As an addendum,yes, ThoméLopes describes the massacre of Muslim pilgrims
ordered by Vasco da Gama. ButThoméLopes also describes an incident in which
three Muslims in Cochin were executedon the orders of the Trimumpara, the Hindu
ruler of Cochin,for the sacrilege of selling a cow for beef to the crew of a
Portuguese ship inharbor. And guess who arrested the three men and handed them
over to theauthorities in Cochin for justice? It was Vasco da Gama. He also
forbade any furtherpurchases of cows by Portuguese sailors. This shows that he
was culturally sensitive,though moved by prejudice against Muslims that was
quite common among EuropeanChristians at that time. John M. de Figueiredo
On Wednesday, December 24, 2025 at 05:07:37 PM EST, JOHN DE FIGUEIREDO
<[email protected]> wrote:
If Vasco da Gama had been a pragmatist, he would have lookedthe other way to
his fellow Portuguese (Europeans) who were stealing from the publictreasury in
Goa, and today, historians, like Teotónio de Souza, would have describedhim
correctly as a racist who had participated in a coverup. The behavior ofthose
thieves was vividly described by Diogo do Couto and condemned by Luis
deCamõesand by St. Francisco Xavier. But that is not what Gama did. Instead, he
firedand punished the thieves. This shows that he was a person with integrity.
Tounderstand his behavior elsewhere, let us look at what was happening in
theworld. Around the same time, In 1572 following a royal wedding in Paris of
Huguenot(Protestant) leader Henry of Navarre to the King's sister, Marguerite
de Valois,that was supposed to mark the peace between Catholics and
Protestants, the Protestantswere slaughtered on St. Batholomew’s Day, a
massacre that was likely instigatedby the Queen Mother Catherine of Medici. A
century later, in 1689, Sambhaji wascaptured by Aurangzeb, subject to brutal
torture, and killed. Even to this datewe see stronger countries destroying and
conquering the weaker ones. So whyshould we criticize what Gama did 4 centuries
ago? He was a man of his time.Besides, what he did in Africa is irrelevant to
what he did in Goa. As a Goan Ihave the utmost respect and admiration for Vasco
da Gama. I think thePortuguese should continue to honor him as a great hero and
the Goans shouldrespect him for having cleaned up the corruption in Goa during
his brief tenureas Viceroy from September 5 to December 24, 1524, cut short by
illness anddeath. John M. de Figueiredo
On Wednesday, December 24, 2025 at 12:14:25 PM EST, 'Pedro Mascarenhas' via
Goa-Research-Net <[email protected]> wrote:
The scribe Thomé Lopes, who recorded the words and was an eyewitness to what
happened, left us the longest and most detailed account of these events. Deeply
affected by the massacre, he wrote the following: "I will remember it all my
life.
Thomé Lopes, Navegação às Índias Orientais, capítulo. )
Alberto's text was timely. In my opinion, saying that Gama was bloodthirsty
because he lived in a certain era doesn't convince anyone because his traveling
companion, Thome Lopes, didn't like his criminal attitude. Thus, at that time
there were people who were kind and civilized. And the phrase... Deeply
affected by the massacre, he wrote the following: "I will remember it all my
life..." proves that, just as today, there have always been criminal people and
civilized people.To claim that Gama lived in a certain century is to try to
whitewash history.It's regrettable that no Hindu GRNetters participant
expressed an opinion on the matter.In any case, the Putins of the past have
already left India.
On Tuesday, December 23, 2025 at 11:04:32 PM GMT, John de Figueiredo
<[email protected]> wrote:
Anyone who punished the corruption and stealing of fellow Europeans the way he
did in Goa should be viewed as committed to integrity. His other actions (which
have nothing to do with Goa) should be understood within the mentality of the
time.Unfortunately torture and cruelty have permeated through human history
even to this date. So let us not be too harsh in our judgment of someone who
lived 4 centuries ago.John M. de Figueiredo
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 23, 2025, at 3:48 PM, [email protected] wrote:
Vasco da Gama was not "honest" or "dishonest" in the modern sense; he was a man
of his time, pragmatic and ambitious, seen by some as an energetic and just
hero (by his own rules), but by others as cruel, greedy, and violent,
responsible for massacres (such as that of a ship with women and children),
showing a complex figure, focused on Portugal's objectives, even if that
implied brutal acts.
On the twenty-ninth of September 1502, Portuguese ships sighted off the Indian
coast the boat MIRI with hundreds of people returning from Mecca to Calicut.
Vasco da Gama had been trying for days to attack Muslim pilgrims passing
through the area and had a bloody plan for those aboard this vessel:
-( "while some of our ships were searching for those coming from Mecca, the S.
Gabriel encountered one from Calicut returning with two hundred and forty men,
not to mention the women and children, who were numerous, and all returning
from that pilgrimage: he immediately gave chase, and having fired some cannon
shots, they immediately surrendered.
Vasco da Gama didn't just want the pilgrims' belongings; he tried to set the
ship on fire and ordered more cannon shots to be fired. The women and men
bravely resisted with the few weapons and stones they had. But, after days of
pursuit and attacks, the vessel was finally captured and looted. On October 3,
1502 – and here, accounts vary – women, children, and men were either locked in
the hold; or tied to the ship; or prevented from leaving on Vasco da Gama's
orders, who ordered that all those people be burned alive and then ordered the
ship to be sunk: "the Admiral had that ship set on fire, which burned with all
the people who were inside, with great cruelty and without any compassion."
