LibbyAlba221 at 04:35, 15 September 2025

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'''History of Goan Catholics''' recounts the history of the [[Goan Catholics|Goan Catholic]] community of the [[India]]n state of [[Goa]] from their conversion to [[Christianity]] to date.

==[[Pre-Portuguese Christianity in Goa|Pre-Portuguese era]]==
No concrete evidence has been found that Christianity prevailed in [[Goa]] before the Portuguese arrived, but it is believed that [[Bartholomew the Apostle|St. Bartholomew]], one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, brought and spread the Gospel in [[Konkan]] including Goa, just as [[Thomas the Apostle|St. Thomas]] had done in [[Kerala]] and [[Tamil Nadu]] in [[South India|Southern India]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ayyappapanicker|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC 263]|Ref=ayy}}</ref>

==Portuguese era==
[[Image:Se cathedral goa.jpg|200px|thumb|The [[Se Cathedral]] is a [[cathedral]] dedicated to [[Catherine of Alexandria]], located in [[Old Goa]]]]
In the 15th century, the Portuguese explored the sea route to India and [[Pope Nicholas V]] enacted the [[Papal bull]] [[Romanus Pontifex]]. This bull granted the patronage of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia to the Portuguese (see "[[Padroado]]") and rewarded them with a trade monopoly for newly discovered areas.<ref name="Daus">{{cite book
|last =Daus
|first =Ronald
|title =Die Erfindung des Kolonialismus
|publisher =Peter Hammer Verlag
|year=1983
|location=Wuppertal/Germany
|pages=33
|isbn =3-87294-202-6|language=de}}</ref> After [[Vasco da Gama]] arrived at [[Kozhikode|Calicut]] on the coast of [[Kerala]] in India in 1498, the trade became prosperous. In 1510, the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] wrested Goa from the Sultan of [[Adil Shahi|Bijapur]] and finally established themselves in Goa.<ref>{{harvnb|Kerr|1812|Ref=kerr}}</ref> By 1544, they conquered the districts of [[Bardez]] and [[Salcette]] in Goa.<ref name="geo205">{{harvnb|George|1992|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=m1R2Pa3f7r0C&pg=PA205 205]|Ref=geo}}</ref> The initial converts were the native Goan women who married the Portuguese men that had arrived with Afonso de Albuquerque during the [[Portuguese conquest of Goa]].<ref name="Crowley">{{cite book
|title=Conquerors: How Portugal forged the First Global Empire
|author=Roger Crowley
|date=2015
|publisher=Faber and Faber
|location=UK
}}</ref>
[[File:Codice Casanatense Portuguese Nobleman and Christian Indian.jpg|thumb|Christian maidens of Goa meeting a Portuguese nobleman seeking a wife, circa 1540]]

In 1534, the [[Archdiocese of Goa]] was established. Soon missionaries of the newly founded [[Society of Jesus]] were sent to Goa, which led to the conversion of entire villages to Christianity.{{sfn|Lach|1994|p=12}}

Many of the Goan Catholic ancestors of the present [[Mangalorean Catholics|Mangalorean Catholic]] community fled Goa because of the [[Goa Inquisition]] introduced by the Portuguese in 1560. King [[John III of Portugal]] decreed that every trace of Hindu customs be eradicated through the Inquisition. Those who refused to comply with the rules laid down by the Inquisition left Goa and settled outside the Portuguese dominion.<ref name="sf4">{{harvnb|Silva|Fuchs|1965|p=4|Ref=2}}</ref> About 7,000 of them, mostly [[Bammon]]s (Brahmins) and [[Sarodi]]s (Kshatriyas), fled [[Goa and Damaon]]. Most migrated to South Canara in what is called the "First Wave of Migration".<ref name="alan"/>
[[Image:Mangalorean catholic migration.JPG|thumb|left|200px|The path of migration of [[Goan Catholics]] towards [[South Canara]]]]

The [[War of the League of the Indies]] took place in the 1570s and ended the [[Vijayanagar Empire]] in the region. Fearing persecution, many Catholics from Goa migrated to South Canara. This migration is referred to as the "Second Wave of Migration".<ref name="alan"/>

