Population of the Portuguese Settlements in India

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”

Old Map of Bassein (Vasai)

Old Map of Bassein (Vasai)

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”

Cochim. From Livro das Plantas de Todas as Fortalezas (1635). Author Bocarro. No Copyright

Cochim. From Livro das Plantas de Todas as Fortalezas (1635). Author Bocarro

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”

Sé de Santa Catarina, Goa, India. Author Ondrej Zvacek. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike

Sé de Santa Catarina, Goa, India. Author Ondrej Zvacek

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.

Cloister of the Franciscan Igreja de Santo António. Vasai, Bassein, Baçaim. Author and Copyright Sushant Raut

Cloister of the Franciscan Igreja de Santo António. Vasai, Bassein, Baçaim. Author and Copyright Sushant Raut

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.

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”

About Marco Ramerini

I am passionate about history, especially the history of geographical explorations and colonialism.