Portuguese India

Portuguese State of India Estado Português da Índia  (Portuguese)
1505–1961
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Hymno Patriótico (1808–1826) "Patriotic Anthem" Hino da Carta (1826–1911) "Hymn of the Charter" A Portuguesa (1911–1961) "The Portuguese"
Status	State of Portugal (1505-1946) Overseas province of Portugal (1946-1961)
Capital	Cochin (1505–1510) Old Goa (1510–1843) Nova Goa (1843–1961)
Common languages	Official language Portuguese Also spoken Indo-Portuguese creoles Konknni Tamil Kannada Gujarati Marathi Malayalam Bengali English
Religion	Hinduism, Christianity (Catholicism), Islam
Head of State
• 1511–1521	Manuel I of Portugal
• 1958–1961	Américo Tomás
Governor-General
• 1505–1509	Francisco de Almeida (first)
• 1958–1961	Manuel António Vassalo e Silva (last)
Historical era	Imperialism
• Fall of Sultanate of Bijapur	15 August 1505
• Indian Annexation	19 December 1961
Area
• Total	4,305 km2 (1,662 sq mi)
Currency	Portuguese Indian rupia (INPR) Portuguese Indian escudo (INPES)
ISO 3166 code	IN
Preceded by Succeeded by Bijapur Sultanate Gujarat Sultanate Ahmednagar Sultanate Malacca Sultanate Kingdom of Kotte Kingdom of Jaffna Hormuz Goa, Daman and Diu Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Today part of	India Bangladesh

The Portuguese State of India (Portuguese: Estado Português da Índia, EPI), often abbreviated as the State of India (Estado da Índia) or simply Portuguese India (Índia Portuguesa), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama. The capital of Portuguese India served as the governing centre of a string of Portuguese fortresses and settlements scattered along the Indian Ocean.

The first viceroy, Francisco de Almeida, established his headquarters at present-day Fort Cochin, in the allied Kingdom of Cochin. After 1510, the capital of the Portuguese viceroyalty was transferred to Goa. Present-day Mumbai was part of Portuguese India until it was ceded to the English Crown in 1661, who in turn leased it to the East India Company. Until the 18th century, the Governor in Goa had authority over all possessions in and around the Indian Ocean, from southern Africa to southeast Asia. In 1752, Mozambique got its own separate government, and in 1844 the Portuguese government of India stopped administering the territory of Macao, Solor, and Timor, Portugal's authority was confined to the colonial holdings on the Konkan and Malabar coasts of Western India.

At the time of the British Raj's dissolution in 1947, Portuguese India was subdivided into three districts located on modern-day India's western coast, sometimes referred to collectively as Goa: namely Goa; Damão, which included the inland enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli; and Diu. Portugal lost effective control of the enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli in 1954, and finally the rest of the overseas territory in December 1961, when it was annexed by India under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In spite of this, Portugal only recognised Indian control in 1974, after the Carnation Revolution and the fall of the Estado Novo regime, by a treaty signed on 31 December 1974.

Context

Main articles: Portuguese discoveries and Portuguese Armadas

Vasco da Gama lands in India

The first Portuguese encounter with the subcontinent was on 20 May 1498 when Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on the Malabar Coast. Anchored off the coast of Calicut, the Portuguese invited native fishermen on board and immediately bought some Indian items. One Portuguese accompanied the fishermen to the port and met with a Tunisian Muslim. On the advice of this man, Gama sent a couple of his men to Ponnani to meet with ruler of Calicut, the Zamorin. Over the objections of Arab merchants, Gama managed to secure a letter of concession for trading rights from the Zamorin, Calicut's ruler. But, the Portuguese were unable to pay the prescribed customs duties and price of his goods in gold.

Later Calicut officials temporarily detained Gama's Portuguese agents as security for payment. This, however, annoyed Gama, who carried a few natives and sixteen fishermen with him by force.

Nevertheless, Gama's expedition was successful beyond all reasonable expectation, bringing in cargo that was worth sixty times the cost of the expedition.

