The Goa Inquisition: Being a Quarter Centenary Commemoration Study of the Inquisition of India

by Anant Kakba Priolkar

THE GOA INQUISITION was established in 1560 and finally abolished in 1812. Although its headquarters were at Goa, its jurisdiction extended to entire Portuguese possessions to the East of the Cape of Good Hope, and it had its Commissaries in other major centres. It was started originally to punish Christian converts from Judaism, but next it turned its attention to native converts to Christianity from other faiths, almost all of whom had been converted by threat of force or material rewards.

THIS BOOK presents a dispassionate and objective account of the various aspects of the activities of the Inquisition at Goa, against the wider background of the religious policy of the Portuguese in the East. It is mainly based on contemporary material, such as documents in the official archives, correspondence of the Jesuit missionaries and information given by European travellers. At the end is reprinted an account given by Dr. Dellon of his experiences as a prisoner for about three years.

Genres: History, India, Nonfiction, Historical, Indian Literature

304 pages, Hardcover

Reviews

[Ashish Iyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides the most comprehensive account of the Goa Inquisition held by Portuguese colonialists in Goa, India in the 16th century and details the wholesale massacres of Hindus, Muslims, Jews by the Portuguese inquisitors. I always wanted a well researched read on the inquisition. It's a depressing read, in a way. But truth has a way of being uncomfortable. The inquisition is one of the darkest chapters of Indian history. There are some illustrations too.

"The Inquisition" introduced by Portuguese rulers of Goa, India was the worst and scary chapter no body can ever think of, all in the name of Christ, an embodiment of love and compassion. In 1542, Fr. Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Society of Jesus, arrived in Goa with a view to taking the message of Christ among the native Indians who followed altogether different religions. He observed that the newly converted Christians were still practicing their old customs and traditions and were not serious about following the true Christian faith. Indian Christians, having turned a deaf ear to the European missionaries' clarion call and subsequent warning, kept joyfully following their traditional Indian customs. Terribly disappointed, Fr. Francis Xavier took the extreme recourse available for him and he, at last, asked the Portuguese government in Portugal to introduce the most dreaded Inquisition in Goa, then a citadel of Portuguese power in India. He urged King John the III of Portugal to set up the Inquisition in Goa also to suppress Judaism because Jews refused to reconvert to Roman Catholicism.
And the irony is Fr. Francis Xavier’s embalmed mortal remains are today kept in a silver casket inside the Bom Jesus Basilica in Goa and are taken out for public viewing every ten years. It is unfortunate that those thousands who come there to do their prayers reverentially to get his blessings had no idea whatsoever about him, who was responsible for the horrible atrocities he had let lose on the innocent people in ten of thousands, including Muslims, Jews and Hindus, many of whom were tortured to death and whose families underwent untold miseries and pain in the loss of their loved ones.

In earlier chapters of the book, there is an account of Spanish and Portuguese inquisition in Europe providing background material and context that would lead to the inquisition in India. The chapters describe the wars that led to the establishment of Portuguese colonial rule in Goa, and the massacres of Hindus and Muslims during the war, typically involving mass-murders in villages, mass drowning of Muslims in rivers and other similar acts. The book details the organization and procedures of the Inquisition and the anti-Hindu laws that were passed in Goa during the inquisition banning Hindu religious ceremonies and customs, as well as reducing the Status of Hindus into second-class citizens by banning them from public gatherings and so on. The book also discusses the various methods of torture used on Hindus, Muslims and Jews by the Inquisition, such as burning by Sulphur, Water-torture, rape, the use of pulleys to stretch victims and the "strappado" method of torture. This is why you will find Konkani people in Karnataka and Kerala because they were afraid of them.

Unfortunate part is it is hardly mentioned in the history texts at school. Thanks to pseudo secular and leftist for that. Sad part is Pope, Churches or even Portugal government hasn’t apologize till now. What a shame. Slaughtering and murdering in the name of Christianity, this is what exactly happening now, jihad in the name of islam. Anyway There are several books and documents available now regarding Goa Inquisition. Most of them are available in internet.

