FEDERATED FACULTY FOR RESEARCH IN RELIGION AND CULTURE, KOTTAYAM

Major Issues in the History of Christianity in India (HC 2)

THE PORTUGUESE PRESENCE IN INDIA: THEIR POLICIES AND THEIR CONTACTS

WITH THE THOMAS CHRISTIANS AND THE EFFECTS

By: Fr. B.M.Thomas

Dated: 4th August 2015

1. INTRODUCTION.

The latter half of the 15th century was famous for great voyages and witnessed the beginning of
European colonial expansion. Spain and Portugal were pioneers in sea voyages and colonialization.
They discovered many land and sea routes which were milestones in history. The arrival of Vasco da
Gama in 1498 brings a new era in the History of the St. Thomas Christians. Up to that period, St.
Thomas Christians in India exercised their own tradition and customs under the guidance of the
Persian bishops. The period 1498 – 1663 can be fairly considered as the period during which
Portuguese influence was at its peak in India and correspondingly in the History of Christianity in
India. The Portuguese through their political and religious policies, did affect the life of St. Thomas
Christians. This paper is an attempt to find out the impact of Portuguese arrival to India. It also tries
to elicit the policies and their contacts with the Indian Christians.

2. THE EXPEDITIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE.

In AD 1095 Portugal became a nation. The Portugal Empire became a prominent one in Europe and
they tried to discover the sea route to the unknown places to establish the trade relations by the 13th
century. The zeal towards propagating the Christian Religion, to fight against the Muslim Infidels and
trade were the agenda of Portugal. In 1456, through the famous papal bull, Pope Callistus III, gave the
right to Portugal as „the right to domain and commercial monopoly in the lands discovered and yet to
be discovered.‟1 In another bull in 1493, Pope Alexander VI tried a settlement between Portugal and
Spain as „the Western coast of Atlantic Ocean was assigned to Spain and the Eastern coast and the land
assigned to Portugal.‟2 This bull also barred other nations from entering into those lands without the
licence from those rulers. Prince Henry the Navigator took the lead role in encouraging Portuguese
maritime exploration. He tried to discover a sea route to Asia but in vain. Later in 1947 Bartholomew
Dias found that a new route to Asia is possible through the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.

2.1 THE FIRST EXPEDITION OF VASCO DA GAMA.

With great expectation, on July 8th 1497, after a Holy Communion service a journey was embarked to
India. A new sea route was discovered by Vasco Da Gama through Cape of Good Hope and landed in
Calicut on May 21st 1498.3 He received a welcome from the King of Calicut, The Samorim. Samorim
was happy about the Portuguese arrival, because he thought that it will enhance the trade relations and

1
D Arthur Jeykumar, History of /Christianity in India; Selected Themes (Madurai:TTS,2000), 30.
2
Ibid.,16.
3
A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, Vol 1 (Bangalore: TPI,1984),244.

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people of his country will get more price for the commodities. The Muslim communities did hinder the
smooth trade relation in the land of Samorim. Vasco da Gama tried for a trade relation with Canannore
and after establishing a good trade relation there he returned on November 20th 1498.4 He was well
received by the King of Portugal at Lisbon on September 18th 1499. This expedition made a landmark
in the history of Portugal.

