THE PORTUGUESE IN INDIA.
Son mui buenos Catolicos, pero mui malos
Christianos;—They are very good Catholics, but
nevertheless very bad Christians indeed.
_Saying of an old Catholic priest. Ward’s Mexico._
Most of the countries in India have been filled with
tyrants who prefer piracy to commerce—who acknowledge
no right but that of power; and think that whatever is
practicable is just.
_The Abbé Raynal._
Scarcely had Columbus made known the New World when the Portuguese,
under Vasco de Gama, opened the sea-path to the East Indies. Those
affluent and magnificent regions, which had so long excited the wonder
and cupidity of Europe, and whose gems, spices, and curious fabrics,
had been introduced overland by the united exertions of the Arabs,
the Venetians, and Genoese, were now made accessible by the great
highway of the ocean; and the Pope generously gave all of them to
the Portuguese! The language of the Pontiff was like the language of
another celebrated character to our Saviour, and founded on about as
much real right: “All these kingdoms will I give unto thee, if thou
wilt fall down and worship me.” The Portuguese were nothing loath.
They were, in the expressive language of a great historian, “all
on fire for plunder and the propagation of their religion!” Away,
therefore, they hastened, following the sinuous guidance of those
African coasts which they had already traced out—on which they had
already commenced that spoliation and traffic in men which for three
centuries was to grow only more and more extensive, dreadful, and
detestable—“those countries where,” says M. Malte Brun, “tyranny and
ignorance have not had the power to destroy the inexhaustible fecundity
of the soil, but have made them, down to the present times, the theatre
of eternal robbery, and one vast market of human blood.”
They landed in Calicut, under Gama, in 1498, and speedily gave
sufficient indications of the object of their visit, and the nature of
their character. But in India they had more formidable obstacles to
their spirit of dominance and extermination than they and the Spaniards
had found in the New World. They beheld themselves on the limits of
a vast region, inhabited by a hundred millions of people—countries
of great antiquity, of a higher civilization, and under the rule of
active and military princes. Populous cities, vast and ancient temples,
palaces, and other public works; a native literature, science handed
down from far-off times, and institutions of a fixed and tenacious
caste, marked them as a people not so easily to be made a prey of as
the Mexicans or Peruvians. Peaceful as were the habits, and bloodless
as were the religion and the social principles of a vast body of the
Hindoos, their rulers, whether the descendants of the great Persian
and Tartar conquerors, and Mahomedans in faith, or of their own race
and religion, were disposed enough to resist any foreign aggression.
At sea, indeed, swarmed the Moorish fleets, which had long enjoyed the
monopoly of the trade of these rich and inexhaustible regions; but
these they soon subdued. Their conquests and cruelties were therefore
necessarily confined chiefly to the coasts and to the paradisiacal
islands which stud the Indian seas, and, as Milton has beautifully
expressed it, cast their spicy odours abroad, till
Many a league
Cheered with the grateful smell, old Ocean smiles.