There are so many blogs too. Here are couple of blogs I am mentioning here.

1.https://navrangindia.blogspot.in/2016...
2. http://www.jewishwikipedia.info/Goa.html

Do watch these youtube videos i am adding below.
By Sangam Talks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nEse...

By Political Kats
Part 1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_CRF...
Part 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPlhs...

If you are interested in books. Here are some of them. (Non fiction books)
1. Account of Inquisition at Goa by Charles Dellon
2. Sarasvati's children: A history of Mangalorean children by Alan Machada
3. Malabar and the Portuguese by KM Pannikkar.

If you are interested in reading fiction books with Goa Inquisition as backdrop
1. Swapna Saraswatha by Gopalakrishna Pai(Available in Kannada and English)
2. Age of Frenzy by Mahabaleshwar Sail(Available in Konkani, Marathi and English).

[Stefania Dzhanamova · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Inquisition in the Church of Rome is a tribunal designed by the popes for the examination and punishment of heretics. It was founded in the 12th century under the patronage of Pope Innocent (note the irony...), who issued orders to prompt the Catholic princes and people to search for heretics and report their numbers and names to Rome. That is how they got to be called "inquisitors."

This diabolical tribunal was established in Goa in 1560. Although known as the Goa Inquisition, its jurisdiction extended to all Portugese colonies to the East of the Cape of Good Hope. According to the author, the immediate cause of the establishment of the Inquisition in Portugal and Spain was the appearance of New Christians — people, who were converted to Christianity from Judaism and were under suspicion for adhering to the ancestral customs of Judaism. In the sixteenth century the New Christians of Portugal established themselves in Goa. The comparative freedom they experienced there encouraged them to be less cautious in their daily lives. Scandalized Portugese missionaries, however, soon demanded the establishment of a Holy Tribunal in the East, where in addition to New Christians there were also native converts, a considerable majority of whom had been brought into the Christian faith with threats and violence. Naturally, many of them still adhered to their ancestral beliefs and rites, so the Goa Inquisition applied itself to the task of detecting, preventing, and punishing such heretical tendencies. Thus, according to the author, the history of the Inquisition of Goa is, before anything else, the history of the religious persecution by the Portugese in India.
The Portugese rulers took various measures in order to convert the natives to Christianity. First were the ones, whose aim was to make it difficult for the natives to continue to adhere to their old religion. The temples and shrines of the Hindus were destroyed, and they were forbidden to erect or maintain new ones. Practice of Hindu customs and ceremonies, such as the marriage ceremony, the ceremony of wearing a sacred thread, ceremonies performed at child birth, were banned. Hindus who were considered noxious for the propagation of the Christian faith were sent into exile or deprived of their means of subsistence and their ancestral rights in the village communities. They were also subjected to all sorts of humiliations. "Orphaned" children were taken away from their families to be baptised, and men and women were cowed into listening to the preaching of Christian doctrine. The second kind of measures were the ones that offered "rewards." They gave public posts exclusively to Christians, altered laws of inheritance in favor of converts, and offered Christians more rights and privileges in the village community.
As expected, the Inquisition exerted considerable pressure and held the local population in constant fear. There was no authority above it; no one was allowed to even question its motives for arrest or means for obtaining confessions.
And the expedient the inquisitors used to obtain confessions where the evidence against the accused was incomplete was torture. Torture was preceded by all sorts and kinds of hypocritical formalities. The accused was persistently encouraged to confess his guilt; and a denial of guilt never was an acceptable answer. A person who denied his guilt was immediately doomed an impenitent heretic, and if there was not enough (or any) real incriminating evidence against him, torture was used. At the chamber of torture the accused was informed that if during the torture he died, broke a limb, or lost consciousness, it was his own fault. The tortures themselves were remarkably variegated and "creative": torture of pole, water-torture, Spanish boots, boiling oil poured on legs, burning of armpits with candles; the list goes on. In general it can be said that those were exactly the means needed to make EVERYONE – no matter whether guilty or innocent – confess.
In fact, the Inquisition did not itself condemn "unrepentant heretics" to the stake. It simply declared them heretics without hope of redemption, cut them off from the Church, and "relaxed" them to the secular arm for punishment. The devil, however, is in the details: the secular arm was OBLIGED to punish them.
The horrors the Hindu population suffered at the hands of the Inquisition were almost unimaginable. The Holy Tribunal in Goa was considered the most severe in the world, which, knowing the atrocities of the Portugese and Italian Inquisitions, means something.
The establishment of the Inquisiton had two major negative consequences. First of all, the Inquistions was followed by convents of various religious orders, which are always its satellites. One traveller noticed 60 convents, in which more than 20,000 friars were fed not counting the Jesuits. The commerce of Goa was eventually drawned into this convents and brought religion into disgrace. The clergy received an unlimited number of ships without awaiting permission from the king and enriched themselves.
The other consequence of major historical significance was the profound misunderstanding of Christianity that the methods of the Inquisition impressed on the Indian population. The intolerance, ruthlessness, terror, and cruelty, which characterized its activities were far removed from the Christian spirit and its emphasis on love and compassion. It is only natural that the victims of the Holy Tribunal concluded that the Christian God, in whose name those activities were carried out, was a deity of vengeance, pain, and wrath.

