestiços”. Source: Boxer “O Império colonial português 1415-1825”

1871: 2.500 “descendentes” or “mestiços”. Source: Boxer “Relaçoes raciais no Império colonial português”

1956: 1.100 “descendentes” or “mestiços”. Source: Boxer “Relações raciais no Império colonial português”

Onor (Honawar): (14°17’N – 74°26’E)

1634: 30 “casados”. Source: Disney “Twilight of the pepper Empire”

Barcelor or Braçalor (Basrur): (13°38’N – 74°44’E)

1634: 30 “casados” and 35 “soldados casados”. Source: Disney “Twilight of the pepper Empire”

Mangalore (Mangalor): (12°54’N – 74°50’E)

1634: 35 “casados”. Source: Disney “Twilight of the pepper Empire”

Cannanore: (11°51’N – 75°22’E)

1630s: 40 “casados”. Source: Disney “Twilight of the pepper Empire”

Cranganore (Kodungallor): (10°13’N – 76°13’E)

1630s: 40 “casados” and 100 “soldados”. Source: Disney “Twilight of the pepper Empire”

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Cochin, Cochin de Baixo or Santa Cruz: (09°57’N – 76°15’E)

1630s: 500 “casados” (of whom 300 Portuguese and 200 Indian Christians). Source: Disney “Twilight of the pepper Empire”

Coulão (Quilon): (08°53’N – 76°35’E)

1630s: 60 “casados”. Source: Disney “Twilight of the pepper Empire”

Tuticorin or Tutucorim: (08°48’N – 78°09’E)

1640: pequena povoação de “casados”. Source: Subrahmanyam “Improvising Empire – Portuguese trade and settlements in the Bay of Bengal 1500 – 1700” or “Comércio e conflito – A presença portuguesa no Golfo de Bengala 1500 – 1700”

Nagapatao or Negapatao (Negapatam or Nagapattinam): (10°47’N – 79°50’E)

1533: 30 “fogos”, 1540: 100 “fogos”, 1630: 500 “fogos”.Source: Subrahmanyam “Improvising Empire – Portuguese trade and settlements in the Bay of Bengal 1500 – 1700” or “Comércio e conflito – A presença portuguesa no Golfo de Bengala 1500 – 1700”

1577: 60 “casados”, 200 “eurasiáticos”, 3000 Indian Christians. Source: Diffie-Winius “Foundation of the Portuguese Empire 1415-1580”

Porto Novo (Parangi-Pettai): (11°29’N – 79°46’E)

São Tomé de Meliapor: (13°00’N – 80°15’E)

1530: 40 “casados”, 1545: 100 “famílias”. Source: Subrahmanyam “Improvising Empire – Portuguese trade and settlements in the Bay of Bengal 1500 – 1700” or “Comércio e conflito – A presença portuguesa no Golfo de Bengala 1500 – 1700”

1600: 600 “casados”, from 1610s. in decline. Source: Subrahmanyam “Improvising Empire – Portuguese trade and settlements in the Bay of Bengal 1500 – 1700” or “Comércio e conflito – A presença portuguesa no Golfo de Bengala 1500 – 1700”

1537: 50 “casados”. Source: Diffie-Winius “Foundation of the Portuguese Empire 1415-1580”

Paliacate or Paleacate (Pulicat): (13°24’N – 80°19’E)

1520: 200 – 300 “habitantes”, 1545: 600-700 “familias”, from 1565 in decline. Source: Subrahmanyam “Improvising Empire – Portuguese trade and settlements in the Bay of Bengal 1500 – 1700” or “Comércio e conflito – A presença portuguesa no Golfo de Bengala 1500 – 1700”

Masulipatam or Masulipatao: (16°11’N – 81°08’E)

Balasore or Balasor: (21°29’N – 86°57’E)

Pipli: circa (21°37’N – 87°20’E)

Tambolim (Tamluk or Tumlook): (22°18’N – 87°55’E)

Angelim (Hidgelee or Hijili): circa (22°14’N – 88°03’E)

Porto Pequeno, Sategão, Satigão, Sateguam or Satigam (Satgaon): (22°57’N – 88°24’E)

Ugolim, Golim or Dogolim (Hugli or Hooghly): (22°54’N – 88°24’E) 1603: 5.000 “portugues”. Source: Diffie-Winius “Foundation of the Portuguese Empire 1415-1580”

Notes:

Fogos and Famílias: Families.

Casados: Portuguese soldiers retired after marriage.

Descendentes: Euro – Asiatic or Mestizo (Mestiços) also Luso – Indians.

Pretos: Blacks (in this case Indians or African slaves brought to India and liberated after serving in the military forces with valour).

At that time every family was composed of about 5-6 persons. So the number of Casados, Familias, Fogos must be multiplied by 5 or 6. 

LUSO – INDIANS and EURASIANS STATISTICS in BENGAL:

Calcutta Census:

1837: 3.181 Luso – Indians, 4.746 Eurasians.