The Scottish physician [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton|Francis Buchanan]] visited [[Kanara|Canara]] in 1801. In his book, ''A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar'' (1807), he stated that "80,000 Goan Christians came and settled<ref name="buc23">{{harvnb|Buchanan|1988|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bK4Ba6824koC&pg=PA23 23]|Ref=buc}}</ref> in [[South Canara]] at the invitation of the King of Bednore."<ref name="buc24">{{harvnb|Buchanan|1988|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bK4Ba6824koC&pg=PA24 24]|Ref=buc}}</ref> Later, this was identified as a probable mistake and should have read "8,000". However even this figure included the second emigration of Christians from Goa.<ref name="sf5">{{harvnb|Silva|Fuchs|1965|p=5|Ref=2}}</ref>

The attacks of the [[Maratha Empire]] on Goa, during the mid 17th century, was also a cause of migration. In 1664, [[Shivaji]], the founder of the Maratha empire, attacked [[Kudal]], a town north of Goa, and began his campaign for Goa. After Shivaji's death on 3 April 1680, his son [[Sambhaji]] ascended to the throne.<ref name="alan"/> The onslaught of Sambhaji, along the northern territories of Goa, drove many Christians from their homelands, and most of them migrated to [[South Canara]]. This migration is referred to as the "Third Wave of Migration". During the later years, 1680-1707, the migration slowed because of the Mughal-Maratha wars. Some 10,000 Christians returned to Goa.<ref name="alan">{{cite book
|title=Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians
|last=Prabhu
|first=Alan Machado
|year=1999
|publisher=I.J.A. Publications
|isbn=978-81-86778-25-8}} Contents taken from [http://www.kinnigoli.com/?app=article&mode=view&uid=11 Sarasvati's Children] article, written by Joe Lobo, the President of the Goan Catholic Association in Florida. This article has been borrowed mainly from Alan Machado's above book.</ref> From the [[Bardez]] district of Goa, Jesuit priests estimated that 12,000 Christians migrated to the South of Goa between 1710–1712. A Goa Government report of 1747 recorded that around 5,000 Christians fled to South Canara from the Bardez and [[Tiswadi]] districts of Goa during the invasion of the Marathas.<ref name="alan"/> It was estimated that during the Maratha raids on Goa, about 60,000 Christians migrated to South Canara.<ref>{{harvnb|Kurzon|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=p5iK3CmIW6EC&pg=PA77 77]|Ref=den}}</ref>

==Modern era==
In 1787, inspired by the [[French Revolution]], several Goan Catholic priests, unhappy with the process of promotion within the Church and other discriminatory practices of the Portuguese, organized the [[Conspiracy of the Pintos|Pinto Revolt]] against the Portuguese. Though it was an unsuccessful revolt, it was the first open revolt against the Portuguese from within Goa. In 1843, the capital was moved to [[Panaji|Panjim]] and by the mid-18th century the area under occupation by the Portuguese expanded to Goa's present day limits. By this time the Portuguese Empire started declining and further resistance to their occupation in Goa started gaining momentum. After the rest of India gained independence in 1947 [[Portugal]] refused to relinquish Goa. On 18 December 1961, India moved in with troops and after hostilities that lasted 36 hours, forced the Portuguese administration to surrender. On 30 May 1987, Goa was elevated as India's 25th state.<ref name="dias">{{harvnb|Dias|2007|pp=2–3}}</ref>