We must take a rapid view of the Portuguese in India,—for our object
is not a history of European conquests, but of European treatment of
the natives of the countries they have entered; and the atrocities
of the Portuguese in the East are too notorious to require tracing
minutely, and step by step in their progress. Every reader is familiar
with the transactions between Gama and the Zamorin of Calicut, through
the splendid poem of Camoens. Alvarez Cabral, the discoverer of Peru,
who succeeded him, was by no means particular in his policy. On the
slightest suspicion of evil intention, he fell upon the people and made
havoc amongst them. The inhabitants of Calicut, between the intrigues
of the Moorish merchants and those of the Portuguese adventurers, were
always the dupes and the sufferers. They attempted to drive out the
Portuguese, and Cabral, in revenge, burnt all the Arabian vessels in
the harbour, cannonaded the town, and then sailed, first to Cochin,
and then to Cananor. These and other places being tributary to the
Zamorin, received them as saviours, and enabled them to build forts,
to gain command of the seas, and drive from them the ships of the
Zamorin and the Moors. But the celebrated Alphonso Albuquerque made
the most rapid strides, and extended the conquests of the Portuguese
there beyond any other commander. He narrowly escaped with his life
in endeavouring to sack and plunder Calicut. He seized on Goa, which
thenceforward became the metropolis of all the Portuguese settlements
in India. He conquered Molucca, and gave it up to the plunder of his
soldiers. The fifth part of the wealth thus thievishly acquired, was
reserved for the king, and was purchased on the spot by the merchants
for 200,000 pieces of gold. Having established a garrison in the
conquered city, he made a traitor Indian, who had deserted from the
king of Molucca, and had been an instrument in the winning of the
place, supreme magistrate; but again finding Utimut, the renegade, as
faithless to himself, he had him and his son put to death, even though
100,000 pieces of gold, a bait that was not easily resisted by these
Christian marauders, was offered for their lives. He then proceeded to
Ormuz in the Persian Gulph, which was a great harbour for the Arabian
merchants; reduced it, placed a garrison in it, seized on fifteen
princes of the blood, and carried them off to Goa. Such were some of
the deeds of this celebrated general, whom the historians in the same
breath in which they record these unwarrantable acts of violence,
robbery and treachery, term an excellent and truly glorious commander.
He made a descent on the isle of Ceylon, and detached a fleet to the
Moluccas, which established a settlement in those delightful regions
of the cocaa, the sago-tree, the nutmeg, and the clove. The kings of
Persia, of Siam, Pegu, and others, alarmed at his triumphant progress,
sought his friendship; and he completed the conquest of the Malabar
coast. With less than forty thousand troops the Portuguese struck
terror, says the historian, “into the empire of Morocco, the barbarous
nations of Africa, the Mamelucs, the Arabians, and all the eastern
countries from the island of Ormuz to China.” How much better for their
pretensions to Christianity, and for their real interests, if they had
struck them with admiration of that faith and integrity, and of those
noble virtues which Christianity can inspire, and which were never
yet lost on the attention of nations where they have been righteously
displayed. But the Portuguese unfortunately did not understand what
Christianity was. Their notions of religion made avarice, lust, and
cruelty, all capable of dwelling together in one heart; and, in the
language of their own historians, the vessels bound for the east were
crowded with adventurers who wanted to enrich themselves, secure their
country, and make proselytes. They were on the eve of opening a most
auspicious intercourse with China, when some of these adventurers,
under Simon Andrada, appeared on the coast. This commander treated the
Chinese in the same manner as the Portuguese had been in the habit of
treating all the people of Asia. He built a fort without permission, in
the island of Taman, from whence he took opportunities of pillaging,
and extorting money from all the ships bound from, or to, all the ports
of China. He carried off young girls from the coast; he seized upon the
men and made them slaves; he gave himself up to the most licentious
acts of piracy, and the most shameful dissoluteness. His soldiers and
sailors followed his example with avidity; and the Chinese, enraged at
such outrages, fell upon them, drove them from the coast, and for a
long time refused all overtures of trade from them.
In Japan, they were for a time more fortunate. They exported, in
exchange for European goods or commodities, from India, gold, silver,
and copper to the value of about 634,000_l._ annually. They married the
richest heiresses, and allied themselves to the most powerful families.
“With such advantages,” says the Abbé Raynal, “the avarice as well as
the ambition of the Portuguese might have been satisfied. They were
masters of the coast of Guinea, Arabia, Persia, and the two peninsulas
of India. They were possessed of the Moluccas, Ceylon, and the isles
of Sunda, while their settlement at Macao insured to them the commerce
of China and Japan. Throughout these immense regions, the will of
the Portuguese was the supreme law. Earth and sea acknowledged their
sovereignty. Their authority was so absolute, that things and persons
were dependent upon them, and moved entirely by their directions. No
native, nor private person dared to make voyages, or carry on trade,
without obtaining their permission and passport. Those who had this
liberty granted them, were prohibited trading in cinnamon, ginger,
pepper, timber, and many other articles, of which the conquerors
reserved to themselves the exclusive benefit.
