History of Mangalorean Catholics

The History of Mangalorean Catholics recounts the migration of Goan Catholics to Mangalore due to many historical reasons.

Pre-migration era

All records of an early existence of Christians in Mangalore were lost at the time of their deportation by Tippu Sultan in 1784. Hence, it is unknown when exactly Christianity was introduced in Mangalore, but it is possible that Syrian Christians had settled in Mangalore, as they did in Kerala.harvnb|Silva|Fuchs|1965|p=4|Ref=2] The early seeds of Christianity were laid in Mangalore by the European missionaries much before the Goan migration to Mangalore. In 1321, the French dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac (in south-western France) landed at a place called Bhatkal near Mangalore.harvnb|Jordanus|Yule|2001|p= [http://books.google.com/books?id=nhcH4E3li3AC&pg=RA1-PA40&dq=&sig=ACfU3U2ge4SFVJc_2n4j3WCN9iRiPqM26Q#PRA1-PA40,M1 40] |Ref=1] He established a missionary station there and converted many locals to Christianity. A few of them had migrasted to Mangalore. [cite web
url= http://www.quilondiocese.org/former%20prelates%20of%20diocese.htm
title= The great prelates who shaped the history of Diocese of Quilon |accessdate= 2008-01-14
publisher= Quilon Diocese] In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama landed at St Mary's Islands in Mangalore on his voyage from Portugal to India. [cite news
url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2002/09/16/stories/2002091600170300.htm
title= Where rocks tell a tale
author= J. Kamath
date=2002-09-16
accessdate=2008-07-08
publisher="The Hindu Business Line"]

In 1534, Mangalore was placed under the ecclesiastic jurisdiction of the Bishop of Goa. Soon missionaries were being sent there and gained a number of converts. In 1568, the Rosario Cathedral (now the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary) was erected by the Portuguese at Bolar in Mangalore. The Church of Our Lady of Mercy at Ullal and St. Francis of Assisi at Farangipet were also erected during the same time. The references to these three churches was higlighted by the Italian traveller Pietro Della Valle who visited Mangalore in 1623. [cite news
url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/11/27/stories/2004112702480100.htm
title= The holy heritage
author= Raviprasad Kamila
date=2004-11-27
accessdate=2008-08-23
publisher="The Hindu"] The number of local converts in Mangalore started increasing very slowly. During the late 15th century, the Portuguese were unsuccessful in gaining converts in Mangalore due to the resistance from the Vijayanagara ruler Krishnadevraya and the Bednore Queen of Mangalore Abbakka Rani of Ullal. [cite web
url=http://www.ignca.gov.in/nl001903.htm
title= Abbakka Rani : The Unsung Warrior Queen
accessdate=2008-08-24
publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts] [cite press release
url=http://pib.nic.in/release/rel_print_page.asp?relid=6707
author=M.K. Dharma Raja
title=Queen Abbakka’s triumph over western colonisers
accessdate=2008-08-24
publisher=Press Information Bureau]

The migration era

Many of the Goan descendants of the present Mangalorean Catholics had fled Goa due to the Goa Inquisition introduced by the Portuguese in 1560. The King of Portugal decreed that every trace of Indian customs be eradicated completely through the Inquisition. During the Inquisition, Christians, who were suspected of practicing their ancestral religion in secret were chastised. But many Christians of Goa were attached to some of their ancient Indian customs and refused to abandon them. Those who refused to comply with the rules laid down by the Inquisition were forced to leave Goa and to settle outside the Portuguese dominion. Most of them migrated to Mangalore.harvnb|Silva|Fuchs|1965|p=5|Ref=2] This migration is referred as the First Wave of Migration.

The Christians who left Goa were skilled cultivators who had abandoned their irrigated fields in Goa for the sake of their freedom. At the time of their immigration, Mangalore was ruled by the Bednore King Shivappa Naik (1540-1560). He evinced great interest in the development of agriculture in his domains and warmly welcomed these skilled farmers and made them holders of his fertile lands. This fact was confirmed by Dr. Francis Buchanan when he visited Mangalore in 1801. Buchanan stated that "80,000 Christians came and settled in Mangalore at the invitation of the King of Bednore." Later, this was identified probably as a misprint and should have read 8,000. However even this figure included the second emigration of Christians from Goa which brought additional farmers to Mangalore.

The Sultan of Bijapur attacked Goa in 1571 and completely annihilated the Portuguese influence in Goa. These Sultans were especially known for their abomination towards Christianity. Fearing persecution, many Catholics from Goa migrated to Mangalore. This migration is referred as the Second Wave of Migration. The Christian who came during this period were mostly of the Shenvi sub-section of the Brahmin caste, from the Bardez district of Goa.harvnb|Silva|Fuchs|1965|p=8|Ref=2] The attacks of the Maratha Empire on Goa was also a cause of migration of the Goan Catholics towards Mangalore. In 1664, Shivaji attacked the outskirts of Kudal, and began his campaign for Goa. The onslaught of his son Sambhaji along the northern territories of Goa drove nearly all the Christians to flee their homelands, and most of them migrated to Mangalore. This migration is referred as the Third Wave of Migration. During the later years, the migration slowed down due to the Maratha-Mughal wars, thus keeping Sambhaji busy in warfare.cite web
url=http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gulf-goans/message/10064
title=Goa and Mangolorean
author=Joe Lobo
publisher=Indian Catholic Association of Florida
accessdate=2008-08-26] [cite web
url=http://www.kcabangalore.in/History.html
title=KCA Bangalore History
accessdate=2008-08-23
publisher=Kanara Catholic Association, Bangalore (KCA Bangalore)]