Pedro Álvares Cabral

Pedro Álvares Cabral sailed to India, marking the arrival of Europeans to Brazil on the way, to trade for pepper and other spices, negotiating and establishing a factory at Calicut, where he arrived on 13 September 1500. Matters worsened when the Portuguese factory at Kozhikode was attacked by surprise by the locals, resulting in the death of more than fifty Portuguese. Cabral was outraged by the attack on the factory and seized ten Arab merchant ships anchored in the harbour, killing about six hundred of their crew and confiscating their cargo before burning the ships. Cabral also ordered his ships to bombard Calicut for an entire day in retaliation for the violation of the agreement. In Cochin and Cannanore Cabral succeeded in making advantageous treaties with the local rulers. Cabral started the return voyage on 16 January 1501 and arrived in Portugal with only 4 of 13 ships on 23 June 1501.

In 1502, the Portuguese built a trade post in Pulicat because its location at the mouth of a lagoon made it a great natural harbor.

Vasco da Gama sailed to India for a second time with 15 ships and 800 men, arriving at Calicut on 30 October 1502, where the ruler was willing to sign a treaty. Gama this time made a call to expel all Muslims (Arabs) from Calicut which was vehemently turned down. He bombarded the city and captured several rice vessels. He returned to Portugal in September 1503.

Foundation (1505-1515)

Francisco de Almeida

Main article: 7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)

On 25 March 1505, Francisco de Almeida was appointed Viceroy of India, on the condition that he would set up four forts on the southwestern Indian coast: at Anjediva Island, Cannanore, Cochin and Quilon. Francisco de Almeida left Portugal with a fleet of 22 vessels with 1,500 men.

Portuguese Fortress of Cochin, in the allied Kingdom of Cochin

On 13 September, Francisco de Almeida reached Anjadip Island, where he immediately started the construction of Fort Anjediva. On 23 October, with the permission of the friendly ruler of Cannanore, he started building St. Angelo Fort at Cannanore, leaving Lourenço de Brito in charge with 150 men and two ships.

Francisco de Almeida then reached Cochin on 31 October 1505 with only 8 vessels left. There he learned that the Portuguese traders at Quilon had been killed. He decided to send his son Lourenço de Almeida with 6 ships, who destroyed 27 Calicut vessels in the harbour of Quilon. Almeida took up residence in Cochin. He strengthened the Portuguese fortifications of Fort Manuel on Cochin.

The Zamorin prepared a large fleet of 200 ships to oppose the Portuguese, but in March 1506 Lourenço de Almeida (son of Francisco de Almeida) was victorious in a sea battle at the entrance to the harbour of Cannanore, the Battle of Cannanore, an important setback for the fleet of the Zamorin. Thereupon Lourenço de Almeida explored the coastal waters southwards to Colombo, in what is now Sri Lanka. In Cannanore, however, a new ruler, hostile to the Portuguese and friendly with the Zamorin, attacked the Portuguese garrison, leading to the Siege of Cannanore.

In 1507 Almeida's mission was strengthened by the arrival of Tristão da Cunha's squadron. Afonso de Albuquerque's squadron had, however, split from that of Cunha off East Africa and was independently conquering territories in the Persian Gulf to the west.

In March 1508 a Portuguese squadron under command of Lourenço de Almeida was attacked by a combined Mameluk Egyptian and Gujarat Sultanate fleet at Chaul and Dabul respectively, led by admirals Mirocem and Meliqueaz in the Battle of Chaul. Lourenço de Almeida lost his life after a fierce fight in this battle. Mamluk-Indian resistance was, however, to be decisively defeated at the Battle of Diu.

Afonso de Albuquerque

Afonso de Albuquerque, second Portuguese governor of India

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Portuguese Empire in the East, with its capital in Goa, was then often styled in Europe as the "Rome of the East", it included possessions (subjected tracts of land with a certain degree of autonomy) in South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Africa, and the Pacific

A Portuguese nobleman riding on a horse from "Itinerario, voyage, ofte Schipvaert van Jan Huygen van Linschoten naer Oost ofte Portugaels Indien", Amsterdam, 1596

In the year 1509, Afonso de Albuquerque was appointed the second governor of Portuguese possessions in the East. After acquiring their first protectorate in Portuguese Cochin, a new fleet under Marshal Fernão Coutinho arrived with specific instructions to destroy the power of Zamorin of Calicut. The Zamorin's palace was captured and destroyed and the city was set on fire. The Zamorin's forces rallied, killing Coutinho and wounding Albuquerque. Albuquerque withdrew with his forces and after the Zamorin was assassinated in 1513 he entered into agreement with his successor to protect Portuguese interests in Malabar, and a fort was built on Calicut.

