In 1785 the Kolhapur troops again
attacked Bhonsle. He sought the Portuguese help and in return agreed
to cede the rest of Pernam. Thus, by 1788, the New Conquest was
completed and the Portuguese consolidated their hold and lands in
Goa.
The Portuguese rule was not liked by the majority of the Hindus who
resented the religious intolerance of the Portuguese. The activities
of the Inquisition also added to the resentment. Even the converted
Christains as time meant by came to the treated as inferior
citizens. All this led to series of revolts against the Portuguese.
The first of these revolts occurred in 1787 and is known in history
as the Pinto Conspiracy.
The economy of Goa had been shattered by the various conflicts. The
ruling class wanted to maintain their position and thus reserved
for themselves all the key positions in Civil, Military and
Ecclesiatical departments. This led to great resentment amongst the
locals who were equally well trained and educated.
The Dominicans,
Franciscans and Jesuits predominated in all walks of life. The local
clergy and laity joined hands to overcome this. Two learned local
priests Cae teno Francisco Couto of Panaji and Jose Antonio
Gonsalves of Divar were not made Bishops because of the color of
their skin. They want to Portugal to plead their case. The
Portuguese Government had in 1774 issued Special Instructions on
the subject but these had been ignored. Frustrated in their efforts,
the priests had met Abbe Faria who inspired the two priests to
overthrow the supremacy of the white rule in Goa. On return, other
disgruntled elements in the army joined the plot. A Father Pinto
offered his house to the conspirators. The date for the uprising was
fixed, but the Portuguese came to know of the plot in time. Over
forty seven persons including seventeen priests and seven army
officers were caught and punished for treason. A few managed to
escape to Bombay. Thus ended the first Freedom attempt known as the
Pinto Revolt.
The British had always eyed Goa as a possible area to control. When
the Napoleonic war broke out in Europe, its repurcussions took place
in India also. The British were determined to control the French
influence in India, if not eliminate it. They offered to help the
Portuguese to defend themselves against the French and Hyder Ali of
Mysore. In 1798, the British Admiral Reiner arrived with four ships
to help the Portuguese. They politely refused the help. Next year, a
British Army landed and occupied Fort Aguada. Parts of the army
remained as late as 1815. In 1839, the English again tried to
takeover Goa by complaining that the Portuguese were helping rebels
from the British India. When this was refuted, the English offered
to buy the Portuguese territories in India. Lisbon again refused to
oblige. In 1842, the Raja of Sawantwadi rebelled against the
English. He was defeated but given shelter by the Portuguese. An
English army entered Goa and Captain Arthur threatened to blow up
the Panaji Palace. Once again the Portuguese stood firm and
frustrated the attempts of the English.
The Ranes Revolt lasted sparodically for a number of years between
1852 1912. The Ranes of Satari Mahal were on borders between
Sawantwadi State and Goa. The Ranes trace out their original
habitant in Rajasthan. They claim to be descendents of a Kshatri
yaclan of Rajasthan. Their customs and rites are different from
those of the other ruling class of Gomantaka. They carried out for
nearly 60 years a sparodic struggle against the Portuguese rule.
Their exploits have now become a part of the folklore of the Area
and even today villages sing of "Kustoba Rane" who was a sort of
Robin Hood hero of the area.
In 1851, the Portuguese government in Goa imposed taxes upon the
inams and mokas. They also forced ladies to wear alien clothes. The
soldiers who were sent to enforce these decrees misbehaved with the
ladies under the garb of inspections. Dipajee Rane rallied the
people of Satari around him in 1852 and rebelled against the
Portuguese rule. In a surprise attack Dipajee Rane captured the fort
of Nanus. He thus got hold of a great deal of arms and ammunitions.
The Portuguese were soon driven out of Satari. The landlords of the
neighboring areas like the Dessais and Gaonkar's joined him. This
army soon liberated Quepem, Canacona, Hamad Barshe and Bhat agroma.
The Portuguese army was kept at bay with excellent guerrilla warfare
tactics. The Governor himself took the field against Dipaji but
failed to achieve anything against the local hero. Three years of
military efforts on the part of the Portuguese failed to achieve any
results. In 1855, the Portuguese Government entered into a treaty
with Dipaji. The rights of the local village Councils were
recognized, the religious dictates were withdrawn and along with
other minor concessions, Dipaji was given a ceremonial robe of
honour and a sword.
The tradition of rebellion however continued. Kushtoba of Sanquelim
rose against the Portuguese. He was helped by Shamba Desai. Like
Robin Hood, Kushtobe robbed the rich and helped the poor, both were
however taken by surprise and killed in 1871.
The Portuguese soon started fresh repressive measures against the
people in Satari. Monopoly system was introduced in land
cultivation. This led to great unrest. In 1895, the Portuguese
sought to use Goan troops against the Cafri tribe in Portuguese
African Colonies. The Hindus feared loss of caste if they went
abroad. The Government was adamant. Dada Rane Advaikar became the
local point of unrest. The Portuguese also suspected that the
writings in a paper run by a missionary Francisco Alvares were also
responsible for the unrest. He was banished from Goa. Dada Rane
captured first the Port of Nanus. He then made forays into Bardez
and looted the: Port agued Treasuries. Soon he was joined by Baba
Sawant, the Dessai of Hemad barshe. The combined forces approached
Aguada. The Portuguese were most alarmed. The new Governor Joaquim
Machado through the me¬diation of Shri Shakaracharya of Sanke shwar
accepted all the terms of Dada Rane and all were pardoned. Among the
followers of Dada Rane were Pavate Nandkarni and Phato Borkar. These
two specialised in looting Government property and treasuries. A few
churches were also destroyed. The last revolt of the Ranes was in
1912. The rebels wanted to force the government to modify its
repressive taxa¬tion policy. This time the Portuguese responded with
great ferocity. The rebellion was suppressed and the leaders
deported to Africa.