1876: 5 Portuguese, 707 Luso – Indians, 10.566 Eurasians.

1881: 19 Portuguese, 36 Goans, (261 speaking the Portuguese language), 9.410 Luso – Indians and Eurasians.

1911: 10 Portuguese, (254 speaking the Portuguese language), 644 Goans.

Hoogly Census:

1912: 94 Eurasians.

Geonkhali (Midnapore district):

1911: 129 Luso – Indians.

Chittagong:

1859: 1.025 Feringhis or Luso – Indians.

1860: 985 Feringhis or Luso – Indians.

1866: 865 Feringhis or Luso – Indians.

Noakhali:

1901: 490 Feringhis or Luso – Indians.

Bakarganj:

1876: 800 Feringhis or Luso – Indians.

1918: 841 Feringhs or Luso – Indians.

In 1919 in Eastern Bengal the number of Luso-Indians or Feringhis was about 10.000: Dacca District: 6.000, Chittagong: 1.000, Bakarganj District: 1.000, Noakhali: 800, Assam, Tippera: 1.20.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

– Campos, J. J. A. “History of the Portuguese in Bengal” 283 pp. 3 maps Butterworth & Co. 1919 Calcutta, India. An old, but very interesting, book about the Portuguese history in Bengal, history unknown to many people.

– Boxer “Relações raciais no Império colonial português”

– Boxer “O Império colonial português 1415-1825”

– Disney “Twilight of the pepper Empire”

– Leao “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia”

– Subrahmanyam, Sanjay “Comércio e conflito: a presença portuguesa no Golfo de Bengala” Orig. Tit. “Improvising empire – Portuguese trade and settlement in the Bay of Bengal 1500-1700” 293 pp Edições 70, 1994 Lisboa, A collection of very interesting Subrahmanyam’s articles.

– Subrahmanyam, Sanjay “The South Coromandel Portuguese in the late 17th century: a study of the Porto Novo: Nagapattinam complex”, in: STUDIA N° 49, pp. 341-363, 1989, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Diffie-Winius “Foundation of the Portuguese Empire 1415-1580”

Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster.

Goa is situated on an island at the mouth of the Mandovi River. At the time of the arrival of the Portuguese in India, Goa was under the rule of the Sultan of Bijapur, for whom Goa was the second most important city. It was wealthy and possessed a grand natural harbour.

On 28 February 1510 Afonso de Albuquerque, the Governor of Portuguese India, arrived with a fleet of several ships and anchored off Goa harbour. The following morning some Portuguese boats were sent out as patrol. They landed and conquered the Fortress of Pangim. The next day a message from the inhabitants of Goa was received. They offered the surrender of the city and the vassalage to the King of Portugal. In the morning of 4 March 1510 Albuquerque with 1,000 Portuguese soldiers and 200 Malabarese entered Goa. Albuquerque’s first care was to repair Goa’s fortifications. He also established a mint, for the quick coinage of gold, silver and copper money.

The Bijapurese organized a large army and marched towards Goa. The ruinous condition of Goa’s fortification forced Albuquerque after a fierce resistance to abandon the town to the Sultan of Bijapur. Adil Khan at the head of 50,000 soldiers entered Goa on 20 May 1510. The Portuguese fleet was now blockaded by the monsoon at the mouth of Mandovi River and the Portuguese ships were exposed to the Moors’ cannonade. Albuquerque’s tenacity let him resist till 16 August 1510, when the entire Portuguese fleet sailed away. Albuquerque waited for reinforcements from Lisbon and when these arrived, he soon prepared a fleet of 23 ships and 2,000 men to conquer Goa definitively. In the morning of 25 November 1510 Albuquerque’s men attacked the city and at midday Goa was again in Portuguese hands.

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Soon after the conquest of Goa ambassadors from various Indian Kingdoms came to Goa in search for the conclusion of an alliance. For the next two years Goa was again and again under the attacks of the Sultan of Bijapur Adil Shah (Hidalcao), who was resolutely determined to reconquer the town. In 1512 a new attempt was made by the Adil Shah to drive away the Portuguese from Goa. In this year the Moors fortified Benasterim, which controlled the principal passage from the mainland to the island of Goa. Albuquerque, returning from Malacca, wasted no time and soon attacked the fortress, which was taken after several days of siege. Thereafter he ordered to reinforce the forts of Benasterim, Devarim and Pangim, which commanded the principal passes to the mainland. He also founded a hospital and built several churches in Goa (Igreja do Priorado do Rosário, Capela de Santa Catarina).

On 15/16 December 1515 Goa’s conqueror Afonso de Albuquerque died in the harbour of Goa. His mortal remains were temporarily buried in the chapel, he had built in Goa, and were later (1566) conveyed to Portugal. He was the builder of the Portuguese Empire in the East (Goa, Malacca, Hormuz). He was relentless with his enemies, but he also seems to have appreciated the character of the Asiatic peoples and he often left the civil administration of the places, he conquered, in the hands of the natives. He was the first to encourage the marriage of Portuguese soldiers with native women.