2.2 THE EXPEDITION OF PEDRO ALVARES CABRAL.

Pedro Álvares Cabral (c. 1467 – c. 1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, military
commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. He was appointed to head an
expedition to India in 1500 by King Manuel I, following Vasco da Gama's newly opened route around
Africa. The object of the undertaking was to return with valuable spices and to establish trade relations
in India bypassing the monopoly on the spice trade then in the hands of Arab, Turkish and Italian
merchants. Despite the loss of human lives and ships, Cabral's voyage was deemed a success upon his
return to Portugal. The extraordinary profits resulting from the sale of the spices bolstered the
Portuguese Crown's finances. Cabral was later passed over, possibly as a result of a quarrel with King
Manuel I, when a new fleet was assembled to establish a more robust presence in India. Having lost
favour with the King, he retired to a private life.
2.3 THE SECOND EXPEDITION OF VASCO DA GAMA
From Correa‟s narrative it seems that the voyage of Vasco da Gama had no other motive than to
establish good trade relations, with the Kings of the Lands he discovered and thus promote the
commercial and political interests Portugal and its Kings. 5 The second expedition of Vasco da Gama
was with much reckoning. He in January 1502 received the title of admiral and started his second
expedition in February 1502. Coasting southern Arabia, da Gama then stopped at Goa before
proceeding to Cannanore, north of Calicut, where he lay in wait for Arab shipping. After several days
an Arab ship arrived with merchandise and between 200 and 400 passengers who were pilgrims,
including women and children. After seizing the cargo, da Gama is said to have shut up the passengers
aboard the captured ship and set it afire, killing all on board. After that da Gama formed an alliance
with the ruler of Cannanore, an enemy of the Samorim, the fleet sailed to Calicut, with the aim of
wrecking its trade and punishing the Samorim for the favour he had shown to Muslim traders. Da
Gama bombarded the port and seized and massacred 38 hostages. The Portuguese then sailed south to
the port of Cochin, with whose ruler (an enemy of the Samorim) they formed an alliance. After an
invitation to da Gama from the Samorim had proved to be an attempt to entrap him, the Portuguese
had a brief fight with Arab ships off Calicut but put them to full flight. On February 20th 1503, the fleet
left Cannanore for Mozambique on the first stage of their return voyage, reached Tagus on October 11.

3 THE POLITICAL POLICIES OF PORTUGUESE.

The expedition and voyages of the Portuguese was with the main motive to establish a monopoly in
trade with the nations. They tried to rupture the trade relations of the Muslims with these nations and
by this to capture the power and to work for the extension of prosperity of their country and also for
the propagation of papal Christendom.

3.1 PORTUGUESE PRESENCE IN KERALA

4
John Pallath, Portugal Yugathile Chraistava Sabha (Kalammasseri: Jyotir Dhara Pub.,1998), 16.
5
A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, Vol 1 (Bangalore: TPI,1984),245.

2
The strong relationship of Portugal with Kerala began in 1498 due to the discovery of the new sea
route. They had their influence in the community for about 160 years. This caused a shift in the history
of Kerala regarding trade, politics and religion. The rift between the southern and northern kingdoms
in Kerala was utilized by the Portuguese in establishing their power. They established their forts in
Cannanore and Cochin with the help of the local kings. They considered the land as the land of pepper
and souls. At the time of arrival of Portuguese in Kerala, the trade was controlled by the Muslims .A
bitter enmity had grown between the Muslims and the Portuguese. Through the military operations
they succeeded to capture the monopoly of trade and built some business centres. After the conquest of
Vijayanagar they shifted their capital to Goa around 1530 .The Dutch defeated the Portuguese in
Kerala in the 17th century. Quilon fell to Dutch in 1661, followed by Cragannore in 1662. Finally in
1663 Dutch conquered Cochin and pushed Portuguese to Goa, Daman and Diu colonies6

3.2 EXTENSION OF TERRITORIES

The second governor of Portugal in the east, Alfonso De Albuquerque wished to carry out the trade
without any impediment and to establish the Portuguese colony. In 1510, he captured the city of Goa
from the Sultan of Bijapur.7 They had their influence in the Western coast of India and Goa remained
as a colony of Portugal.

4. RELIGIOUS POLICIES OF THE PORTUGAL

A bull pronounced by Pope Alexander VI commended to the rulers „to send to the said lands and
islands good men who fear God and are learned, skilled and expert to instruct the inhabitants in
Catholic faith and good morals.8 The absolute necessity of the Catholic Church for salvation seems to
have the strong motivating force in their religious policy.9 The people of Portugal used their religious
policies to Christianize the people where they went.

4.1 MIXED MARRIAGES

They considered mixed marriages as one of the sources of conversion. Albuquerque encouraged his
soldiers to marry the white and beautiful widows and daughters of Muslims. By giving financial aids
too. 10 Through this they developed a mixed community which always shown their alliance to the
Portuguese hierarchy. This was the origin of Indo –Portuguese community.

4.2 JOB OFFERINGS The Portuguese gave preference to the Christians while employing them to
different sectors. It was decreed that the public offices could be held by Christians alone.11 As a result
many embraced Christianity for the sake of employment.