In 1510, Afonso de Albuquerque captured Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate sultan with the aid of the Hindu privateer Timoja, leading to the establishment of a permanent settlement in the city of Velha Goa (Old Goa in English). Goa (island) bore the site of the capital and the seat of the viceroy, who governed all the Portuguese possessions in Asia.

Albuquerque added to the Portuguese State of India the city of Malacca in 1511 and Hormuz in 1515. He encouraged the settlement of his soldiers and their marriage to native women. In the mid sixteenth century there were about 2000 casados ("married men") in Goa. Goa included a large body of native non-Portuguese inhabitants for the Portuguese crown to rule. To better achieve this, Albuquerque resorted to medieval Iberian procedures: people of different religious communities were allowed to live by their laws under representatives of their respective communities. Exception was made to the practice of sati however, which was promptly abolished. Certain taxes due to the Adil Shah of Bijapur were also abolished. Native women were legally allowed property rights for the first time. At Goa, Albuquerque instituted an orphan's fund and opened a hospital, the Hospital Real de Goa, modelled after the grand Hospital Real de Todos os Santos in Lisbon. Also at Goa were built smaller hospitals run by the city's charity, the Misericórdia, dedicated to serving the poor and the natives.

Albuquerque's policies proved immensely popular amongst his soldiers as well as the local population, especially his characteristically strict observance of justice. When Albuquerque died in sight of Goa in 1515, even the Hindu natives of Goa mourned his passing alongside the Portuguese. His tomb at the Nossa Senhora da Serra hermitage was converted to a shrine by the local Hindus, who would leave flowers there in his dedication and direct prayers to him, seeking aid in matters of justice, until his remains were returned to Portugal in 1566.

The Portuguese had also shipped Órfãs d'El-Rei to their colonies in the Indian peninsula, the most important of which were the capital of Goa and the largest province in Bombay-Bassein. Órfãs d'El-Rei (literally "Orphans of the King"), were orphaned Portuguese girls patronised by the King, and sent to overseas colonies to form marital alliances with either Portuguese settlers or natives of high status.

Flourishing years

See also: Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts (1538–1559) and Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts (1586–1589)

Portuguese Goa in 1600

In 1520, the Portuguese extended their dominion over the district of Rachol, as that year the Emperor of Vijayanagara Krishnadevaraya captured the Rachol Fort and delivered it to the Portuguese in exchange for mutual defence against the Muslims.

In 1526 King John III granted the city of Goa and its town hall the same legal status as Lisbon, in a foral in which the general laws and privileges of the city, its town hall, and the local Hindu community were detailed – especially important since at the time the native laws of Goa were still not written, instead being handled by councils of elders or religious judges and passed down orally (thus prone to abuses).

There were Portuguese settlements in and around the Coromandel region. The Luz Church in Mylapore, Madras (Chennai) was the first church that the Portuguese built in the area in 1516, the São Tomé or San Thome shrine was rebuilt by them 1522. They also built the first structures at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, Bandra and the Our Lady of Velankanni shrine which are among the important pilgrimage sites of South Asia.

Several colonies were also acquired from the Sultan of Gujarat in the north Konkan region: Daman was sacked in 1531 and ceded in 1539; Salsette, the seven islands of Bombay, Chaul & Bassein (Vasai) in 1534; Diu ceded in 1535. These would come to be known as the Northern Province of the Portuguese in India, it extended almost 100 km (62 mi) along the coast from Daman to Chaul, and in places 30–50 km (19–31 mi) inland. The province was ruled from the fortified city of Bassein, subordinate to the viceroy in Goa.

