One of colonial Goa's dark periods is considered the Inquisition. I do not
defended the inquisition, but maintain that it provided a political-legal
purpose for upholding law-and-order; serving as a deterrence for improper
social behavior specially by the authorities (including the mostly Whites who
lived above the law); and balanced the power of the ruling colonial troika -
military, civilian and religious administration.
Many Goans consider the period when the Inquisition was suspended (1774-1779)
as an enlightened period for Portugal and Goa - the Pombal regime. Yet the
historical book on Goa (An Historical and Archaeological Sketch of the City of
Goa by Jose Nicolau da Fonseca) written in 1878, described the following as the
state of Goa during the period 1774-1779
Pg 183 - In 1775 the population of the City of Goa was reduced to about 1,600
souls, of whom 1198 were Christians. The rapid decline of the period is
attribute to the expulsion of the Jesuits from Goa, who maintained the little
commerce and the functioning of the various institutes including the Royal
Hospital and various other establishments in the city of Goa. In 1776 when the
British Consul, Mr. Abraham Parson visited Goa, he noted, "The religious houses
of the Jesuits were shut up. Many beautiful mansions ... vacant and
unoccupied".
Pg 185 - "Pombal having receive the report on Goa, resolved to transfer it (the
capital) to Mormugao. The work was commenced in 1777.... The government had
recourse to several measures of an oppressive character for accomplishing the
work. All the village communities of the three districts of Goa were required
to contribute, each a certain sum of money and certain number of workmen for
the erection of houses in the city. ... The men who were forced to work for
the state were in general poor natives living mainly on the produce of the soil
they owned and cultivated. They were loath to abandon their field and tear
themselves from the bosom of their families, .... They were more-over afraid of
going to the city and exposing themselves to the violence of the epidemic which
was raging there. But these considerations were of no avail... they had to
yield or suffer themselves to be forcible dragged to the city by the soldiers
and there made to work under the
inspection of an armed force ... The evil they had dreaded, at last overtook
them. Most of them were seized with the prevalent disease and not a few fell
victims to it. We learn from the official records of the period that out of
1,625 workmen imported from Salsette, 665 fell sick and 58 died, and that too
within a space of a few months from August 1778 till the close of the year.
Many and bitter were the complaints addressed to the Throne by the unfortunate
people who were thus pressed into the government service and"
Pg 186 - "who suffered such severe hardships. And earnestly did they pray for
the redress of their grievances, which told on them more heavily that the
misfortunes caused by a raid or incursions of the Maratha chiefs. The court of
Lisbon was inexorable and insisted on a vigorous prosecution of the work.... In
spite of these measures, the work of rebuilding the city made but slight
progress."
The above raises the QUESTIONS:
Was the 'Inquisition-suspended period' that much of a relief to the local
population as claimed?
Would the threat from the Inquisition on the rulers, saved the local population
from the severe measures imposed on them by the colonial government during this
period?
Is not the sample of statistics of the victims who died in the four months
above, appear to be close to or exceed the total number of fatal victims of the
entire Goa-inquisition?
Is the forced-labor in the 'Inquisition-suspended period' (1774-1779) what
Alfredo De Mello refers; when he MISTAKENLY compares the Goa-inquisition to
Stalin's regime?
Regards, GL