“In the midst of so much glory, wealth, and conquest, the Portuguese
had not neglected that part of Africa which lies between the Cape
of Good Hope and the Red Sea, and in all ages has been famed for the
richness of its productions. The Arabians had been settled there for
several ages; they had formed along the coast of Zanguebar several
small independent states, abounding in mines of silver and gold. To
possess themselves of this treasure was deemed by the Portuguese
an indispensable duty. Agreeable to this principle, these Arabian
merchants were attacked and subdued about the year 1508. Upon their
ruin was established an empire extending from Sofala as far as Melinda,
of which the island of Mozambique was made the centre.
“These successes properly improved, might have formed a power so
considerable that it could not have been shaken; but the vices and
follies of some of their chiefs, the abuse of riches and power, the
wantonness of victory, the distance of their own country, changed the
character of the Portuguese. Religious zeal, which had added so much
force and activity to their courage, now produced in them nothing but
ferocity. They made no scruple of pillaging, cheating, and enslaving
the idolaters. They supposed that the pope, in bestowing the kingdoms
of Asia on the Portuguese monarchs, had not withholden the property of
individuals from their subjects. Being absolute masters of the Eastern
seas, they extorted a tribute from the ships of every country; they
ravaged the coasts, insulted the princes, and became the terror and
scourge of all nations.
“The king of Sidor was carried off from his own palace, and murdered,
with his children, whom he had entrusted to the care of the Portuguese.
“At Ceylon, the people were not suffered to cultivate the earth, except
for their new masters, who treated them with the greatest barbarity.
“At Goa they established the inquisition, and whoever was rich became a
prey to the ministers of that infamous tribunal.
“Faria, who was sent out against the pirates from Malacca, China, and
other parts, made a descent on the island of Calampui, and plundered
the tombs of the Chinese emperors.
“Sousa caused all the pagodas on the Malabar coast to be destroyed, and
his people inhumanly massacred the wretched Indians who went to weep
over the ruins of their temples.
“Correa terminated an obstinate war with the king of Pegu, and both
parties were to swear on the books of their several religions to
observe the treaty. Correa swore on a collection of songs, and thought
by this vile stratagem to elude his engagement.
“Nuno d’ Acughna attacked the isle of Daman on the coast of Cambaya.
The inhabitants offered to surrender to him if he would permit them to
carry off their treasures. This request was refused, and Nuno put them
all to the sword.
“Diego de Silveira was cruizing in the Red Sea. A vessel richly laden
saluted him. The captain came on board, and gave him a letter from a
Portuguese general, which was to be his passport. The letter contained
only these words: _I desire the_ captains of ships belonging to the
king of Portugal, to seize upon this Moorish vessel as lawful prize.
“Henry Garcias, when governor of the Moluccas, was requested by
the king of Tidore, who was ill, to send him a physician. Garcias
accordingly sent one who villanously poisoned him. He then made a
descent upon the island; besieged the capital, took it, plundered it,
and used the inhabitants very cruelly. This event happening in time of
peace, and without the least provocation, caused an implacable hatred
to the Portuguese amongst all the people, not only of that island, but
of all the Moluccas.
“In a short time the Portuguese preserved no more humanity or good
faith with each other than with the natives. Almost all the states,
where they had the command, were divided into factions. There prevailed
everywhere in their manners, a mixture of avarice, debauchery, cruelty,
and devotion. They had most of them seven or eight concubines, whom
they kept to work with the utmost rigour, and forced from them the
money they gained by their labour. Such treatment of women was very
repugnant to the spirit of chivalry. The chiefs and principal officers
admitted to their tables a multitude of those singing and dancing
women, with which India abounds. Effeminacy introduced itself into
their houses and armies. The officers marched to meet the enemy in
palanquins. That brilliant courage which had confounded so many
nations, existed no longer amongst them. They were with difficulty
brought to fight, except for plunder. In a short time, the king no
longer received the tribute which was paid him by one hundred and
fifty eastern princes. It was lost on its way from them to him. Such
corruption prevailed in the finances, that the tributes of sovereigns,
the revenues of provinces, which ought to have been immense, the
taxes levied on gold, silver, and spices, on the inhabitants of the
continent and islands, were not sufficient to keep up a few citadels,
and to fit out the shipping necessary for the protection of trade.”