In 1530 the capital of Portuguese India was transferred from Cochin to Goa and in 1534 it became the centre of the Roman-Catholic Church for the entire Orient and finally in 1557 Goa became seat of an archbishopric. On this occasion a large cathedral was built (Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina 1562-1619). St. Francis Xavier arrived in Goa in 1542.

In 1543 the Goan territory was enlarged through the annexation of the provinces of Bardez and Salcete. In 1560 the inquisition (active 1560-1774 and 1779-1812) was introduced. In 1570 the Sultan of Bijapur made the last effort to dislodge the Portuguese from Goa, but after a siege of ten months he was forced to give up.

At the beginning of the 17th century Goa was the capital of an empire, which spread from Mozambique to Nagasaki controlling the Indian Ocean trade. This was the period of great brightness for Goa and the Portuguese power in the East. The city was called “Goa Dourada” and “Roma do Oriente”. It is said that Goa had 200,000 inhabitants in those days and was able to compete with the most important cities in the world. A lot of magnificent churches and buildings were built during these years. Several of them still exist today. A Portuguese proverb of the time said: “Quem viu Goa, dispensa de ver Lisboa”.

The decline of Goa began with the coming of the Dutch, who several times during the 17th century blockaded Goa from the sea and destroyed the Portuguese power in the East between 1600 and 1650. In spite of this Goa was never conquered and remained in Portuguese hands till December 1961 when it was occupied together with Damão and Diu by the Indian Army. In 1760 Velha Goa was abandoned and the seat of the government was transferred to Pangim, which in 1843 was officially declared the capital of Portuguese India. In 1763 the districts of Ponda, Quepem, Sanguem and Canacona were added to the Portuguese possessions. Finally, in 1788 the districts of Pernem, Satari and Bicholim were also added.

THE CHURCHES OF OLD GOA TODAY

Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina, the largest church of Goa. It was built between 1562 and 1619 and the altar was finished in 1652. The northern tower of this church collapsed in 1776. There is a golden bell in the southern tower.

Igreja e Convento de São Francisco de Assis: The church was built in 1661 on the site where used to be an old Franciscan chapel. This church has a beautiful portal in Manueline style. Today the Convent is a museum.

The Capela de Santa Catarina was built in 1552 on the site of the old chapel (1510), built by Afonso de Albuquerque.

The Igreja and the Convento de São Caetano were built by Italian friars of the Theatine Order in the years 1655-1661.

The Basílica do Bom Jesus, built during the years 1594-1605, is one of the richest churches in Goa and is principally known for the tomb of St. Francis Xavier. This basílica, where the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier are kept, is the best specimen of baroque architecture in India and has a cross-shaped ground plan. This beautiful tomb of St. Francis Xavier was a gift from the Medici Cosimo III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany.

Ruins of the Igreja e Convento dos Agostinianos. They were built by Augustinian Friars in 1602. Of this church and convent today only remain the tower and the arches in a ruined state. The tower has four storeys with an arch on each of them left and is nearly 46 meters high.

Igreja do Priorado do Rosário, Capela Real de Santo António, Igreja and Convento de Santa Mônica (1606-1627), Igreja da Cruz dos Milagres (1671), Ruins of the Igreja e Colégio de São Paulo (1541-1543).

STATISTICS OF GOA: 1881

Population (1881): 445,449 (2,500 were “Mestiços” or “Descendentes”). Religion (1881): Christians: 55 % (there were 96 Catholic Churches); Hindus: 45 %. Languages (1881): Konkani: all the classes of the peoples, except Europeans and “Mestiços”, use the Konkani language with some admixture of Portuguese words. Portuguese: the official language, is principally spoken in the capital and in the chief towns.

STATISTICS OF GOA: 1981

Languages (1981): Konkani 600,004; Marathi 266,649; Gujarati 77,677; Kannada 33,512; Urdu 27,703; Hindi 21,158; Malayalam 7,634; English 6,407; Telugu 5,527; Tamil 3,884; Punjabi 1,314. Portuguese: it is now spoken only by a small segment of the upper class families and about 3 to 5% of the people still speak it (estimated at 30,000 to 50,000 people).

STATISTICS OF GOA: 1991

Population (1991): 1.169.793. Religion (1991): Hindus: 756.621 (64.68%); Christians: 349.225 (29.85%); Muslim: 61.455 (5.25%); Sikhs: 1.087 (0.09%); Jains: 487 (0.04%); Buddhist: 240 (0.02%); Others: 403 (0.03%).

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

– Various Authors “Commerce and Culture in the Bay of Bengal, 1500-1800” 416 p. plates, edited by Om Prakash and Denys Lombard, 1999,

– Arasaratnam, S. and Aniruddha, R. “Masulipatnam and Cambay: a history of two port towns, 1500-1800” xiii, 314pp. maps Munshiram Manoharlal, 1994, New Delhi, India.

