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Country
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BR
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Name of institution (English)
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National Library Foundation
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Language of name of institution
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por
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Contact information: postal address
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Av. Rio Branco 219, Centro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20040-008
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Contact information: phone number
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0055 (21) 2220-9608
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Reference number
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Manuscritos - 25,01,009 (reference number)
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Inquisição de Goa (Call number)
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Call number
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Title (English)
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Inquisition of Goa
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Title (official language of the state)
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Inquisição de Goa
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Language of title
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por
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Creator / accumulator
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Inquisition of Goa
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Date(s)
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1564/1807
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Language(s)
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lat
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por
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Extent
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9 books and 1,628 documents
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Scope and content
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This fonds comprises documentation related to the activity of the Inquisition of Goa. It contains not only inquisitorial processes and related documentation but also information on the vast communication between that court and the Conselho Geral (General Council) of the Inquisition and the Inquisitor-General in Lisbon and documentation on its financial management and administration. The fonds includes correspondence, reports, receipts, by-laws, petitions, charters, provisions, information on the incomes of Inquisition's officers, records of confessions and sentences. It also includes information on the execution of papal briefs and theological debates on matters of faith.
Even though the Inquisition of Goa persecuted a very high number of non-Christian Asian groups (the so-called "gentis") as a reflection of the specificity of Portuguese colonialism in Asia, New Christians were often persecuted. Indeed, an inventory compiled in 1774 referred to 16,176 trials, with an average of about 75 convicts per year over 215 years. Most charges were related to accusations of crypto-Hinduism (44% of those convicted). Crypto-Islamism and crypto-Judaism represented 18% and 9% of the cases, respectively, and Protestantism 1.5% of cases.
Examples of cases related to New Christians accused of carrying out Jewish practices are the following:
25,1,002 no. 050; January 23, 1607: Instruction of the Bureau of the Conselho Geral (General Council) of the Inquisition about the trial of Isabel Mendes.
25,1,004 no. 060-061; October 10, 1633: Royal letter to the Viceroy of India advising him on vigilance over the behaviour of "Jews".
25,1,005 no. 065; March 16, 1693: Letter from the Bureau of the "Conselho Geral" (General Council) to the Inquisition in Goa, containing guidelines on how to proceed with the "autos da fé" (acts of faith, i.e. public spectacle through which the Inquisition announced the sentences) and those who were considered guilty on charges related to Judaism and Islamism.
25,1,006 no. 022; February 2, 1657: Royal order determining that people considered guilty of "Judaism" were expected to have their assets confiscated.
25,1,006 no. 227; October 1674: Instructions from Rome on the procedures of the Inquisition regarding accusations and charges against New Christians.
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The Inquisition was established in Goa in 1560. It had jurisdiction over the territories of the so-called "Estado da Índia" (State of India), i.e. the territories in Asia and East Africa that were part of the Portuguese Empire. This Court was the most distant Inquisition Court from its metropolitan centre. Unlike most Iberian and American Courts, it had jurisdiction over discontinuous territories with no strong continental expression. Some of the fortresses and lands that it aimed to control were Sofala, Mozambique, and Mombasa in East Africa; Hormuz and Mascate in the Persian Gulf; Diu, Daman, Bassein and Chaul (known as the "praças do norte", literally Northern localities) in India; Goa, Bardez, and Salsete; some localities in Malabar (mainly Onor, Barcelore, Mangalore, Cochin, Cannanore, Cranganore, Kollam) and Coromandel (Nagappattinam, Mylapore); Ceylon and Malacca in Malaysia; Moluccas in Indonesia; Timor and Solor in the Sunda archipelago; and Macau in China.
Due to its extensive territorial jurisdiction, containing a population with many different political, religious, and cultural backgrounds, and the fact that the Portuguese never held absolute control over extensive territories in Asia, the typology of crimes this Court persecuted was the vastest of all early modern Inquisitorial Courts. Aside from the three major religious crimes well-known in Europe, namely crypto-Judaism, crypto-Islamism and Lutheranism, and a variety of other transgressions such as bigamy, solicitation, witchcraft, and others, the Inquisition of Goa also persecuted infractions specifically related to the region, such as those associated with Nestorianism and other Eastern churches established in India, and charges related to Hindu practices.
This Court functioned for two and a half centuries until its abolition in 1812, except for a brief four-year interruption (1774-1778). Its abolition occurred after the signing of the Anglo-Portuguese commercial treaty of 1810, which stipulated that any cult and religion would be tolerated in Goa and its dependencies. The final resolution occurred in June 1812, when the Prince Regent of Portugal decreed the final abolition of the Court.
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Sources:
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Amiel, C. 2010. “Goa.” In Dizionario storico dell’Inquisizione, Adriano Prosperi, 2:716–18. Pisa: Edizioni della Normale.
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Digitarq
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Author of the description
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Kevin Soares, 2023
