Portuguese in India

In the Indian Subcontinent, Portuguese India was a colonial state from 1505 until 1961. Goa, Daman, Diu, Dadra, and Nagar Haveli were among the major Portuguese trading stations and forts along the Indian coastline. The Portuguese Company became the first European trading company to establish trade posts in India, with settlements at Cochin, Goa, Daman, Diu, Salsette, Bassein, and Bombay. The first Portuguese mission, led by Vasco da Gama, reached Calicut in 1498, and the second mission under Pedro Alwares Cabral in 1500. The Portuguese developed the Cartaz System, a naval trade license issued by the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean during the sixteenth century. After the arrival of the Portuguese, tobacco cultivation, ship making, and the use of the printing press began. They also contributed to Gothic architecture and its influence in India. However, by the 18th century, the Portuguese's influence in Indian trade declined due to religious intolerance, excesses as sea pirates, weak successors, tensions with Spain, and the arrival of English and Dutch in India. While the British extended their dominance over broader portions of India, the Portuguese continued to control their colonies. Portuguese sovereignty in India came to an end in 1961 when the Indian government liberated Goa.

Portuguese were in India from 1498 to 1961. Vasco-da-Gama arrived in Calicut on May 20, 1498, and established a colonial presence in the region. The first Portuguese fort was built in Cochin, and the second fort was built in Cannanore. The Portuguese crushed the combined caravan of the Zamorin, Arabs, and Egyptians during the Battle of Diu. Goa was seized from the Sultanate of Bijapur by Afonso Albuquerque in 1510, and the Portuguese capital was Goa in 1530. In 1539, the Portuguese successfully blocked Diu from the Zamorin of Calicut, Ottomans, Gujarat Sultanate, and Mamluks of Egypt. In 1559, the Portuguese officially acquired Daman, but the Dutch established a spice trade monopoly after displacing the Portuguese in South-East Asia. The English gained authority over Surat in 1612, and Bombay in 1661. In 1779, Nagar Haveli and Dadra were purchased by the Dutch. Panjim became the new Portuguese capital in 1843, and in 1961, Goa was liberated by the Indian Army.

The advent of Portuguese in India

• Europe was enthralled with the Renaissance's spirit of discovery in the fifteenth century.
• Europe made great advancements in shipbuilding and navigation during this time.
• Consequently, there was a great yearning throughout Europe for audacious naval expeditions to the unknown regions of the East.
• The Indian Subcontinent was home to the Portuguese colonial state known as the Portuguese State of India, or Portuguese India. They were the first Europeans to arrive and the last to leave with their spanning from 1505 till 1961.
• Portuguese colonization had minimal impact outside of its borders, although outlasting its English rival.

• The 'Navigator,' Prince Henry of Portugal, became obsessed with finding an oceanic route to India, and also saw it as a way to avoid Muslim control over the eastern Mediterranean and all the highways leading from Europe to India.
• By an imaginary line in the Atlantic, roughly 1,300 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands, the kingdoms of Portugal and Spain divided the Non-Christian world between them in 1497 under the terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494).
• The treaty stated that Spain could claim all to the west and Portugal could claim and occupy whatever east of the border.
• The stage was therefore prepared for Portuguese incursions into the Indian Ocean.
• Portuguese sailor Bartholomew Dias believed he had found the long-sought sea route to India when he sailed around Africa's Cape of Good Hope in 1487 and continued eastward.
• But only ten years later, in 1497, a Portuguese ship sailed for India, arriving in May of 1498, after less than 11 months.

• The northern part of India was divided among a number of minor powers, with the exception of Gujarat, which was ruled from 1458 to 1511 by the powerful Mahmud Begarha (also known as Begada).
• The Deccan's Bahmani Kingdom was breaking up into smaller kingdoms. Not one of the powers had a fleet of note, and none of them intended to strengthen their naval prowess.
• Chinese ships' nautical reach in the Far East was restricted by the imperial proclamation of the Chinese emperor.
• The Portuguese were far more organized and cohesive than the Arab shipowners and merchants who had previously dominated the trade in the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese also equipped their ships with cannons.
• Vasco da Gama arrived, and much of the coastal regions of India were under Portuguese rule within fifty years.
• The Portuguese had taken almost sixty kilometers of shoreline around Goa.
• They ruled over hundreds of cities and villages along with a narrow strip of territory on the west coast that stretched from Mumbai to Daman and Diu and the approaches to Gujarat. They also controlled four important ports.
• They ruled over several commercial ports and marine strongholds in the south, including Mangalore, Cannanore, Cochin, and Calicut.
• Even though their dominance in Malabar was limited, it was enough to influence or control the local rulers who ruled the area known for growing spices.
• The Portuguese built settlements and military outposts at San Thome, close to Chennai, and Nagapattinam, in Tamil Nadu, on the east coast.
• By the end of the 19th century, Hooghly in West Bengal had developed into a wealthy town.