– Banerji, Chitrita “How Bengal Discovered Chhana” Portuguese influences in Bengala food.

– Campos, J. J. A. “History of the Portuguese in Bengal” 283 pp. 3 maps Butterworth & Co. 1919 Calcutta, India. An old, but very interesting, book about the Portuguese history in Bengal, history unknown to many people.

– Cortesão, Armando “A cidade de Bengala do século XVI e os Portugueses” 35 pp. Tip. da Sociedade Astória, 1944, Lisboa

– Ferroli, D. “The jesuits and Mysore” 238 pp. Xavier Press, 1955, Kozhikode, India.

– Jeyaseela, Stephen S. “Portuguese on the Tamil Coast: Historical Explorations in Commerce and Culture, 1507-1749” xix + 437 pp. Illus., Maps, Navajothi Publishing House, 1998, Pondicherry, India.

– Jeyaseela Stephen S. “Coromandel Coast And Its Hinterland: Economy, Society And Political System, 1500-1600” 269 pp. Manohar Publishers & Distributors, 1997, Delhi, India.

– Mordechai, Arbell “The Portuguese Jewish community of Madras, India, in the Seventeenth century” In: “Los Muestros. The Sephardic Voice” n° 41, Dec. 2000

– Subrahmanyam, Sanjay “Comércio e conflito: a presença portuguesa no Golfo de Bengala” Orig. Tit. “Improvising empire Portuguese trade and settlement in the Bay of Bengal 1500-1700” 293 pp Edições 70 1994 Lisboa A collection of very interesting Subrahmanyam’s articles.

– Subrahmanyam, Sanjay “The South Coromandel Portuguese in the late 17th century: a study of the Porto Novo. Nagapattinam complex” In STUDIA N° 49, pp. 341-363, 1989, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Varadarajan, L. “São Tomé: early European activities and aspirations” In: Various Authors “II Seminário Internacional de História Indo – Portuguesa” 429-441 pp. IICT & CEHCA 1985 Lisbon, Portugal.

Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster.

The city of Cochin (today: Ernakulam) was from the 24 December 1500, when the first Portuguese fleet called on its port, a firm ally of the Portuguese. The admiral of this fleet was Pedro Alvares Cabral (the discoverer of Brasil). The Rajah (king) of Cochin allowed, a “feitoria” (factory) to be allocated to the Portuguese and upon Cabral’s departure he allowed 30 Portuguese and four Franciscan friars to stay in Cochin.

In 1502 a new expedition under the command of Vasco da Gama arrived at Cochin and the friendship with the Rajah of Cochin was renewed. After the departure of Vasco da Gama the Zamorin of Calicut, enemy of the Portuguese, attacked Cochin and destroyed the Portuguese “feitoria”.

The Rajah of Cochin and his Portuguese allies were forced to withdraw to the island of Vypin. Here they were reinforced by the crews of three ships under the leadership of Francisco de Albuquerque and some days later by Duarte Pacheco Pereira (the author of “Esmeraldo de situ orbis”) and the Calicut troops immediately abandoned the siege.

On 27 September of 1503 the foundations of a timber fortress were laid. This was the first fortress erected by the Portuguese in India.

On departure of the Portuguese fleet bound for Portugal Duarte Pacheco Pereira was left behind with three ships in Cochin for the assistance to the Rajah. Meanwhile the Zamorin of Calicut formed a force of 50,000 men and 280 ships to drive the Portuguese out of Cochin. Duarte Pacheco Pereira was in command of only 100 Portuguese, 300 Malabar troops and about 5,000 soldiers of the King of Cochin (of whom the majority deserted).

Pereira was a formidable commander. For five months he and his men were able to sustain and drive back all the assaults of Zamorin. He saved Portugal from being driven out of India. After this victory Pereira returned to Portugal and the King paid him the highest honours. However, subsequently he was to be imprisoned on charges, which afterwards proved to be false. Later he became Governor of the castle of São Jorge da Mina (1519-1522) on the Gold Coast. He concluded his days in obscure poverty.

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In 1505 a stone fortress replaced the wooden fortress of Cochin. The first church of Cochin was São Bartolomeu, built in 1504. In 1506 the construction of Santa Cruz church (which gave its name to the Portuguese town) was initiated. The foundation of the parish church Madre de Deus was laid in 1510. In 1550 the Jesuits added a large three-storied college to the church.

For a better defence of the town a fort called “Castelo de Cima” was built on Vypeen island at Paliport. In 1510 Afonso de Albuquerque started a school (a Portuguese “casado” Afonso Alvares was the teacher), but after his death it closed down. However, the Franciscans started a new school in 1520. They built a friary (Santo António) (1518-1520), a seminary and the beautiful church dedicated to São Francisco de Assis (1516-1522). Vasco da Gama was originally buried in it on Christmas eve 1524. The floor of this church was paved with tombstones, which in 1887 were removed and fixed on its walls, where they are still today. This church is a living historical monument of today’s Cochin.