This book is almost entirely comprised of citations of first-hand sources. It offers an in-depth, raw, and depressing account of the cruel religious persecution the Goa population suffered in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Worth a read for anyone interested in the history of Goa, of Portugese colonization, and of the Inquisition.

[Nishu Thakur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do read this book if you want to know about Goa Inquisition. There are many genocide denier living amongst us. High time to know these things. This book will tell how christian wanted to convert entire Goa(or Gomantak). You should read it to know what the so-called "Saint" Francis Xavier did with the Hindu population of Goa. There are many schools in his name in India. What a shame.

[Amith J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full five stars! Not because it is a book on a rarely discussed topic. Because it is dispassionate, factual, non imposing, well researched yet moving, eye opening, fantastic account of the atrocities committed by colonial powers in the name of religion. A must read for every Indian who wants to know the their true past. And shame on those countries ( colonial powers) who preach us on religious tolerance. Shame! ( vyak thoooo)

[Ajay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go read this book. Those who think only Britishers were worst, read this read this book to know even Portuguese were no less.

Everyone love to have beer and have "chilling" time in beach. You are having these gala time because our ancestor sacrifice their life.
Read this book to know what our ancestors went through. Naman to these people.

[Lasic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read book on Goa Inquisition.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deserves a 10 Star rating. Not only for the contents but it’s impeccable prose.

The author goes onto provide translations from memoirs of Dellon and Buchanan. The derogatory addressing of learned Saraswat Brahmins as blacks, clearly shows how these heartless European plunders saw us Hindus as mere vessels of their pillage.

This book could be a great gift to every ignorant Goan who look down on their ‘heretic’ Hindu ancestry.

[Vibhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Indian should read.

[iyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the missing pages of our history textbooks are here!

[Bharath Chava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a dark and grim chapter of our history you never knew it existed

It took me longer than expected to complete. As the contents of the book are not so pleasing to read especially when you know everything is true. How some fanatical god fearing idiots wanted to spread the religion of love and peace by genocide and persecution.

According to bible
Mathew 10:14 - " If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town"

Did they rip off these pages from their bible or something?

[Shreyansh Thakur · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well documented research book on Goa Inquisition.

[Jayatee Srivastava · Rating 5 out of 5]

short and comprehensive read about the atrocities of the tribunal. it narrates how the infamous inquisition came to be, its heinous crimes and subsequent dissolution. the author also made the writing more story-like, which felt like a nice deviation from the tedious matter-of-fact tone of such books.

