Dear Jorge,
my statement was mostly directed at the 20th century freedom struggle, and I wanted to point out that the current favouring an independent Goa was small and insignificant (though some of its member very influential), when compared to the mainstream activists favouring integration within India.
Now, in regard to the "Conjuracao dos Pintos", I agree with you: it could potentially be seen as a first freedom movement/action seeking to establish a modern independent Goan republic. Yet, I believe further study should be made, and you, and other historians, could and should do so much better than me.
But the question you raise is interesting in context of my previous comments, for the following reasons. For too long, the debate about the "Conjuracao dos Pintos" (Or Pinto Revolt) has been understood under a biased political light, namely, as a revolt against the oppressive colonial power and an " Indian nationalist freedom struggle" (!). This appropriation is ridiculous and mirrors the uses and abuses political powers and mainstream political ideologies and academic currents have made of Goan and Indian history. For the Pinto's, as well as for many of the Indian freedom fighters up to the 20th century, there was no concrete and common view about an "independent Republic of India".
Few, like you do, rightly point out to this local character of the revolt. Untill there are concrete proofs that the revolt was essentially political and motivated by either subcontinental Indian independence (integration not possible by then, because there was only "British India" on the "other side") or Goan republican independence, we should be forced to conclude in a microcosmic way: it was a local/regional revolt due to socio-economic reasons, punctuated or even masked by political objectives.
Still, I would be very interested if someone could explore and prove the objectives you attribute to the 1787 revolt. It would force us to conclude that there was a particular "Goan political consciousness", different from the pro-Indian or pro-Portuguese one. And it would certainly force many of us to rethink the past and contest certain established mainstream myths.
Constantino Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 20:33:47 +0200 From: "Jorge/Livia de Abreu Noronha" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Constantino, Do you really maintain that the last part of your following sentence is correct: «Goa has never been independent, nor has there been any relevant movement aspiring to that status»? If so, how would you classify the "Conjuracao dos Pintos" (The Pinto Revolt) of 1787 which aimed at making of Goa a republic based on the lofty principles (later proclaimed by the French) of liberty, equality and fraternity? Jorge _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