4.3 DIRECT EVANGELISM

The Portuguese spread Christian faith by direct evangelism too. The trained Portuguese chaplains tried
to spread the Gospel. They constructed worship and meeting places in their territories. The Monks

6
Joseph Thekkedeth, History of Christianity in India .Vol 2 (Bangalore:TPI,1982),20.
7
D Arthur Jeykumar, History of Christianity in India; Selected Themes (Madurai:TTS,2000), 16.
8
Ibid.
9
Xavier Koodapuzha,”Synod of Diamper :Its impact and consequences.”Joint International Commission for Dialogue
between the Catholic church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church .(Kottayam:JIC,2001), 567.
10
D Arthur Jeykumar, History of Christianity in India; Selected Themes (Madurai:TTS,2000), 17.
11
Ibid.

3
from different orders, Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits and Augustinians were involved in these kinds
of evangelisms.12

4.4 FORCED CONVERSIONS

The Portuguese were also involved in forced conversions. They used their political and military power
to convert people of other faith to Christianity. They forbade the public worship of people of other
faiths inside their territories. They even destroyed temples and mosques. Moreover only Christians
were given the right to own land and other possessions.13

4.5 BY PROVIDING POLITICAL PROTECTION.

Due to the help rendered by the Portuguese to make them safe from the attacks of other people many
embraced Christianity. For Example about 20,000 Paravas –A Pearl Fishing Community on the South
east Coast of India, in two years became Christians.14

4.6 EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION

Portuguese started the first school in Cochin. The school was attended by children from all classes in
the society. Children had been given incentives. This attracted many to attend the school. Children
received elementary education and catechism classes. The school consisted of many woman students
who were able to recite the commandments, the article of faith, the works of charity and other
formulas.15

4.7 PHILANTHROPIC WORK

In 1506 Viceroy Francis de Almedia started a hospital in Cochin .The name of the hospital was Santa
Cruz de Cochin (Holy Cross Hospital of Cochin).The clergy made regular visits to the patients and
offered prayers.

5. ST. THOMAS CHRISTIAN AT THE ARRIVAL OF PORTUGUESE

The Thomas Christians had hierarchal dependence on the East Syrian Church till the end of 16 th
century. Owing to this dependence the East Syrian liturgical and canonical rites came to be accepted
and practised by Thomas Christians. Along with these factors, they developed individuality in their
own socio political environment of the country, adapting themselves to, or rather Christianizing, their
ancient culture in almost all aspects. This adaptation or Christianization extended itself also to their
liturgical and canonical rites i.e. to their mode of worship and church administration.16 The St. Thomas
Christians had a deep awareness of the apostolic origin of their church. They had all fundamental
features of an individual church with a unique identity and the consciousness of St. Thomas Tradition.
They also succeeded in maintaining this identity till 16th century. They had the ecclesiastical (a
hierarchical) relation with the East Syrian Church. They maintained their indigenous identity .They
had a high social status and position in the society. Their attitude towards the people of other faith was

12
A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, Vol 1 (Bangalore: TPI,1984),372.
13
D Arthur Jeykumar, History of Christianity in India; Selected Themes (Madurai:TTS,2000), 17.
14
Ibid.
15
A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, Vol 1 (Bangalore: TPI,1984),367.
16
Placid J Podippara, The Thomas Christians (Bombay: Society of St.Paul ,1970 ) 79.

4
of openness and tolerance. This trait was extended to the Portuguese too. Their ascetical and spiritual
life was exemplary. They had an indigenous system of education and clerical formation.17
5.1 RELIGIOUS LIFE
The churches externally looked like non –Christian pagodas. The only Christian distinction being the
crosses that were put on the roofs. The lamps ,umbrellas and other paraphernalia of the churches
resembles that are used in the Hindu temples. The clergy recited the East Syrian Divine office in
Churches in choir, and the lay people, who knew East Syriac enough to say their private prayers in it ,
easily responded to them 18 .The Thomas Christians had the most respect towards the Most Holy
Eucharist. A 16th century document says that during the mass , at the elevation , they rose up and bent
their heads down to the floor and said they were not worthy of seeing it.19