• The viceroy, who held the position for three years along with this secretary supervised the administration; later the council gained significance
• Vedor da Fazenda, who oversaw revenue, cargo, and fleet dispatch, was the next most important person.
• The captains in charge of these fortifications were too frequently dictatorial and their power was boosted by the communication difficulties.

• Hindus and Muslims were persecuted in Goa in order to establish Christianity as the dominant religion. Portuguese were well-known for their intolerance towards other faiths, such as Islam and Hinduism.
• In 1579, Akbar wrote to the Goan rulers requesting the sending of two learned priests. The invitation was gladly accepted by the Church authorities in Goa, who saw it as a chance to win over the emperor, his court, and his subjects to Christianity. Two Jesuit priests, Rodolfo Aquaviva and Antonio Monserrate, were selected for the assignment. On February 28, 1580, they landed in Fatehpur Sikri and were received with honor.
• The Portuguese hopes that Akbar would become a Christian were put to rest in 1583 by Aquaviva and Monserrate.
• Similar to the first mission, Akbar's second mission, which was sent out in 1590, also concluded in 1592.
• Arriving at Lahore (where the court was located at the time), the third mission was once again warmly received by Akbar. It remained as a sort of permanent institution, increasing its influence on secular politics.
• Prince Salim ignored the Jesuit priests in order to appease the Muslims when he ascended to the throne as Jahangir.
• With time, his brief break from the Jesuits lessened, and in 1606, he reconnected with them.
• They were allowed to retain the collegium, or priests' lodgings, and the magnificent and spacious church in Lahore.
• In Agra in 1608, a number of baptisms were conducted, and the priests acted as freely in public as they had in Portugal.
• Because of Jahangir's actions, the Jesuit missionaries became increasingly optimistic that they could convert him to Christianity.
• But these hopes were not fulfilled. In addition, the arrogant actions of the Portuguese viceroys led to a rift with the Mughal emperor.

• The majority of historians concur that the Portuguese presence marked the expansion of maritime power as well as the start of the European era.
• For instance, the Cholas had previously been a maritime force, but this was the first instance of a foreign power reaching India via water.
• The first move toward securing a monopoly over commerce by threatening or employing force was the Portuguese ships' cannons.
• In the 16th century, the Portuguese demonstrated military ingenuity by using body armor, matchlock troops, and weapons that landed from ships in the Malabar.
• In contrast, the system of drilling infantry groups, which was modeled after the Spanish model and put into place in the 1630s in response to Dutch pressure—was a major military contribution made by the Portuguese onshore.
• Advanced maritime tactics were mastered by the Portuguese.
• Strong construction allowed their multi decked ships to carry large armament because they were designed to withstand Atlantic gales rather than race ahead of the recurring monsoons.
• With the flourishing silversmith and goldsmith arts, Goa became a destination for intricate filigree work, fretted foliage work, and diamond-encrusted metals.
• Church Architecture: During Portuguese administration, a large number of churches were constructed.They are well-known for their painted ceilings, sculptures, and woodwork. They made the use of laterite stone and lime mortar in building more common.
• They brought potatoes, tomatoes, and chillies to India, among other new crops.

Vasco Da Gama

• Indian history was profoundly impacted by the May 1498 landing of three ships under the command of Abdul Majid, a pilot from Gujarat, at Calicut. This expedition was led by Vasco Da Gama.
• Three months were spent in India by Vasco da Gama.
• He took a valuable cargo back to Portugal, where he marketed the products profitably on the European market.
• Vasco da Gama made his way back to India in 1501.
• The Zamorin refused to bar Arab traders in favor of Portuguese when Vasco Da Gama combined commercial greed with murderous enmity to wreak havoc on Arab trade everywhere he could.
• Vasco da Gama built a trading facility at Cannanore.
• Over time, Calicut, Cannanore, and Cochin became important Portuguese trading hubs.