The Ottoman empire sieged the Portuguese fortress of Diu in 1538, with a strong fleet under the command of the Ottoman governor of Egypt Sulaiman Pasha for four months, with the aid of a large army provided by the Sultan of Gujarat; however they were ultimately forced to retreat with consdierable losses. The successful defense of Diu by captain António da Silveira against overwhelming odds is one of the most celebrated exploits in Portuguese history, and frequently compared to the 1565 Great Siege of Malta. On the occasion, the Portuguese captured the Tiro de Diu, a massive Gujarati bombard.

In 1546, Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier requested the institution of the Goa Inquisition for the "Old Christians" and "New Christians" in a letter dated 16 May 1546 to King John III of Portugal. Various non-Christian communities were oppressed officially, much before the Inquisition was set up. At the same time, Francis Xavier achieved a mass convertion of 30,000 Paravar fishermen.

Portugal was the first European nation to establish trade routes with Japan. A significant portion of the crew on Portuguese ships were Indian Christians.

By the start of the 17th century, the population of Goa and the surrounding areas was about 250,000. Holding this strategic land against repeated attacks by the Indian states required constant infusions of men and material. Portugal's important victories, such as the battle of Cochin in 1504, the defense of Diu in 1509, the conquest of Goa in 1510, the defenses of Diu in 1538 and 1546, and the defense of Goa in 1571 were accomplished with limited manpower. In their largest deployments, the Portuguese could field perhaps 2,000 to 3,000 European and mestiço troops supported by a similar amount of local auxiliaries, while the larger Indian states could field tens of thousands each. Portuguese superiority in military technology (especially in regards to ships and artillery), training (especially in the skill of their gunners), and tactics, combined with the disunity of the Indian states opposing them, allowed them to keep their position and consistently win their wars.

In 1597, the Portuguese annexed the Kingdom of Kotte in Ceylon. The territories in Ceylon were administered as part of Portuguese India by a captain-general who was subordinate to the governor of India. In 1617, the Kingdom of Jaffna was added to Portuguese territory on the island.

Later years

See also: Dutch-Portuguese War

In 1640, Shivappa Nayaka captured all the Portuguese forts in the Kanara subregion.

The seven islands of Bombay in present-day Bombay (Mumbai) were gifted to the British crown in 1661, as part of princess Catherine Braganza's dowry to Charles II of England. In 1683 the Marathas sieged Goa unsuccessfully.

18th - 19th century

Most of the Northern Province was lost to the Mahratta Confederacy in 1739 during the Battle of Bassein. Goa and Daman were retained because of a fleet that arrived bearing the new viceroy.

In response the Portuguese expanded the territory of Goa between 1763 and 1788, annexing the sorrounding territories at the expense of Sunda, Bhonsles and the Marathas, which became known as Novas Conquistas.

By order of the Marquis de Pombal, prime-minister of Portugal, the Jesuits were expelled from Portuguese India in 1759. They were replaced by the Oratorians of Goa, a native Goan Catholic Order founded by converted Brahmins, and a college dedicated to educating the sons of local elites was created, and the Inquisition abolished. By influence of Pombal, King José declared that native Christians were equal in standing with Europeans while the Viceroy Count of Ega declared religious freedom and prohibited racial slander. For these reasons "Pombal and his collaborators remain to this day much respected figures in Goa"

In 1752, Mozambique was detached from the Portuguese State of India and henceforth ruled by its own governor.

News of French plans to capture Goa caused the British Governor-general at Calcutta Marquis of Wellesley to send troops to Goa, who briefly occupied it as a protectorate from 1799 to 1813. The Portuguese governor Francisco António da Veiga Cabral managed to retain control of civil institutions by formally appointing the British officer in charge of the occupation, Sir William Clarke, as commander of Portuguese troops in Goa under his authority.

In 1843, the capital was shifted to Panjim (Nova Goa or New Goa), when it officially became the administrative seat of Portuguese India, replacing the city of Velha Goa (Old Goa), although the viceroys taken residence there already since 1 Dec, 1759.

In 1844 the Portuguese governor of India stopped administering the territories of Macao, Solor, and Timor. Only then was the territory of the Portuguese State of India confined to the Indian subcontinent itself.