6. ST. THOMAS CHRISTIANS AND THE PORTUGUESE

The Portuguese started the conversion even before the arrival of St. Francis Xavier. In 1514 Pope Leo
X. issued a bull, which granted the King of Portugal and his successors „the right of ecclesiastical
patronage in the lands conquered and to be conquered in Africa and Asia. 20 It is known as the
Padroado or right of Patronage. By this they got the right to present candidates to the Bishoprics and
other ecclesiastical offices and correspondingly an obligation to maintain staff and equip churches in
mission fields. 21 For the Roman Catholics, the Syrian Church was defective and they took upon
themselves the challenge to bring back the St. Thomas Church to Catholic fold by correcting them.
The attempts started as early as 1515, Fr. Rodriguez, a Dominican reports to have converted 2000
Syrians to Catholic Faith. But it was only after the establishment of the Bishopric in Goa, their efforts
intensified. 22 The chief of their efforts was in 1541, when Fr. Vincent De Lagos, a Portuguese
Fransiscan opened a schoolfor the Syrian boys at Crangannore.23

6.1 THE FORMATION OF DIOCESES.

The padroado right played a major role in the history of Christianity in India. The first Latin diocese
was formed in Goa in 1534 and the second at Cochin in 1558 after Goa was elevated as arch-diocese.24
The diocese of Goa became the seat of a Portuguese Bishop. This brought structural and organized
missionary activities in India.

6.2 LATINIZATION
The Portuguese adopted several methods to impose Latin customs on St.Thomas Christians to bring
them under their ecclesiaistical control. Some of the leaders of Thomas Christians also inclined
towards such moves. The Portuguese realized that the Bishops coming to the St. Thomas Christians
from Mesopotamia were a major hindrance for them to convert the Syrians into Roman Catholics.
Even though some of the Bishops who came to the Church in India were with communion with Pope
the Portuguese did not appreciate it. Alexis de Menezis, the arch Bishop of Goa, Appointed in 1595,

17
Xavier Koodapuzha,”Synod of Diamper :Its impact and consequences.”Joint International Commission for Dialogue
between the Catholic church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church .(Kottayam:JIC,2001),216.
18
Placid J Podippara, The Thomas Christians (Bombay: Society of St.Paul ,1970 ) 87.
19
Ibid., 88.
20
C.B.Firth, An Introduction to Indian Church History (New Delhi:ISPCK,2001), 51.
21
Ibid.
22
A Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India: Major themes (Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2013), 35.
23
Ibid.
24 th
J. Wicky, “The Portuguese Padraoada in India in the 16 Century and Francis Xavier.” in Christianity in India edited by
Perumalil and Hambey (Alleppey: Prakasam Publications,1972), 48.

5
succeeded in stopping the Bishops coming from Mesapotamia.25 De Menezis was an able and resolute
man with commanding personality and a clever intellect. At first he arrived in Cochin on 26th January
1599 to take charge of the Syrian Church. He invited archdeacon George to come and visit him. The
archdeacon came to visit him with some clergy and 3000 armed men. It was decided in the meeting
that the arch bishop would be allowed to visit the Syrian churches to preach and celebrate mass. The
arch deacon hoped that Alexis de menezis would go away sooner or later, but the arch bishop had
made in his heart that withour Romanizing the Syrian Church he would not return to Goa. He took
many efforts towards this end.

a) At his first halt at Vaipicotta he stirred the people by stating the Patriarch of Babylon as a
heretic.
b) He was welcomed at places like Udayamperoor, Kadathuruthy and Parur. He learnt that the
Syriac priests were faithful to the Bishops who ordained them. So he decided to conduct
ordination services, and with a period of four months he ordained more than hundred priests.
c) He also visited the Rajah of Cochin and gave him large sum of money to put pressure on the
Arch deacon and the Syrian Christians to yield to the demands of the Arch Bishop.
d) During the holy week at Kadathururthy to impress the people he brought choir from cochin
and the service was conducted with greatest possible Grandeur and Solemnity. In the Maundy
Thursday service he with his full pontifical‟s knelt down and washed and kissed the feet of the
Kattanars. The people who saw this were awestruck because they had never seen such a
humble act from their Bishops or archdeacons. They immediately declared their whole hearted
support to the arch bishop.26

Through all these efforts he was able to win the support of the St. Thomas Christians and their rulers
and forced the Arch deacon George to submit to him. He decided to convene a Synod at Udayamperur.