At the beginning of XVI century Cochin was the seat of the Portuguese in India, including the time of the capture of Goa in 1510. The transfer of the capital of Portuguese India to Goa finally took place in 1530. In 1557 the palace of the King at Mattancheri was built. After the VOC (Dutch East India Company) conquest of Cochin in 1663) this palace was enlarged by the Dutch and is known today as the “Dutch Palace”. In 1558 the diocese of Cochin was erected and the Basílica de Santa Cruz became the cathedral. The old city of Cochin was called “Cochim de Cima” (today Mattancherry) and is situated on an island of a canal. The Portuguese town was called “Cochim de Baixo” or “Santa Cruz”.

In the 1630s its population consisted of 500 “casados” (of these 300 were Portuguese or Eurasians, the rest being Christian Indians). The town had a city council (“câmara”), a cathedral, a customs house, a “Confraria da Misericórdia” (1527), a Jewish synagogue (1568), five parish churches and several convents. The town was partly encircled by walls with several ramparts. Right after Goa the city of Cochin, situated in the center of East Indies, was the best place Portugal had in India. From there the Portuguese exported large volumes of spices, particularly pepper.

Therefore the Dutch set their eyes on Cochin and after the occupation of Ceylon in 1658 they tried to conquer Malabar. They took Quilon on 29 December 1658, but the Portuguese reconquered it on 14 April 1659. However, in 1661, the Dutch began a new expedition against the Portuguese settlements in Malabar. On 16 February they captured the fort of Pallipuram (near Cochin).

Another Dutch expedition under Ryckloff van Goens conquered Quilon on 24 December 1661 and on 15 January 1662 Cranganore was also taken. Soon after, on 5 February 1662, the Dutch began their assault on Cochin, but encountering heroic Portuguese resistance, they abandoned the siege after one month.

They came back in November 1662 and surrounded Cochin on all sides. For three months the Portuguese resisted but, finally, on 7 January 1663 they surrendered the city. By the terms of the capitulation all unmarried Portuguese residents were returned to Europe and all married Portuguese and Mestiços were transferred to Goa. On the morning of 8 January 1663 the soldiers and citizens came out of the fort and laid down their arms and the Dutch took possession thereof. The last governor of Portuguese Cochin was Inácio Sarmento. It was said that 4,000 people were expelled.

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THE PORTUGUESE IN MALABAR
COCHIN	24 Dec. 1500 – 7 Jan. 1663
CANNANORE	1502 – 15 Feb. 1663
CRANGANORE	1536 – 15 Jan. 1662
QUILON	1502 – 29 Dec.1658             14 Apr. 1659 – 24 Dec. 1661
PONANNI	1585 ?(1535 ?) – ?
CHALYAM-CHALE’	1531 – 1571
CALICUT	1515 – 1525

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

– Correia, J. M., “Os Portugueses no Malabar (1498 – 1580)”, 450 pp. 1 map, Imprensa Nacional – Casa da Moeda 1997 Lisbon, Portugal. Wars, fortresses, mission, art, architecture of the first 80 years of the Portuguese presence in Malabar.

– Disney, A. “Twilight of the pepper Empire”, VII, 220 pp. Harvard Historica studies 95, Harvard University press, 1978, Cambridge, MA, USA.

– Goertz, R. O. W. “The Portuguese in Cochin in the mid-sixteenth century”, in: STUDIA N° 49, pp. 5-38, 1989, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Kieniewicz, Jan, “The Portuguese factory and trade in Pepper in Malabar during the 16th century”, in: “An Expanding World” Vol. n° 11; Pearson, M. N. “Spice in the Indian Ocean world” Ashgate, Variorum, vol. n° 11, 1996; pp. 185-208, also in: “The Indian Economic and Social History Review”, Vol. VI New Delhi, 1969, pp. 61-84

– Mathew, K. S. “The Portuguese and the Malabar society during the sixteenth century. A study of mutual interaction” in: STUDIA N° 49, pp. 39-68, 1989, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Mathew, K.S. and Ahmad, Afzal, “Emergence of Cochin in the Pre-Industrial Era : A Study of Portuguese Cochin” ???, xliii + 153 pp. plates, illustrations, Maps Pondicherry University, Dept. of History, 1990, Pondicherry, India. Consists of a 33 page introduction + 132pp. documents ca.1527 – 1616.

– Mulakara, Gervasis, “Portuguese missionaries in Cochin till 1558”, in: STUDIA N° 49, pp. 69-94, 1989, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Mundadan, A. M. “The town of Cochin and the Portuguese” In: Various Authors “II Seminario Internacional de Historia Indo – Portuguesa” 251-263 pp. IICT & CEHCA 1985 Lisboa, Portugal.

– Panikkar, K.M. “Malabar and the Portuguese” x, 224 pp. Voice of India, 1997 (1929), New Delhi, India. A succinct history of the violent Portuguese intervention in Malabar written by a consummate Indian historian.

Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster.

The Portuguese town of Chaul lies about 350 kilometers north of Goa and 60 kilometers south of Bombay (Mumbai) at the mouth of the Kundalika river near the village of Revdanda. Chaul was located on the low northern bank, opposed to a promontory on the south bank, which is called “Morro de Chaul.

Chaul was from 1521 under the Portuguese. In the same year they built the first fort. In October 1531 the Portuguese erected a massive square stone fortress at Chaul, which contained a church and dwelling-houses for 120 men. The fortress was named “Santa Maria do Castelo”. Around this castle the Portuguese town developed, but by a treaty of the year 1558 the town‘s fortification could no longer be upheld.

In November 1570 Chaul was attacked by Nizam Shah. The siege lasted for months. The town was exposed to great distress. But at the end, in July 1571, the siege was raised and a treaty was signed. After the siege the town was rebuilt and town walls with several bastions were built around it.

In April 1592 the Moors began a new siege of Chaul, but after a hard battle the Portuguese succeeded in repelling the assault. In 1594 the Portuguese conquered the adjoining fortress of the “Morro de Chaul”. Owing to the repeated attacks by the Moors against Chaul, new works of defense were carried out in 1613.

The Portuguese power declined and Chaul slowly lost its importance. In March 1739 Chaul and the fortress of “Morro de Chaul” were besieged by the Angria, but after some months, in October, the Angria raised the siege. On 18 September 1740 Chaul was finally ceded by treaty to the Mahrattas.

The ruins of Chaul are near the town of Revdanda south of Bombay (Mumbai). There are still visible of Portuguese Chaul today: the ruins of the town walls with its powerful ramparts, the ruins of the Igreja Matriz, the church and the convent of the Augustinians, the Franciscans’ church, the Misericórdia, the “Porta do Mar”. Of the adjoining fortress of the Morro de Chaul the remains of its walls are still to be seen. In Korlai, a few kilometers from Chaul, there is a community of people (900), who still speaks a Creole form of Portuguese down to the present day. They are monolingual.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

– Cunha, G. da “Notes on the history and antiquities of Chaul and Bassein” 278 pp. Map & ills. 1993 (1876), Bombay, India.

– Fernandes, José Manuel “Chaul um percurso urbano e fotográfico ” In: “Oceanos” n°19-20, Sep/Dec. 1994 pp. 268-271

– Gaspar Rodrigues, Vitor Luis “A organização militar da Província do Norte durante o séc. XVI e princípios do séc. XVII” In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 247-265, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Goertz, R. O. W. “Attack and defense techniques in the siege of Chaul, 1570-1571” In: Various Authors “II Seminário Internacional de História Indo–Portuguesa” 265-287 pp. IICT & CEHCA 1985 Lisboa, Portugal.

– Jackson, K. D. “Ruínas de Império: a cidade-fortaleza de Chaul” In: “6° Congresso da Associaçao Internacional de Lusitanistas” 8-13 Aug. 1999, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

– Leão, M. C. “A Província do Norte do Estado da Índia” 223 pp. several maps and illustrations, Instituto Cultural de Macau, 1996, Macau.

– Mitterwallner, G. von “Chaul: Eine unerforschte Stadt an der Westküste Indiens (Wehr-, Sakral- und Profanarchitektur).” 238 pp. ills and 2 maps 1964 Berlin, Germany.

– Oliveira e Costa, João Paulo “Simão de Andrade, fidalgo da Índia e capitão de Chaul” In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 99-111, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Rossa, W. “Indo-Portuguese cities” 117 pp. illust. Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses 1997, Lisbon, Portugal. Very interesting descriptions of the Portuguese towns of Goa, Chaul, Baçaim, Damão, Diu and Cochin.

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Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster.

Bassein-Vasai (Baçaim) is situated at about 70 kilometers north of Bombay on the Arabian Sea. It lies on an island at the mouth of a river and was thanks to this position easily defensible. The city, which belonged to the Kingdom of Cambay, was a very important one before the Portuguese conquest. The sources of wealth of Bassein (Baçaim) were: the horse trade, fishing, the salt, the timber, the stone quarry (basalt, granite) and the shipyards. In those days the city was situated in the center of a wealthy agricultural district, which yielded rice, betel, cotton, sugar-cane and more.

In 1528 Captain Heytor de Silveira captured and burnt the city of Bassein. After this the Lord of Thana submitted voluntarily as tributary to Portugal. In 1532 the Portuguese newly attacked Bassein and after a weak resistance they entered the fort and destroyed it. The towns of Thana, Bandora, Mahim and Bombaim were put under tribute. On 23 December 1534 the Sultan of Gujarat ceded by treaty Bassein with its dependencies (Salcete, Bombaim, Parel, Vadala, Siao, Vorli, Mazagao, Thana, Bandra, Mahim, Caranja) to Portugal.

