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| Arrival of Portuguese in India ezavisblastfromthepast.co.in |
Above image: Landed in Kappad near Calicut - now Kozhicode on the Malabar coast of India (Kerala state) on May 20,1498 - a new era of colonialism had just begun. Vasco De Gama after a long strenuous and grueling sail for over 300days from Portugal had landed in Kerala's shores.
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| Gama meeting Zamorin chief, Calicut.1498.ccorbisimages.com |
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| Gama and Zamorian chief, Calicut.1498. siawelcome.com |
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| Onslaught of Portuguese colonists opindia.com |
The arrival of the Portuguese in India in 1498 signaled the beginning of European colonialism in South Asia. With the arrival of Vasco da Gama at Calicut around the Cape of Good Hope route, the Portuguese discovered that sailing with ‘monsoons’ in summer months was the right way to reach India. They established their trade in Malabar and tried to dislodge the Muslim merchants from the region, thus began the Portuguese dominance of the Indian Ocean co It was only with the capture of Goa in 1503 by Alfonso de Albuqurque from Bijapur that the foundation of the future Portuguese maritime empire in the Indies was firmly laid.
For centuries prior, India's maritime trade was dominated by Arab merchants who acted as intermediaries between Indian producers and European buyers, particularly those from Venice and Genoa. This trade monopoly faced a turning point when King Manuel I of Portugal dispatched Vasco da Gama to find a direct sea route to India, bypassing Arab middlemen.
Vasco da Gama set sail from Lisbon in July 1497, navigating the route around the Cape of Good Hope pioneered by Bartolomeu Dias. After a long and perilous voyage of nearly 10 months, Gama landed at Kappad near Calicut (modern Kozhikode, Kerala) on May 20, 1498. This marked the first time a European fleet had reached India via the sea, ushering in a new era of global trade—and European imperialism.
The reigning monarch of Calicut, known as the Zamorin (Samudiri), received Gama and his men with ceremonial honors, including a grand procession of over 3,000 armed Nair warriors. However, the gifts presented by the Portuguese—cheap trinkets, hats, and cloth—were considered offensive and paltry by Indian standards. Arab merchants, long established in Calicut’s thriving spice trade, perceived the Portuguese as threats and openly opposed their presence. Violence nearly broke out, and only the Zamorin's guards ensured Gama's safety. On July10, 1499 Da Gama arrived in Lisbon back only with only two ships The king welcomed da Gama as a hero and even accorded him the title “Dom.” The cargo that the voyage brought in was worth over 60 times its total cos
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| .Vasco Da Gama Lisbon painting,Portugal opindia.com |
Above image: Gama headed two of the armadas destined for India, the first and the fourth, the biggest armada, only four years after his arrival from the first one. For his contributions he was named in 1524 as the Governor of India. It marked the beginning of the first wave of global multiculturalism.........
During Gama’s second voyage in 1501, after being rebuffed again by the Zamorin, he retaliated savagely—bombarding Calicut, burning ships, and executing Indian sailors, sending their mutilated remains ashore. His actions branded him not only as an explorer but also as one of the first European looters on Indian soil. Despite the brutality, the mission was economically successful; the cargo he returned with brought profits seventy times higher than the voyage’s cos
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| Alfonzo de Albuquerke en.wikipedia.org |
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| Vasco da gama sea route to India-1498. en wikipedia.org |
In 1505, Francisco de Almeida became the first Portuguese viceroy in India, strengthening their naval supremacy in 1509. By 1510, Afonso de Albuquerque captured Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate ruled by Sultan Yusuf Adil Shah encouraged his people to settle down there and they started fortifying Goa. It became the headquarters of Portuguese India. The Portuguese soon expanded their presence to Diu, Daman, Bassein in western India, and Hooghly in Bengal in the east. Portuguese established the trade posts there to expand their mercantile trade in India .
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| Portuguese missionaries in India livingwords.in |
Above image: Along with the Portuguese explorers from Portugal also an influx of missionaries and Jesuits arrived in India with a deep commitment to spread the new faith of Christianity among the natives, particularly in Goa. Regardless of their committed preaching and enticements, their missions did not yield the desired results. Finally, the Portuguese colonial government, on the advice of Jesuits resorted to religious suppression..........
While their initial objective was trade, the Portuguese quickly engaged in religious persecution, besides expansion of trade and lands. The notorious Goa Inquisition, established in 1560, led to forced conversions, destruction of temples, and torture of Hindus and Muslims. Their early rule was marked by greed, religious intolerance, and violence—laying the foundations for centuries of European exploitation in India.