Post-migration era

In the mid-seventeenth century, Hyder Ali ascended to the throne of Mysore. The Portuguese had offered to help Hyder Ali against the English. But when they betrayed Hyder Ali, he took his anger against the Mangalorean Catholics. Toward the end of 1768, Hyder Ali defeated the English, and turned his attention against the Mangalorean Catholics, who were taking refuge in the fort at Mangalore, which the British had captured from the Portuguese on March 1, 1768. Hyder Ali accompanied by his son Tippu conquered Mangalore and re-captured Mangalore fort. Later, the British were forced into a peace treaty with Hyder Ali and the fort at Mangalore was given back to the Portuguese. The hardest times the Mangalorean Catholics had to endure were during the reign of Tippu Sultan, who ascended to the throne of Mysore following his father Hyder Ali's death in December 1782. On May 20, 1783, Tipu Sultan laid siege to the Mangalore fort, which harboured the Mangalorean Catholics and the English army. After 18 months of siege, the fort was finally delivered to Tippu in an armistice. Tippu ordered horrendous atrocities to be committed against those Christians condemned for treachery.

The captivity of the Mangalorean Catholics at Srirangapatna, which began on 24 February 1784 and ended on 4 May 1799, remains the most disconsolate memory in the history of Mangalorean Catholics. [cite web
url= http://www.daijiworld.com/chan/achievers_view.asp?a_id=28 |title= Deportation & The Konkani Christian Captivity at Srirangapatna (1784 Feb. 24th Ash Wednesday) |accessdate= 2008-02-29 |publisher=Daijiworld Media Pvt Ltd Mangalore] Soon after the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784, Tippu Sultan issued orders to all stations in Mangalore to seize the Christians, confiscate their estates and deport them to Srirangapatna. [harvnb|Forrest|1887|pp= [http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/Tipu_Sultan/TreatyofMangalore1784.htm 314–316] |Ref=8] The Mangalorean Catholics were caught in the crossfire of Anglo-Mysore relations. Around 60,000 of them were captured and were forced to climb nearly 4,000 feet through the jungles of the Western Ghat mountain ranges. [harvnb|Prasad|1980|p= [http://books.google.com/books?id=4nUx8ZzIHBsC&printsec=frontcover#PPA20,M1 20] |Ref=pra] The distance to Srirangapatna was approximately 210 miles from Mangalore. The Mangalorean Catholics had to suffer terrible hardships on the way. Tippu was set about eradicating Christianity completely. All Christian churches were razed to the ground and all land owned by the captured Christians was taken over by Tippu and distributed among his favorites. After arriving at Srirangapatna, the survivors had to face conversions, torture or death. [harvnb|Natan|2006|p= [http://books.google.com/books?id=0BM7UVMYIjAC&pg=RA1-PA655&lpg=RA1-PA655&dq=&source=web&ots=tf4rchdfGy&sig=nlC_9PKxFudsbaQW_OjzPLCH-ew&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PRA1-PA655,M1 655] |Ref=na] cite web
url=http://www.dioceseofmangalore.org/history.asp
title= Christianity in Mangalore
accessdate=2008-07-30
publisher=Diocese of Mangalore]

After the death of Tippu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War on 4 May 1799, the Mangalorean Catholics were freed. The captivity exterminated nearly 92% of the entire Mangalorean Catholic community. After they were freed, all their belongings had disappeared and their deserted lands were cultivated by the Bunts. [harvnb|Silva|Fuchs|p=2|Ref=2] Later, The British took over South Canara. Some 15,000 of the exiled Mangalorean Catholics survived. British general Arthur Wellesley helped some 10,000 of them return to Mangalore and resettle on their lands. The present Mangalorean Catholic community are the descendants of those survivors. [cite web
url= http://www.theindiancatholic.com/konkanichristians.asp |title= The Konkani Christians |accessdate= 2008-03-01 |publisher= Indian Catholic] Recently, a Konkani cultural event "Konkani Nirantari" [cite web |url= http://www.konkaninirantari.com/default.asp |title=Details of Konkani Nirantari |accessdate= 2008-02-29 |publisher=Konkani Nirantari] held in Mangalore by a Mangalorean Catholic organization "Mandd Sobhann" had recently entered the Guinness Book of World Records for holding a 40-hour-long non-stop musical singing record by beating a Brazilian musical troupe "Communidade Evangelica Luterana São Paulo" (Lutheran Evangelical Community of São Paulo) of "Universidade Luterana do Brasil" (Lutheran University of Brazil) who had previously held the world record of 36 hours.

Notes

References

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