[Ujjwala Singhania · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we talk about Indian History, we start of with the Mughal Empire in India followed by the British Raj. A loud and well established lobby of historians negate the existence of India as a nation before the Mughals; and more often than not, the history of French, Dutch and Portuguese colonization of parts of India between these two Empires gets lost in the discussion. These empires may not have ruled over the whole of India at any given time but that does not lessen the impact and influence of their rule and we still find the relics or deeper implications of it even if some wish to bury it. One such piece of our History was the colonization of vast swathes of land East of the Cape of Good Hope including Goa, Daman & Diu, and other Konkan regions by the Portuguese.
Tomes have been written and forgotten about the Spanish Inquisition and if we only knew that it was less brutal than what the Indian's were subjected to under the Goa Inquisition we would have a hard time believing it. But that is the truth in all its gory detail. The author presents a very comprehensive account of the Goa Inquisition from when it was set up in 16CE to its final wind up in early 19CE.
Though much of the records have been destroyed and a lot other have been hidden for good, the author has used the still extant documents and translation from the original works of people who where persecuted by the Tribunal and still lived to tell the tale, to present the inhumane methods of the Portuguese Empire, the Church and their Tribunal to spread Christianity and persecute any one who deviated even a little from their dictates. The various ways to demean and crush the spirit of the people under their rule, demonize and destroy their Gods, faith, rituals, temples. Take away children from their parents and convert them and brainwash them into the teachings of missionaries. Snatch and loot the properties of the innocent people at the slightest whims and fill their coffers.
This book is not an easy read because it is hard to wrap one's head around in all the ways that the tribunal tried and succeeded in spreading its tentacles. But read we must because it is a part of our history and we have a right to know. It is also incumbent on us to understand the various ills in our society as they stand and their historicity, not everything Hindu is bad and not everything Jesus is benevolent. And the study of this book will also enable us to acknowledge the threat of missionaries of today and how they are still converting people with their carrot and stick approach.
The study of history is essential to put our present in the right perspective and build the framework for the morrow.

[Akanksha Singh Raghuvanshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Goa Inquisition established in 1560 by the Portuguese colonial authorities under the influence of the Catholic Church was a brutal campaign aimed at enforcing religious conformity in the Portuguese territories of India, particularly in Goa. While its primary target was to suppress heresy among converted Christians especially former Jews and Muslims, it also significantly impacted Hindus, who faced severe persecution for their religious practices. Hindus in Goa were targeted as the Portuguese sought to eliminate indigenous religious traditions and establish Catholic dominance.

Hindu temples were systematically destroyed with over 300 temples razed in the early years of the Inquisition. Sacred idols were smashed and Hindu rituals, festivals and public worship were banned. The Portuguese authorities imposed heavy taxes on non-Christians, confiscated Hindu lands and prohibited traditional practices like marriage ceremonies and cremation rites. Many Hindus were forced to convert to Christianity under threat of imprisonment, torture or execution. Those who resisted faced brutal punishments, including public floggings, burning at the stake or exile.The Inquisition’s tribunals led by Jesuit priests, operated with ruthless efficiency relying on informants to identify “heretics.”

Hindus who secretly practiced their faith or refused conversion were accused of idolatry or blasphemy. The infamous “Auto-da-Fé” public trials often ended in executions or severe penalties, instilling fear in the Hindu population. Hindu priests and community leaders were particularly targeted to dismantle traditional religious structures.This persecution led to significant cultural and demographic changes with many Hindus fleeing to neighboring regions like Karnataka and Maharashtra to escape oppression. The Goa Inquisition lasting until 1812 left a lasting scar on the Hindu community eroding their religious and cultural heritage in the region while enforcing a rigid Catholic orthodoxy.

The book Goa Inquisition by Anant Kakba Priyolkar, translated into Hindi as Goa ka Isasi Nyayadhikaran is a compelling historical work that unveils the grim realities of the Portuguese Inquisition in Goa, spanning from 1560 to 1812. Originally published in English in 1961 this Hindi translation of the second volume draws primarily from the firsthand account of Dr. Dellon, a French physician to narrate the brutalities of the Catholic Church’s campaign to enforce religious conformity. The book serves as both a historical document and a poignant testament to the human suffering caused by religious intolerance with a particular focus on the persecution faced by Hindus and other communities.