In 1535 a Feitoria (Agency) and the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Vida were built. In the same year the Sultan of Gujarat assaulted the city; for this reason in 1536 a fortress was built, around which the Portuguese town flourished. In 1540 the “Confraria da Misericórdia was founded”. In 1547 the Franciscans founded the Convent and the Church of Santo António and the Igreja Matriz de São José.

In 1548 St. Francisco Xavier stayed in Bassein and a portion of the Indian population was converted to Christianity. In 1549 the Jesuits built the Igreja do Sagrado Coração de Jesus. Later in 1561 they began to build their large College. In 1556 the Portuguese occupied the mountain “Serra de Açarim” and the fort of Açarim/Asserim and that of Manora were occupied in the vicinity.

A small fort was built at Caranja. On Salcete (Salsette) island 9 churches were built: Nirmal (1557), Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (1557), Sandor (1566), Agashi (1568), Nandakal (1573), Papdy (1574), Pale (1595), Manickpur (1606), Nossa Senhora das Merces (1606). In 1559 Damão was occupied and in the same year the fort of Bulsar was put under Portuguese control, but was already abandoned in 1560.

In 1564 the Church of São Gonçalo was built by the Dominicans. In the second half of the 16th century the construction of a new fort had started and the whole town was surrounded by town walls with 10 bastions. The design of the fortress and of the bastions was inspired by the Italian Renaissance fortifications. In 1581 the Jesuits built the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Graça and finally the Augustinians built the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Anunciada in 1596.

Baçaim was known during the Portuguese period for the refinement and wealth of its buildings and palaces and for the beauty of its churches. The Northern Province included a territory, which extended as long as 100 kilometers on the coast, between Damão and Bombaim and in some places extended 30-50 kilometers towards the interior. It was the most productive Indian area under Portuguese rule. In defence of the Province were built several forts. The most important ones were in Damão, Damão Pequeno, Sao Gens, Danu, Serra de Asserim, Trapor, Sirgao, Mahim, Agaçaim (Ilhas das Vacas), Manora, Baçaim, Thana (Santa Cruz, Passo Seco, Baluarte do Mar), Bombaim and Caranja. At the end of the 17th century Baçaim reached the peak of its glory days. In 1611 a mint or “Casa da Moeda” was established in Baçaim.

In 1615 a triangular fort was built in Damão Pequeno (near Damão), which was named fort of São Jerónimo. In 1634 Baçaim numbered a population of 400 Portuguese families, 200 Christian Indian families and 1,800 slaves. The town, in case of enemy attack, numbered about 2,400 men as defenders.

On 23 June 1661 a Marriage Treaty between England and Portugal handed over to the British the port and the island of Bombaim (Bombay). The Portuguese governor of Bombaim refused to give up the island. After a long diplomatic skirmish Bombaim was ceded to the English on 18 February 1665, but without any of its dependencies.

In 1674 Baçaim numbered 2 colleges, 4 convents and 6 churches. In 1685 the Church of Nossa Senhora da Saúde was founded by the Knights Hospitallers of St. John. The decline of the Portuguese power in the Orient and the transfer of Bombaim (Bombay) to the British in 1665 weakened Baçaim. The city was attacked many times by the Mahrattas.

Notwithstanding this, in 1719 the province of Baçaim numbered still about 60.000 inhabitants, of these 2,000 were Portuguese and 58.000 were Christian Indians. In 1720 one of the ports of Baçaim, Kalyan, was conquered by the Mahrattas, and in 1737 they also took possession of Thana and of all the forts on Salcete island and the forts of Parsica, Trangipara, Saibana, the Ilha das Vacas, Manora, Sabajo, the hills of Santa Cruz and Santa Maria.

The only places in the Northern Province, which now remained with the Portuguese were Chaul, Caranja, Bandora, Versova, Baçaim, Mahim, Quelme, Seridao (Sirgao), Danu, Asserim, Trapor, and Damão. In November 1738 the Mahrattas captured the fort of Danu and on 20 January 1739 Mahim capitulated. The loss of Mahim was speedily followed by the capture of the forts of Quelme, Seridao, Trapor, and Asserim (13 February 1739). On 28 March 1739 the island and the fortress of Caranja, were also lost. This was the prelude to final loss of the city, indeed, in February 1739 the Mahrattas attacked Baçaim and after a desperate resistance the last Portuguese defenders surrendered on 16 May 1739. The Portuguese left Baçaim on 23 May 1739.

After 205 years of uninterrupted Portuguese rule Baçaim (now under the Mahrattas) was progressively neglected and the neighbouring English Bombay, took its place. During the war against the Mahrattas (1737-1740) the Portuguese lost, besides Baçaim, eight cities, four main ports, twenty fortresses, two fortified hills, the island of Salcete (Salsette) with the city and the fortress of Thana, the “Ilha das Vacas”, the island of Karanjà (Juem) and 340 villages. The losses amounted to nearly the whole of the Northern Province, only the town of Damão was held.