1947 to 1961

Main article: Annexation of Goa

On 24 July 1954 an organisation called "The United Front of Goans" took control of the enclave of Dadra. The remaining territory of Nagar Haveli was seized by Azad Gomantak Dal on 2 August 1954. The decision given by the International Court of Justice at The Hague, regarding access to Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was an impasse.

From 1954, the Satyagrahis (peaceful protesters) against Portuguese rule, outside Goa were violently suppressed through brute force. Many internal revolts were quelled by the use of force and leaders extrajudicially murdered or jailed. As a result, India broke off diplomatic relations with Portugal, closed its Consulate-General in Panjim and demanded that the Salazar regime close its delegation in New Delhi. India also imposed an economic embargo against the territories of Portuguese Goa. The Indian Government adopted a diplomatic "wait and watch" approach from 1955 to 1961 with numerous representations to the Portuguese Salazar dictatorship, and made attempts to highlight the issue of decolonisation before the international community.

Portuguese and other European settlements in India

To facilitate the transport of people and goods to and from the Indian enclaves, the Salazar dictatorship established an airline, Transportes Aéreos da Índia Portuguesa, and airports at Goa, Daman and Diu.

Finally, in December 1961, India militarily invaded the remaining Portuguese possessions. Portuguese forces had been given orders to either defeat the invaders or die. Despite the Portuguese forces poor firepower and small size (only 3,300 men), against a fully armed Indian force of over 30,000 with full air and naval support, the Portuguese forces put up a fight regardless of the odds. Eventually, the Governor of Portuguese India signed the Instrument of Surrender on 19 December 1961, thus ending 450 years of Portuguese rule in India.

Post-annexation

District of Portuguese Diu

Status of the new territories

Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli existed as a de facto independent entity from its independence in 1954 until its merger with the Republic of India in 1961.

Following the annexation of Goa, Daman and Diu, the new territories became union territories within the Indian Union as Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Goa, Daman and Diu. Maj. Gen. K. P. Candeth was declared as military governor of Goa, Daman and Diu. Goa's first general elections were held in 1963.

In 1967 a referendum was conducted, where voters decided whether to merge Goa into the Marathi-majority state of Maharashtra, the pro-Konkani faction eventually won after many protests against the pro-Marathi faction led by Dayanand Bandodkar. However full statehood was not conferred immediately, and it was only on 30 May 1987 that Goa became the 25th state of the Indian Union, with Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu being separated, continue to be administered as Union Territories.

The most drastic changes in Portuguese India after 1961 were the introduction of democratic elections, as well as the replacement of Portuguese with English as the general language of government and education. In 1987, Konkani in the Devanagari script became the official language of the union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. The Indians allowed certain Portuguese institutions to continue unchanged. Amongst these were the land ownership system of the comunidade, where land was held by the community and was then leased out to individuals. Goans under the Indian Government left the Portuguese Goa civil code unchanged, hence Goa and Daman today remain as the only territories in India with a common civil code that does not depend on religion.

Citizenship

The Citizenship Act of 1955 granted the government of India the authority to define citizenship in the Indian union. In exercise of its powers, the government passed the Goa, Daman and Diu (Citizenship) Order, 1962 on 28 March 1962 conferring Indian citizenship on all persons born on or before 20 December 1961 in Goa, Daman, and Diu.

Indo-Portuguese relations

Portugal's Salazar dictatorship did not recognise India's sovereignty over the annexed territories, and established a government-in-exile for the territories, which continued to be represented in the Portuguese National Assembly. After 1974's Carnation Revolution, the new Portuguese government recognised Indian sovereignty over Goa, Daman and Diu, and the two states restored diplomatic relations. Portugal automatically gives citizens of the former Portuguese-India its citizenship and opened a consulate in Goa in 1994.

Portuguese cemetery in Kollam (Quilon)

Main article: Portuguese Cemetery, Kollam

Remnants of St Thomas Fort, Tangasseri in the Quilon area, Malabar region

Kollam (originally Desinganadu, a prominent seaport in ancient India) became a Portuguese settlement; in 1519 they built a cemetery at Tangasseri in Quilon city. After a Dutch invasion, they also buried their dead there. The Pirates of Tangasseri formerly inhabited the cemetery. Remnants of this cemetery are still in existence today at Tangasseri. The site is very close to Tangasseri Lighthouse and St Thomas Fort, which are on the list of centrally protected monuments under the control of Archaeological Survey of India.