The book’s structure is straightforward yet powerful centered on Dr. Dellon’s harrowing experiences as a prisoner of the Inquisition in Goa. Arriving in the early 19th century Dellon was arrested on vague charges and subjected to starvation, disease, physical torture and psychological torment in the Inquisition’s dungeons. The destruction of over 300 Hindu temples, bans on festivals and rituals, forced conversions and public executions through the “Auto-da-Fé” are meticulously documented supported by Portuguese archives, missionary diaries and contemporary accounts.

The final chapters highlight the visit of British official Claudius Buchanan in 1808, a turning point that contributed to the eventual abolition of the Inquisition.The book’s greatest strength lies in its personal perspective. Dellon’s account is so evocative that readers can almost feel the damp, oppressive walls of the prison cells. The Hindi translation is fluid and accessible, preserving the emotional intensity of the original while making it relatable to a broader audience. Priyolkar’s use of primary sources adds authenticity, making it a valuable resource for historians and general readers alike. However the book has minor shortcomings.

Its focus on Dellon’s individual experience somewhat limits the exploration of the broader long-term impact on the Hindu community such as cultural erosion or mass migrations.

Overall Goa ka Isasi Nyayadhikaran is a must read for anyone seeking to understand the dark underbelly of Goa’s colonial past .

[Bhawna Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Added it to my TBR list quite a long time back when Shefali Vaidya suggested it.But I got to read it just now.
451 years of tyrannical rule and no mention of it in our books!!

A must-read, especially for those who see Portuguese rule as a golden age and are proud of their eligibility for Portuguese citizenship and the culture that was imposed on them. Perhaps this book can reveal many of the "golden" moments experienced by our ancestors and show them a mirror. I hope that people like this will regain their self-respect.

[Manisha Manohar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Inquisition was a church ordained, court of inquiry that censured any departures from the ‘correct practice’ of the Christian faith. It was set up with the main objective of preventing neo-converts (initially from Judaism) from reverting to their old religion. It was found that many neo-converts continued their old cultural practices that prevented pure Christianity and might have hastened a return to their old beliefs and ways. The Inquisition made such practices a sin, and mandated penances for the sinners.

It was an extremely opaque and cruel movement that accepted anonymous accusations (from people looking to settle personal scores) and the use of torture to extract confessions. Those found guilty were either burnt to death (if they chose to die as non-Christians) or strangled (as Christians, who had sinned). Lesser punishments included slavery, excommunication and exile.

What started out in Spain, found its way to Portugal and eventually to their colonies including Goa, in 1560; where it took on its most brutal form. Its initial attempt was to prevent new Hindu converts from returning to the Hindu fold, and to this end, forbade them to continue any traditional or cultural practices. This however grew to encompass all Hindus in general, who were forbidden from the most basic practices of their religion.

The book is a comprehensive account of how the Inquisition in Goa progressed and the role of ‘Saint’ Francis Xavier in its implementation. It recounts in painful detail all the anti-Hindu laws enacted by the Portuguese, the many atrocities and humiliations heaped on the native population, the various methods of torture employed to extract confessions and the horrific auto-da-fé, when punishments were meted out to the guilty. Mass destruction of temples, confiscation of temple wealth and property, censorship of books, harassment of Hindu priests and scholars, discrimination between Christians and non-Christians in the granting of government posts, succession and inheritance laws etc. were all employed to ensure a milieu, conducive to the ‘growth of Christianity’. This lead to mass exodus of Hindus, a paralysis of trade and commerce and a depletion of the Royal Treasury.

There are also, two very interesting, first-hand accounts of witnesses from the inside. The first is from Dr. Charles. Dellon, a French physician who spent 2 years (CE 1674-76) being interrogated by the court of Inquisition in Goa, and who also witnessed an auto-da-fé. The second is from Dr. C. Buchanan, a British surgeon who read the account written by Dr. Dellon and was horrified to find that in 1810, the Inquisition was STILL functioning in Goa. He was instrumental in getting the British government to put pressure on the Portuguese to finally end it in 1812.