The scribe Thomé Lopes, who recorded the words and was an eyewitness to what
happened, left us the longest and most detailed account of these events. Deeply
affected by the massacre, he wrote the following: "I will remember it all my
life.
Thomé Lopes, Navegação às Índias Orientais, capítulo. )
Pedro Varela wrote this: From another perspective, in Portugal, Vasco da Gama
is remembered as one of the greatest "heroes" in national history. The
navigator lends his name to bridges, streets, avenues, squares, plazas,
schools, clubs, shopping centers, and restaurants, and has statues erected
throughout the country. He is glorified in the press and on television, in
museums, in classrooms, at business meetings, and in official state speeches.
People talk about a supposed discoverer, ignoring the devastation he left
behind on his voyages to India and his terrorist actions. Above all, they
forget the hundreds of people who had the misfortune of crossing his path,
being atrociously murdered out of religious fanaticism, thirst for power,
ethnocentrism, cruelty, and, above all, greed. In truth, it is time to confront
the true story of Vasco da Gama, "The Butcher."
Pedro Varela is an anthropologist and doctoral candidate at the Centre for
Social Studies of the University of Coimbra. He holds a master's degree in
Anthropology from ISCTE-IUL and a bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture
from the Higher Institute of Agronomy of the University of Lisbon.
----- Mensagem de John de Figueiredo <[email protected]> ---------
Data: Tue, 23 Dec 2025 03:04:54 -0500
De: John de Figueiredo <[email protected]>
Assunto: Re: [GRN] Re: To understand the Konkan strip of yesterday and Goa of
today
Para: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
A discovery does not necessarily refer to a thing. It also refers to the
structure of a thing. For example, Kekule did not discover benzene. He
discovered the structure of benzene. Watson and Crick did not discover nucleic
acids. They discovered the structure of DNA.
Vasco da Gama’s discovery refers to the structure of traveling by sea from
Portugal to India. He connected the dots and this important achievement open
the door for the first globalization of knowledge. He deserves our respect and
admiration for this achievement. But this was not his only achievement. He was
in Goa as Viceroy for only 3 months. His tenure was cut short because he became
ill and died. During those 3 months he fired and punished fellow Europeans who
were stealing from the public treasury. This shows that he was a man with
integrity.
John M. de Figueiredo
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 22, 2025, at 7:00 AM, 'Pedro Mascarenhas' via Goa-Research-Net
<[email protected]> wrote:
Frederico
Thank you for your reply and for spending your precious time.
The focus of my text is on the fame of India's wealth that reached the West and
provoked curiosity and covetousness. It is important to emphasize this.
As for the griffin and giant ant, these legends were accepted as truths by the
ancient Greeks because their religion was polytheistic, which included the
Minotaur, a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man. That was the
mentality!
India lifted between 248 and 302 million people out of poverty in the last
decade (approximately 2013-2023/2024), with drastic drops in multidimensional
poverty (around 270 million) and extreme poverty, according to recent reports
from the World Bank and the Indian government, which cite the impact of social
policies, health programs and basic sanitation, significantly transforming
living conditions, especially in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Poverty
in the EU affects more than 90 million people (in 2024), with high rates in
Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, while the Czech Republic and Slovenia have the
lowest. Portugal is below the EU average in the risk of poverty/social
exclusion (20.1% in 2022), but has a growing rate of working poor, affecting
more women, young people and people with lower levels of education, with the
cost of living exacerbating the situation, especially in housing.
In 2025, Portugal continues to struggle with poverty, with the risk of poverty
or social exclusion hovering around 19.7% (2.1 million people).
Legend or truth, the case of St. Thomas is not closed. But one thing is
certain: The first Westerners who arrived in southern India were surprised when
they heard about "Christians of St. Thomas". Marco Polo, while traveling
through India in the 13th century, mentioned and acknowledged the existence of
the Saint Thomas Christians in southern India, a Christian community that
existed long before the arrival of Europeans.
I am referring to certain books (not all) about Asia, Africa, and America
published in Portugal before 1974 that either distorted the truth or simply
omitted it. Salazar's dictatorship did not allow for any other option! It was
in primary school that I heard "The Portuguese discovered India" (1), then in
high school I read in textbooks that "Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to
India" (2), and as an adult I learned that in Malindi, Kenya, Gama established
relations with the local leader, who then provided the Portuguese with a pilot
who knew the way to Calicut, India. Therefore, he did not discover the route to
India, but the route to East Africa.
(1) No one discovered India, which was already there!
(2) Gama did not discover the sea route to India, but to East Africa, and
arrived at Kappakadavu near Calicut.
Some read books by Winston Spencer Churchill that distort the truth to cover up
his Empire. But there are also good old books by authors such as Jean
Chesneaux, Richard Lewinsohn, Robert Mortimer Wheeler, etc.
I wish everyone Merry Christmas. At this time of year I remember Teotónio de
Souza, founder of GRN, who had been hospitalized shortly after Christmas.
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