Administration

See also: List of governors of Portuguese India

The Conquistas of Goa. Red: Velhas Conquistas (1510-1546). Cream: Novas Conquistas (1763-1788)

From the moment the State was founded in 1505 till it was disestablished in 1961, an official with the title of governor or viceroy served as its highest authority, usually for a three year term, initially with authority over all Crown territories east of the Cape of Good Hope. The latter title was attributed as a high honour while the monarchy lasted, however their duties were the same as governors. They were the highest military commanders as well as administrators, hence their authority fell on matters pertaining to the armed forces,, diplomacy, trade, finance and personnel management. Before they left Portugal, they were handed a written set of orders and objectives, called regimento.The viceroys often attempted to influence the nomination of political allies to key positions howerver the final say fell on the metropolis. Many were accompanied by their personal retinues, and these often included their sons to serve in important military positions, such was the case of the captain-major of the seas of India Dom Lourenço de Almeida, son the viceroy Dom Francisco de Almeida. After Goa was conquered, governors and viceroys lived in the Palácio do Hidalcão, the native Indian palace built by the city's former sovereign, the Adil Khan.

The most important administrative structure of the State was put in place in the 16th century; it included the high court (relação), the superintendency of finances (vedoria da fazenda) run by a Crown appointed vedor, financial accounts office (casa dos contos) and the military registry and supply office (casa da matrícula).

The extremely scattered nature of Portuguese holdings however, meant that the State was highly decentralized, with great power being held by individual fortress captains, their captain-generals or town halls, far away from Goa. Like the governors and viceroys, fortress captains served for three years, however their terms could be renovated. Sancho de Vasconcelos, captain-major of Ambon served for 19 years. In the most important captaincies, financial authority rested with the vedor (superintendent), while judicial authority was vested in an ouvidor ("ombundsman").

Coat of arms of Portuguese Goa in 1596

The Church played an important role in the State. The Pope had granted the Kings of Portugal exclusive ecclesiastical rights to religious patronage )Padroado) in their overseas possessions. After 1513 Portuguese eastern holdings were part of the bishopric of Funchal seated in Madeira island. After 1557 Goa became the seat of an archbishop with subordinate bishops in Cochin and Malacca. Further sees were later opened in Macau in 1576 and in Funai in 1588. Religious Orders of the Augustinians, Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits established mission headquarters in Goa, giving the Catholic Church a very visible presence and influence in the capital of the Portuguese State of India, for which it earned the nickname of "Rome of the East", a fact commented by many foreign travellers.

In the most important settlements a câmara ("town hall") was eventually allowed to establish, with rights and duties similar to equivalent cities in Portugal, and they played an important role in administration, as they were the only institution through which settlers could voice their opinions and make themselves heard. They were responsible for local governing, could raise some municipal taxes and acted as a court of first instance. They sometimes provided loans to Viceroys, though these often found them difficult to cooperate with. Portuguese merchants often established by their own initiative a câmara in their non-Crown settlements, the most important case of which was in Macau, with the Leal Senado.

Aside from the Portuguese themselves, the State often also ruled over non-Portuguese, non-Christian peoples, and in these cases often the traditional native structures were left in place. When Afonso de Albuquerque captured Goa, the Hindu inhabitants were left in possession of their lands; the pre-Portuguese system of land-ownership and administration of village communes codified and the rights of Brahmin or Khsatria ganvkars (shareholders) recognized, and tax collection was left to the Hindu Timoja and after him the long-standing Krishna Rao. In Hormuz, Albuquerque left its native Muslim king as chief administrator under a protectorate. As the Counter-Reformation gained momentum in Europe, Brahmins were excluded from the Portuguese administration during the tenure of Dom Constantino de Bragança, which resulted in a wave of convertions.