This book is a must-read to understand the history and dynamics of Goa. Unfortunately, the Inquisition is not a subject that is mentioned even in passing, in our textbooks. Most Goans venerate Francis Xavier as a ‘Saint’ and pay their respects to his remains. But in truth he was a fanatical Jesuit, who would ‘use every form of bribery, threat and torture to effect a conversion’. Almost all the documents pertaining to the Inquisition have been deliberately destroyed, but the communications between the King, the Inquisitors, Governor Generals etc have been preserved and are the basis on which A. K. Priolkar has stitched together this account of what transpired in the 252 years that the Inquisition functioned.

[Utkrisht Fella · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Goa Inquisition: Being a Quarter Centenary Commemoration Study of the Inquisition of India by Anant Kakba Priolkar is a pivotal historical work that provides an unflinching look at the brutal religious persecution that took place in Goa under Portuguese rule. I will never be able to look at Goa the same way.

Published in 1961, Priolkar's book is a meticulous study that draws on historical records to document the operations of the Inquisition of India from 1560 to 1812. The author highlights how this systematic campaign sought to establish Catholic dominance and eradicate all other faiths, particularly targeting the Hindu and Jewish populations.

The book delves into the immense pressure faced by Hindus to convert, describing how temples were systematically destroyed beginning in 1540 and how all non-Christian religious ceremonies were banned, leaving individuals with the stark choice to either convert or abandon their homes.

The zeal for this persecution was significantly fueled by prominent figures like St. Francis Xavier, who in his letters to the King of Portugal and others, passionately advocated for the establishment of the Inquisition in Goa to suppress what he termed "idolatry." This call was answered by bishops and Christian priests who served as judges, investigators, and informers, wielding immense power to enforce forced conversions.

Priolkar's study is particularly noted for its harrowing detail on the atrocities and tortures that were commonplace during this period.

The book describes the grim reality of the Inquisition's dungeons and the various instruments of torture used to extract confessions, such as the strappado, which dislocated the victims' joints. Prisoners were often subjected to prolonged suffering, denied knowledge of their accusers' identities and left without legal representation.

The Inquisition's headquarters at the Palace of the Inquisition in Goa was a place of immense suffering. This palace housed dark dungeons where Hindus were subjected to horrific conditions and brutal methods of torture to force confessions of "heresy" or "idolatry."

The culmination of this cruel process was the auto-da-fé, a public ceremony where the condemned were paraded and subjected to harsh punishments, with some of the most severe sentences involving being burned at the stake.

These acts of terror were not just about enforcing faith; they had deep social and economic consequences, as property confiscation was a frequent punishment, leaving many families destitute and creating a pervasive climate of fear and suspicion.

This period irrevocably altered the cultural and religious fabric of Goan society, leaving a lasting impact that Priolkar's book courageously brings to light, cementing its place as an essential text for understanding this dark chapter of history.

See and feel the dark history of Goa when you visit Goa next.

[Dhananjay Hegde · Rating 4 out of 5]

though a small book, it took a lot of time to read, for 3 reasons -
1. This specific copy that I have is not a good print. Dificult to read those letters.
2. Most content in the book is either some conversations or letters or some orders issued during 1500 to 1800 CE. It's difficult to read and comprehend that English. Had to read and reread.
3. The subject matter is not a pleasant to read - the horrors committed by the Inquisition against the innocent people is difficult to digest - how can human beings commit sich heinous crimes against other human beings under the guise of "God" and "Heaven". It seems as though these words and ideas are simply a mask to their sociopathic/cruel nature.

[Pranay Borupothu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The evil works in Portuguese colonies in the name of holy Inquisition were well written by AK Priolkar. They destroyed hundreds of temples, converted Hindus and Muslims forcefully and treated non christians with inhuman tortures. The Inquisition in Goa is far more diabolical than Inquisitions in Spain and Portugal. The mighty Portuguese destroyed almost everything that relates to Inquisition.

The must read book. This book contains true accounts of Dellon and Buchanan of the Inquisition in Goa.

[Munish Handa · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very banal write up .... did not enthuse interest to carry on but still finished the book

[Mayur Arolkar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Must read

[Monica BIthar · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is a riveting read and if you were not aware of the dominant Hindu history of Goa, you are in for a rude shock that will shake you to the bones