GL responds: Good article! As I study the post, I wondered how this explanation ties in with the caste of the Catholic Goans after their conversion. Would you say that the majority of Goan Catholics were non-Brahmins and non-Chardo (non-twice born)? How does the demographic distribution of Goans by caste of say 19th and 20th century Goans compare to the demographic distribution of the 17th and 18th century Goans? Thanks for the response.
Antonio Menezes: Many NRGs i.e. non resident Goans who come to Goa on holiday during the Christmas season from the U.K. and Canada ask: who were we, before we became Catholics? Answer: A minority of today's Catholics has a Hindu ancestor (non twice born Hindus, the Brahmins having left the area with idols in their hands) who lived in the Velha conquistas i.e. Ilhas, Bardez, Salcete and mormugao at the time of the Portuguese conquest. (original gaumkares) The majority of the Goan Catholics are, however, descended from the non twice born Hindus who had made a decision, for better or for worse, to leave their homes and settle down in the Velha conquistas. This migration took place in the 17th century. It could be unequivocally said that by the end of the 17th century, the population of the Velha conquistas was 99.9% catholic from 18th century onwards more Hindus started migrating to Velha conquistas but they did not have to change religion as the Portuguese has lost the zeal for conversion and more because they were being constantly harassed by the British, Dutch and French navies in the Indian ocean. the Portuguese were so busy trying to safeguard their profitable trade in spices that they had no time to get involved in the missionaries' cause. But why did the Hindus who later became Catholics migrate to Velha conquistas in the 17th century and Hindus who remained Hindus from the 18th century onwards did the same? The answer is simple: for economic reasons. in the 17th and 18th centuries Lisbon (in smaller scale, though) was what today New York is, a commercial capital of the then known world. but the prosperity of Lisbon depended upon their golden emporium in the east i.e. Goa. as the old saying goes: 'if one had seen old Goa, there was no need to see Lisbon' Now the time has come for us to pay tribute to our distant ancestor, a humble Hindu (say, from somewhere near the Sanquelim area) who made that difficult decision to move to Velha conquistas in order to provide decent support to his family members but also to escape the manusmriti prescribed indignities which were his lot, from the womb to the tomb. I simply shudder to think of my fate, of my Hindu ancestor that decided to stay put in Sanquelim area. His descendants gradually improved their lot and he has teachers, doctors, lawyers, priests, engineers, IT professionals, etc., to honour his memory not to speak of thick wallet carrying shippees, Gulfees, and NRIs. Antonio