Trade and economy

Portuguese fortress of Bassein, capital of the North Province

Postal history

Main article: Postage stamps and postal history of Portuguese India

Early postal history of the colony is obscure, but regular mail is known to have been exchanged with Lisbon from 1825 onwards. Portugal had a postal convention with Great Britain, so much mail was probably routed through Bombay and carried on British packets. Portuguese postmarks are known from 1854 when a post office was opened in Goa.

The last regular issue for Portuguese India was on 25 June 1960, for the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator. Stamps of India were first used on 29 December 1961, although the old stamps were accepted until 5 January 1962. Portugal continued to issue stamps for the lost colony but none were offered for sale in the colony's post offices, so they are not considered valid stamps.

Dual franking was tolerated from 22 December 1961 until 4 January 1962. Colonial (Portuguese) postmarks were tolerated until May 1962.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Gallery

Mughal depiction of a Portuguese nobleman

• 

  Indo-Portuguese illustration of a Portuguese nobleman and Christian Indian women, from the Códice Casanatense.

• 

  Marketplace in Goa, c. 1596.

• 

  18th century Indo-Portuguese cabinet

• 

  Indo-Portuguese cabinet

• 

  Indo-Portuguese writing cabinet

• 

  Indo-Portuguese furniture

• 

  Indo-Portuguese pistol

• 

  17th century Indo-Portuguese Christian ivory.

Currency

1 Escudo (1959)
Obverse: Lettering "ESTADO·DA·INDIA", face value with Coat of arms of Portugal in the center.	Reverse: Lettering "REPÚBLICA · PORTUGUESA", year and Coat of arms of Portugal in the center.
6,000,000 coins minted. This coin was from Portuguese State of India.

• 

  Portuguese gold coin struck in Goa during the reign of King Manuel 1510-1521

• 

  20 Portuguese bazarucos from 1799, reverse.

• 

  20 Portuguese bazarucos from 1799, obverse.

• 

  1866 1/8 tanga.

• 

  1 Portuguese India rupia, 1882.

• 

  1959 100 escudos.

• 

  Late 19th century and early 20th century Portuguese rupias

• 

  60 Portuguese India centavos, 1959.

Architecture

• 

  Indo-Portuguese house

• 

  Portuguese villa

• 

  Goa Cathedral

• 

  he church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Panaji (Goa, India).

• 

  Old Goa,Church of Lady of Rosary

• 

  Bom Jesus Basilica, Goa.

• 

  House in Goa.

• 

  House in Goa.

See also

Proposed flag for Portuguese India

• Portuguese Empire
• Códice Casanatense
• Japan Voyage
• Estado Novo (Portugal)
• Indo-Portuguese creoles
• List of governors of Portuguese India
• Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (archives in Lisbon documenting Portuguese Empire, including India)
• Portuguese Indian rupia
• Portuguese Indian escudo
• Goa liberation movement
• Goan civil code
• Cuncolim Revolt
• Portuguese Bombay and Bassein
• Portuguese Ceylon
• Colonial India

Further reading

• Andrada (undated). The Life of Dom John de Castro: The Fourth Vice Roy of India. Jacinto Freire de Andrada. Translated into English by Peter Wyche. (1664). Henry Herrington, New Exchange, London. Facsimile edition (1994) AES Reprint, New Delhi. ISBN 81-206-0900-X.
• Panikkar, K. M. (1953). Asia and Western dominance, 1498–1945, by K.M. Panikkar. London: G. Allen and Unwin.
• Panikkar, K. M. 1929: Malabar and the Portuguese: being a history of the relations of the Portuguese with Malabar from 1500 to 1663
• Priolkar, A. K. The Goa Inquisition (Bombay, 1961).
• Declercq, Nico F. (2021). "Chapter 41: Fortresses and settlements in Goa and Sri Lanka and the appearance of Iberian names". The Desclergues of la Villa Ducal de Montblanc. pp. 691–696. ISBN 9789083176901.

External links

• ColonialVoyage.com – History of the Portuguese and the Dutch in Ceylon, India, Malacca, Bengal, Formosa, Africa, Brazil.
• Biographical entries on Portuguese viceroys and governors of India (1550-1640) in Portuguese - [1]