To Joao Paulo:
What you write is partially true. The devil is in the details.
Antonio Gomes had been appointed Rector of the newly established Colegio de S.
Paulo. Xavier (who was Superior of the Jesuits) had established a curriculum.
While Xavier was away from Goa, Gomes changed the curriculum established by
Xavier, introduced new rules, and established a curriculum similar to the one
followed at the University of Paris and the Jesuit College in Coimbra,
Portugal. Gomes had a commanding style and threatened to send to Portugal in
chains whoever disobeyed his orders. After Xavier returned, he fired him as
Rector, but Gomes complained to the Governor and Xavier agreed to keep him as
Rector to avoid a scandal.
Xavier was not Provincal of the Jesuits then. He was appointed Provincial on
October 10, 1549. This order became effective in 1552. The Province of the East
(of which Xavier was Provincial) became independent from Portugal. Again, while
Xavier was away, Gomes admitted the sons of the Portuguese (Europeans) as
students instead of admitting Goans. Xavier, now vested with the authority of
Provincial, returned to Goa, and dismayed at what had happened, let go the sons
of the Portuguese and replaced them with Goans. We can only guess what went
through his mind. We can infer from what followed that he interpreted this as
racism. Xavier fired Antonio Gomes as Rector and expelled him from the Society
of Jesus. Gomes decided to return to Europe to ask Ignatius de Loyola for
forgieness, but he never made it because he drowned in a shipwreck on his way
to Europe.
Reference: Francisco de Sousa, Oriente Conquitado, Lello e Irmao, Porto 1978
Part I Conq I Div I $ 50 (p74-76) and $69 (p.97-98)
I should add that Fr. Francisco de Sousa was not a direct witness of many of
the events he describes. He relied on primary sources, some of which have
perished.
Also, Francisco de Xavier was educated at the University of Paris (Sorbonne),
so his education could not possbly inferior to that of Antonio Gomes.
So, to conclude and back to my original point, it is an error to say that ALL
Europeans who came to Goa were racists or thieves. Let us not forget that Luis
de Camoes, for example, was sent to jail in Goa after he criticized the
policies of the Portuguese Government in his poerm "Os Disparates da India"
("The Blunders of India"). He also wrote a poem about the beauty of a Goan
woman.
John M. de Figueiredo ..................
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