6.3 ESTABLISHMENT OF SEMINARIES.

In 1541 they started a seminary at Cranganore. They trained the St.Thomas Christians in Latin and
doctrines of the Latin Church. There were 100 students when Francis Xavier visited the seminary in
1549.27 The second seminary was started by Jesuits in Vaipicotta in 1581.

6.4 SYNOD OF DIAMPER–

This is one of the major events in the history of Malankara Church. Alexis de Menezis and his
colleagues played a vital role to Latinize the Syrian rites. The Roman Catholic Scholars call it as one
of the darkest day in the history of relations between the Catholics and the Eastern Church. 28 On 20th
June 1599, the Synod of Diamper was convened and it was attended by 133 priests, 20 deacons and
660 lay peopleall together 813 Syrians participated with a good representation from the Syrian Church.
Some of the main points of the doctrinal shift were.
a) Renunciation of Nestorianism and a statement of the Catholic faith strongly western in tone
b) Renunciation of the Patriarch of the East and insistence on the duty of obedience of the pope.

25
A Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India: Major themes (Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2013), 36.
26
Joseph Thekkedeth, History of Christianity in India .Vol 2 (Bangalore:TPI,1982),68.
27
Antony J Panakkal , “The Indian Church 1659 -1887 and the Vicariate of Malabar:A view from Verapoly.”in St.Thomas
Christian Encyclopedia of India, edited by George Menachery , Vol 1 (Thrissur: St.Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India
,1982),32 -36.
28
A Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India: Major themes (Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2013), 38.

6
 c) Explanation of the seven sacraments of the Roman Church and its use and manner of
celebrations.
d) Roman catholic Administrative Structure was insisted upon. Like , Division of the church into
parishes, provision of ministers, feasts and fasts to be kept, etc.
During the seven days of the Synod, the Syrian Church was pressurized to submit them to the Pope
and accept the doctrine and customs of the Roman Catholic Church. Only the use of Syriac Language
in worship and liturgy was permitted apart from that the Syrian Church was completely Latinized.
This was continued till the deliberate attempt of the Thomas Christians to come out of the clutches of
the Portuguese through the Coonen Cross revolt in 1653.29

7. THE EFFECTS OF PORTUGUESE INVASION AND THE SYNOD OF DIAMPER

The trade relations ended in hostility between the native Christians who followed the Eastern Syrian
traditions and the Potuguese. The St.Thoams Christians faught to keep their traditions alive. They
protested the mixed marriages. The Syrian Christians were attacked and their Churches were Burned.
The married clergy were asked to get separated from their wives or leave ministry. The social strata of
the St. Thomas Christians came down due to the conversion of lower class people into Christianity.
The nick name Paranghi was given to the people who embraced Christianity during this period. These
Paranghis indulged in meat eating, wine drinking, lose living arrogance etc. To have social intercourse
with such people was considered unthinkable and repungnant. 30 The Portuguese had made a great
impact on the nature of the St.Thomas Christians. At the time of arrival of Portugal, the Church of
St.Thomas was a single indigenous community with ecclesiastical identity and hierarchial relations
with the East Syrian Church. But at the time of ending of the Portuguese power in Cochin in 1663, the
St.Thomas Christians were found to be as a divided community standing one against the other. They
underwent substantial changes in doctrinal positions, church administration and church discipline. The
ancient records of the church was destroyed, to make a new beginning to the church of Malankara in
its connection with Rome at the same time forgetting the past. This action later on led to much
distortion of facts and features of Malankara church and has misguided most of the earlier and native
historiographers of the Church.31

8. CONCLUSION
The relationship between the Portuguese and the St.Thomas Christians was very good initially. But
later it worsened because the Roman Catholics wanted to impose their traditions and cultures upon the
Syrian Christians. The latinization of the St.Thomas Christians was not only a religious policy but had
political interests too. The easy victories of the Portuguese made the locals open their eyes towards
their old fashioned methods of warfare. They were eager to learn a lot from the Portuguese. The arrival
of the Portuguese brought drastic changes in religious, social, economic life of the St. Thomas
Christians and even brought division among them.

________________

29
A Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India: Major themes (Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2013), 38-39.
30
C.B.Firth, An Introduction to Indian Church History (New Delhi:ISPCK,2001), 111
31
T I Varghese, “The Impact of the Arrival of the Portuguese on the Malankara Church.”In Joint International Commission
for Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church . (Kottayam:JIC,2001) 267.

7
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