Cornel, The very small Portuguese tribe traveled east by sea to reach the backyard of the infidel empire - to alleviate the military pressure in the western border of Islam and master the trade routes controlled by the Italians and the Egyptians. After the Portuguese came the other West European tribes, the might of Islam collapsed, the grip of the Turkish ruling dynasty on their Hindu subjects floundered and the process of conversion to the faith of Muhammad stopped. Otherwise, the whole subcontinent, instead of Indonesia, would now be the most populous Islamic nation of the world (not just a few hundred million in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and in India too, I know).
Us, the Portuguese, and you the Southern Indians, were then the agents of change from ancient to modern times, because after we met in Calicut the world 'nunca mais foi o mesmo'. We together started today's globalization. The fact that the Emperor of China had sent his boats to the Cape route a few years before but did not realize that the world could be one big show place highlights my tribe's merit, it is not our fault. Modern times are 'broad every body' but could very well have been 'narrow yellow' here 'burka something' there. Regards Alu ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