Some gleams of valour blazed up now and then; Don Juan de Castro
revived the spirit of the settlers for awhile; Ataida, and fresh troops
from Portugal repelled the native powers, who, worn out with endurance
of outrages and indignities, and alive to the growing effeminacy of
their oppressors, rose against them on all hands. But these were only
temporary displays. The island of Amboyna was the first to avenge
itself; and the words addressed to them by one of its citizens are
justly descriptive of their real character. A Portuguese had, at a
public festival, seized upon a very beautiful woman, and regardless
of all decency, had proceeded to the grossest of outrages. One of the
islanders, named Genulio, armed his fellow-citizens; after which he
called together the Portuguese, and addressed them in the following
manner:—“To revenge affronts so cruel as those we have received from
you, requires actions, not words; yet we will speak to you. You preach
to us a Deity, who delights, you say, in generous actions; but theft,
murder, obscenity, and drunkenness are your common practice: your
hearts are inflamed with every vice. Our manners can never agree with
yours. Nature foresaw this when she separated us by immense seas, and
you have overleaped her barriers. This audacity, of which you are not
ashamed to boast, is a proof of the corruption of your hearts. Take
my advice; leave to their repose those nations that resemble you so
little; go, fix your habitations amongst those who are as brutal as
yourselves; an intercourse with you would be more fatal to us than all
the evils which it is in the power of your God to inflict upon us. We
renounce your alliance for ever. Your arms are more powerful than ours;
but we are more just than you, and we do not fear them. The Itons are
from this day your enemies;—fly from this country, and beware how you
approach it again.”
Equally detested in every quarter, they saw a confederacy forming to
expel them from the east. All the great powers of India entered into
the league, and for two or three years carried on their preparations in
secret. Their old enemy, the Zamorin, attacked Manjalor, Cochin, and
Cananor. The king of Cambaya attacked Chaul, Daman, and Baichaim. The
king of Achen laid siege to Malacca. The king of Ternate made war on
them in the Moluccas. Agalachem, a tributary to the Mogul, imprisoned
the Portuguese merchants at Surat; and the queen of Gareopa endeavoured
to drive them out of Onor. The exertions of Ataida averted immediate
destruction; but a more formidable power was now preparing to expel
them from their ill-acquired and ill-governed possessions,—the Dutch.
In little more than a century from the appearance of the Portuguese
in India, this nation drove them from Malacca and Ceylon; from most
of their possessions on the coast of Malabar; and had, moreover, made
settlements on the Coromandel coast. It was high time that this reign
of crime and terror came to an end, had a better generation succeeded
them. After the death of Sebastian, and the reduction of Portugal by
Philip II., the last traces of order or decency seemed to vanish from
the Indian settlements. Portugal itself exhibited, with the usual
result of ill-gotten wealth, a scene of miserable extremes—profusion
and poverty. Those who had been in India were at once indolent and
wealthy; the farmer and the artizan were reduced to the most abject
condition. “In the colonies the Portuguese gave themselves,” says
Raynal, “up to all those excesses which make men hated, though they
had not courage enough left to make them feared. They were monsters.
Poison, fire, assassination, every sort of crime was become familiar
to them; nor were they private persons only who were guilty of such
practices,—men in office set them the example! They massacred the
natives; they destroyed one another. The governor just arrived, loaded
his predecessor with irons, that he might deprive him of his wealth.
The distance of the scene, false witnesses, and large bribes secured
every crime from punishment.”