Kingdom. EinulMulk Gilani who had
been made Governor of Goa by Mahmud Shah after the death of Bahadur
Gilani continued to be the Governor of Goa till Adil Shah took over
Konkan from him in 1502 A.D. In 1510 A.D. the Portuguese conquered
Goa.
The Portuguese when they came to India were not merely traders. They
came with crusading zeal. They had just barely ousted the Moors from
Granada in 1492 when eighteen years later Afonso de Albuquerque's
fleet sailed up the Mandovi River and conquered Goa. The Portuguese
Commander was courageous and romantic and with a fleet of only 23
ships and 1200 men he boldly attacked. Timoja, the Commander of the
Vijayanagar fleet, is stated to have invited Albuquerque to attack
and takeover Goa. Thus on 3rd March 1510, the Portuguese became
masters of Goa a flourishing port and town. The public seem to have
welcomed them as they were quite disgusted with the Adil Shah rule.
However, by May 16, Ismail Adil Shah sent a strong army to regain
Goa. The Portuguese were put to flight as they were far out
numbered. On May 20, Albuquerque sailed in his ships and laid anchor
at the widest p
oint on the River opposite Panaji. In October, he
fled to the sea and was reinforced by a fresh fleet and men from
Portugal. He again attacked Goa. A contested battle was fought and
he reconquered Goa on 15.11.1510. However, he lost a lot of men in
the battle. There was a general massacre of the Muslims and over six
thousand perished. The pressure still continued from the Bijapur
armies. When in April 1511 Albuquerque left Goa to attack Malacca,
the Portuguese were attacked by Puladh Khan. He ousted Helrao and
Timoja from the Rosal Khan surrendered just. One day before the
arrival of reinforcement and Goa was saved for the Portuguese. Both
Bijaipur and Vijayanagar wanted a regular supply of horses from the
Portuguese. The Vijayanagar Emperor offered to help the Portuguese
against Adil Shah. In turn Adil Shah who also wanted the horses sent
his emissary to the Portuguese. As such both did not do anything to
oust the Portuguese who consolidated their hold. When Albuquerque
died on December 15, 1515, he had managed to ensure that the
Portuguese were well settled. War broke out with Adil Shah in 1516.
Goa was surrounded by the Adil Shah forces. However, reinforcements
arrived and Adil Shah retreated. In 1520, war broke out between Adil
Shah and the Vijayanagar Empire. The Portuguese taking advantage of
the situation captured Bardez, Ponda and Salcete. Two years later,
however, Adil Shah recovered back his territory.
The Governor of Belgaum, Ashad Khan, rebelled against Adil Shah in
1532. He sought help from the Portuguese and in turn handed over
Bardez and Salcete. In 1534, however, the Shah died to be succeeded
by his son Ismail. He happened to be a friend of Ashad Khan. So
Ashad Khan gaining strength from this event attacked the Portuguese
on their refusal to return Bardez and Salcete. In 1536, Ashad Khan
attacked with a very strong force. The Portuguese, sought peace and
after destroying the newly built fort at Rachol in Salcete, handed,
back to Ashad Khan both Salcete and Bardez. In the meanwhile, the
Portuguese ac quired Diu from the Shah of Gujarat. Soon however the
relations became strained between Ashad Khan and Ibrahim Adil Shah.
Now both of them sought the help of the Portuguese who brought in
Mir Ali, a rival of Ibrahim from Diu. At this Ibrahim Adilshah
attacked Ashad Khan and sent an envoy to the Portuguese. The
Portuguese, however, agreed to the offer of Salcete and Bardez made
to them by Ibrahim. Thus, in 1543, these areas finally came under
the Portuguese rule. This completed the "Old Conquests". In 1570,
the kingdoms of Bijapur and Ahmednagar joined in an alliance with
the Samudri of Calicut to drive out the Portuguese from the shores
of India. The plan was to independently but simultaneously attack
the Portuguese on all side in the territories earmarked for conquest
by each. The Portuguese under the very able leadership of Luis de
Ataide defeated all the attacks launched against them from various
directions including the attack of Adil Shah against Goa.
Missionary Conversions:
Missionaries came simultaneously along with the soldiers in Goa.
Even before the "Old Conquest was completed, the missionaries
started their process of Christianizing the populace of Goa.
Following the prevailing view in Europe, it became the official
policy of the King of Portugal to convert the people of Goa to the
Catholic faith. As early as in 1514, Goa was made a part of the
diocese of Funchal, a town in the island of Maderira of the North
West coast of Africa. By the end of 1517, nine Franciscan friars
arrived in Goa and the coversions began. The Jesuits followed soon
in 1542 and the Dominicans in 1548. In 1537, Fr. Joao D' Albuquerque
was appointed first Bishop of Goa. Four years later, a seminary was
set up in Goa. When Governor Martin De Souza arrived in Goa in 1542,
he was accompanied by St. Francis Xavier
Even before St. Francis Xavier came to Goa, a policy of persecution
was started in 1540 when a decision was taken to destroy temples and
mosques. Many laws were passed between 154045 to curtail and reduce
the religious functions of non Christians. In the Island of Goa, no
temple or mosque was left by 1545. In 1567, the temples of Bardez
and Salcete were destroyed. St. Francis Xavier did not stay for long
in Goa. He came in May 1542 and left for Kerala in September. In
1543, he came to Goa for a few weeks only, and again for a couple of
months in 1552. On his way to China, he died on 25th November 1552.
His undamaged body was brought to Goa and installed in St. Pauls
church. On 12th March 1622, Pope Gregory XV canonized him. In 1624,
the body was transferred to the Cathedral of Bom Jesus where it lies
till today. This has made Goa a centre of Catholic pilgrimage.