Francisco De Almeida

• In order to protect Portuguese interests in India, King Ferdinand I of Portugal nominated a three-year governor and gave him sufficient troops in 1505.
• Francisco De Almeida, the newly appointed governor, was given the mission of capturing Aden, Ormuz, and Malacca in order to strengthen Portuguese influence in India and obliterate Muslim trade.
• In a naval combat off the coast of Diu in 1507, the united Egyptian and Gujarati navies overpowered the Portuguese squadron, and here is where Almeida's son was murdered.
• Almeida destroyed both navies the following year in retaliation for his defeat.
• Almeida hoped to establish Portuguese dominance over the Indian Ocean through the Blue Water Policy (Cartaz system). Almeida favored retaining dominance at sea and restricting their acts to only business dealings, rather than forging a territorial empire in India. The Portuguese were able to establish a commercial monopoly, particularly in the lucrative spice trade, because of their marine superiority.

Alfonso de Albuquerque

• The real founder of Portuguese rule in the East was Albuquerque, who succeeded Almeida as governor of Portugal in India and completed this task prior to his death.
• He secured Portugal's strategic dominance over the Indian Ocean by erecting castles that commanded every sea entrance.
• The Portuguese tightened their hold on the area's major shipbuilding hubs and established a license system for other ships under Albuquerque's direction.
• One significant aspect of his rule was the elimination of sati.

Nino da Cunha

• Nino de Cunha was named governor of Portuguese interests in India in November 1529, and the Portuguese administration in India relocated its headquarters from Cochin to Goa nearly a year later.
• In 1534, Bahadur Shah of Gujarat gave the Portuguese assistance in his fight against Mughal ruler Humayun by giving them the island of Bassein and all of its revenue.
• He also provided them a base on Diu.
• By settling a sizable Portuguese population in the city of Hooghly, Da Cunha also sought to increase Portuguese influence in Bengal.

• The Portuguese Empire in India ultimately collapsed under the weak and incompetent governors that followed Afonso de Albuquerque.
• The Portuguese were zealous and intolerant when it came to religious matters. To force the native people to become Christians, they utilized coercion.
• The people of India, where religious tolerance was the norm, strongly disagreed with their approach in this regard.
• The Portuguese government further strained relations with the Indian populace by prioritizing its own financial gain.
• They also disobeyed the law, committed horrible atrocities, plundered and undertook piracy.
• The Portuguese and Spanish had left the English and the Dutch well behind during the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
• But in the later half of the 16th century, newly powerful nations in the maritime and economic spheres—England, Holland, and later France—began a determined campaign to unseat the Spanish and Portuguese monopoly on global trade.
• In this battle, the latter were vanquished. As a result, their influence in India was also weakened.
• It was also challenging for the Portuguese to sustain their commercial monopoly in India for very long due to the growing influence of the Mughal Empire and the Marathas. For instance, they fought the Mughal rulers in Bengal in 1631 CE and were driven from their town of Hughli.
• The Portuguese discovered Brazil in Latin America, and they started to give it a lot more attention than their Indian territories.
• Spanish interests were prioritized above Portuguese ones when Spain annexed Portugal in 1580 CE; these interests were later disregarded.
• The Portuguese faced off against the imperial Mughal authority as a result of their piracy.
• In 1613, the Portuguese enraged Jahangir by seizing Mughal ships, putting many Muslims in jail, and plundering the contents.
• The Dutch and English, who were becoming adept at ocean navigation, quickly discovered the maritime route to India, shattering the Portuguese's previous monopoly on its knowledge.
• There was intense competition between the new European business organizations that were established in India.
• In this encounter, the Portuguese were forced to yield to their more inventive and potent opponents.
• The Portuguese resistance was overcome by the Dutch and the English because they had greater resources and were more driven to expand abroad.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to colonize India and the last to leave. They influenced the balance of power in the Indian subcontinent for four centuries, playing a significant role in power struggles between Mughals and Marathas, Vijayanagara and Deccan sultans, and Mughals and Marathas. During their rule, the Portuguese used strategies to encourage religious conversion, including mixed marriages, job offers, direct evangelism, forced conversions, and educational initiatives. Their religious policies had a lasting impact on the religious landscape of the regions they governed. The decline of Portuguese rule was marked by British and French dominance in the subcontinent, international pressure, and the Indian military invasion in 1961. The liberation of Goa marked the end of Portuguese colonialism, and the Portuguese legacy in India continues to influence cultural practices.