During the 1970s, coastal communication increased between Bombay and Goa, after introduction of ships by the [[London]]-based trade firm Shepherd. These ships facilitated the entry of Goan Catholics to Bombay.<ref>{{harvnb|Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture|1983|p=113|Ref=xav}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Catholicism|India}}
*[[Catholic Church in India]]
*[[Goan Catholics]]
*[[Goan Catholics under the British Empire]]
*[[History of Goa]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite book
|last=Ayyappapanicker
|first=K.
|title=Medieval Indian Literature: An Anthology
|year=1997
|publisher=Sahitya Akademi
|isbn=81-260-0365-0
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC
|access-date=2008-09-20
|ref=ayy
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Buchanan
|first=Francis
|author-link=Francis Buchanan-Hamilton
|title=A Journey from Madras Through the Countries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar: For the Express Purpose of Investigating the State of Agriculture, Arts and Commerce, the Religion, Manners, and Customs, the History Natural and Civil, and Antiquities
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bK4Ba6824koC
|orig-year=1807
|year=1988
|access-date=2009-03-24
|publisher=Asian Educational Services
|isbn=81-206-0386-9
|ref=buc
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Baptista
|first=Elsie Wilhelmina
|title= The East Indians: Catholic Community of Bombay, Salsette and Bassein
|year=1967
|publisher=Bombay East Indian Association
|ref=bap}}
*{{cite book
|last=George
|first=K. M.
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1R2Pa3f7r0C
|title=Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: An Anthology: Surveys and Poems
|year=1992
|volume=I
|publisher=Sahitya Akademi
|isbn=978-81-7201-324-0
|access-date=2008-11-17
|ref=geo
}}
*{{cite book |last=Dias |first=Giselle |url=http://www.goatoronto.com/images/stories/stock/catholic-goan-research-paper.pdf |title=A search for an identity Catholic Goans;– How they fit in a predominantly Hindu India |date=May 2007 |publisher=Goan Association of Toronto, Canada |access-date=23 December 2008 |format=PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121204702/http://www.goatoronto.com/images/stories/stock/catholic-goan-research-paper.pdf |archive-date=21 November 2008}}
*{{cite book
|last=Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture
|title=Indica
|volume=20
|publisher=[[St. Xavier's College, Mumbai|St. Xavier's College (Bombay)]]
|year=1983
|ref=xav
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Kerr
|first=Robert
|author-link=Robert Kerr (writer)
|title=A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels
|chapter-url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00generallinks/kerr/vol06chap01sect05.html
|chapter=Discoveries, Navigations, and Conquests of the Portuguese in India, from 1505 to 1539
|volume=6
|year=1812
|access-date=2008-01-05
|publisher=George Ramsay and Company
|ref=kerr
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Kurzon
|first=Dennis
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p5iK3CmIW6EC
|title=Where East Looks West: Success in English in Goa and on the Konkan Coast
|year=2003
|publisher=Multilingual Matters
|isbn=1-85359-673-6
|access-date=2008-12-03
|ref=den
}}
* {{cite book |last=Lach |first=Donald Frederick |year=1994 |title=Asia in the making of Europe: A century of wonder. The literary arts. The scholarly disciplines |publisher=University of Chicago Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hhE3sPY78s0C&pg=PA12 |isbn=978-0-226-46733-7}}
*{{cite book
|author=Paul Harding
|author2=Bryn Thomas
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cmO6M63ISKYC&q=Goa
|title=Lonely Planet: Goa
|edition=3rd
|year=2003
|publisher=Lonely Planet Publications
|isbn=1-74059-139-9
|access-date=2008-09-17
|ref=Goa
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Sen
|first=Surendra Nath
|publisher=Asian Educational Services
|year=1993
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VLEo_DUL9XgC
|title=Studies in Indian History:Historical Records at Goa
|access-date=2008-08-24
|isbn=81-206-0773-2
|ref=Na
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Hunter
|first=William Wilson
|publisher=Asian Educational Services
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yUhvfR1S_UEC&dq=The+Inquisition+of+Goa&pg=PA253
|title=The Indian Empire: Its People, History, and Products
|year=2005
|isbn=81-206-1581-6
|access-date=2008-08-29
|ref=Wi
}}
*{{cite book
|last = Silva
|first = Severine
|author2 = Stephen Fuchs
|author2-link = Stephen Fuchs
|publisher = Asian Folklore Studies, [[Nanzan University]] ([[Japan]])
|url = https://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/afs/pdf/a173.pdf
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120222034247/https://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/afs/pdf/a173.pdf
|url-status = dead
|archive-date = 2012-02-22
|format = [[Portable Document Format|PDF]], 2.48 [[Megabyte|MB]]
|title = The Marriage Customs of the Christians in South Canara
|year = 1965
|series = 2
|access-date = 2008-07-08
|ref = 2
|volume = 24
}}
*{{cite book
|year = 1973
|title = South Kanara District Gazetteer- People
|series = Karnataka State Gazetteer
|volume = 12
|url = http://gazetteer.kar.nic.in/data/gazetteer/postind/11_1973_3.pdf
|format = [[Portable Document Format|PDF]], 2.57 [[Megabyte|MB]]
|pages = 86–125
|publisher = Gazetteer Department ([[Government of Karnataka]])
|access-date = 2008-10-26
|ref = sc
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090325022809/http://gazetteer.kar.nic.in/data/gazetteer/postind/11_1973_3.pdf
|archive-date = 2009-03-25
}}
{{refend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Goan Catholics}}
[[Category:Goan Catholics|*]]
[[Category:Social history of Goa]]
[[Category:Christianity in Goa]]
[[Category:Colonial Goa]]

History of Goan Catholics - Revision history

LibbyAlba221 at 04:35, 15 September 2025