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VASAI (BASSEIN): THE REMAINS OF A PORTUGUESE CITY-FORTRESS IN INDIA

Vasai (Bassein) is located in Thane District, 70 km north of Mumbai (Bombay). The city is located on the north bank of the Vasai Creek, being a part of the estuary of the Ulhas River. Taking a passenger train for Surat via Dadar from Bombay Central get down at Vasai Road (Bassein Road) station. The remains of the fort can be reached by bus or taxi from the Vasai railway station (11 km).

Of all the Portuguese forts still existing in India, Baçaim (today Vasai), is one of the most imposing. Today Baçaim is a tangle of ruins, the city has, still well preserved, his imposing boundary walls with his two access doors (“Porta do Mar” and “Porta da Terra”) and his 10 bastions.

Scattered inside the walls there are the ruins of numerous town-houses and churches, among other things: the church and the convent of the Dominicans, the Franciscan Igreja de Santo António (with numerous Portuguese tombstones, the remains of the cloister and the ruins of the bell-tower), the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Vida, the church and convents of the Augustinians, the “Camara” palace, the Misericórdia, the Igreja Matriz de São José, the ruins of the Jesuits church and convent. Well preserved are also the remains of the old citadel of São Sebastião.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

– Albuquerque, Teresa “Epigraphy of Bassein” In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 311-320, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Baptista, Elsie W. “The East Indians: Catholic community of Bombay, Salsette and Bassein” 255 pp. Publications of the Anthropos Institute N° 3, The Bombay East Indian Association, 1967, Bandra, Bombay.

– Barros, Joseph de “A presença portuguesa em Baçaim: sua génese geo-histórica” In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 41-47, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Borges, Charles J. “Jesuit economic interests in the Portuguese Province of the North till the mid-18th century” In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 49-56, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Bras, A. Fernandes “Armas e inscrições do forte de Baçaim” 282 pp. maps, ill. Academia Portuguesa da História 1957 Lisboa, Portugal. The complete list and also the descriptions of the inscriptions present in Baçaim fort.

– Couto, Dejanirah “Em torno da concessão e da fortaleza de Baçaim 1529-1546″ In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 117-126, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Couto, Dejanirah “A fortaleza de Baçaim” In: “Oceanos” n° 28 Oct/Dec. 1996 pp. 105-118 – Couto, Dejanirah “Baçaim a capital do norte” In: “Oceanos” n°19-20, Sep/Dec. 1994 pp. 258-266

– Cunha, J. Gerson da, “The origin of Bombay” 368 pp Asian Educational Services, 1993 (1900), New Delhi, India.

– Cunha, G. da “Notes on the history and antiquities of Chaul and Bassein” 278 pp. Map & ills. 1993 (1876), Bombay, India.

– Gaspar Rodrigues, Vitor Luis “A organização militar da Província do Norte durante o séc. XVI e princípios do séc. XVII” In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 247-265, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Hull, Ernest R. “Bombay mission-history, with a special study of the padroado question (1534-1858)” ? vii+493 pp. 7 color maps Bombay Examiner Press, 1927,

– Leão, M. C. “A Província do Norte do Estado da India” 223 pp. several maps and illustrations, Instituto Cultural de Macau, 1996, Macau.

– Martires Lopes, Maria de Jesus dos “Aspectos da política religiosa na província do Norte, em setecentos” In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 175-179, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Meersman, A. “The Franciscans in Bombay. History of the Franciscans in the territory comprised within the boundaries of the present archdiocese of Bombay” xvii+279 pp. 1957, Bangalore, India.

– Oliveira e Costa, Joao Paulo “Simão de Andrade fidalgo da Índia e capitão de Chaul” In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 99-111, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Pereira, A. B. de Bragança “Os portugueses em Baçaim” ? 220 pp Sep. de: O Oriente Português Tip. Rangel 1935 Bastorá In: Oriente Portugues N° 7/8/9 pp. 97-313

– Rossa, W. “Indo-Portuguese cities” 117 pp. illust. Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses 1997 Lisboa Very interesting descriptions of the Portuguese town of Goa, Chaul, Baçaim, Damao, Diu, Cochin.

– Santos, Isau “A cedência de Bombaim aos Ingleses” In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 267-290, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Shirodkar, P. P. “Bombay and the Portuguese impact and influences with special reference to etymology” In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 291-301, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

– Soeiro de Brito, Raquel “Goa e as praças do Norte” 196 pp Junta de Investigaçoes do Ultramar, 1966 (CNCDP 1998), Lisbon, Portugal.

– Varela Gomes, Paulo and Rossa, Walter “O primeiro territorio. Bombaim e os Portugueses” In: “Oceanos” n° 41, 2000.

– Velinkar, Joseph “Early Jesuit presence in Bassein” In: Mare Liberum, Revista de História dos Mares N° 9, ” VII Seminário internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa, Goa 1994″, pp. 305-310, 1995, Lisbon, Portugal.

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