Voyages for the discovery of sea routes to India

Prince Henry of Portugal –Encourage voyages for the discovery of sea route to India

1488-Bartholomew Diaz-Reached Cape of good Hope

1497-Vasco-de-Gama-With three Ships followed route of Diaz and reached Calicut in 1498.

FAMOUS GOVERNORS OF Portuguese in India

Francisco De Almeida

1.   First governor of Portuguese possessions in India.

2.   Policy-To maintain supremacy on the sea.

3.   To Confine their activity purely to commercial transaction .

4.   Discarded the idea of establishing a Portuguese in the East-This policy is known as Blue Water Policy

Alfonso-d-Albuquerque

1-Second and greatest of the Portuguese governor was Alfanso-de-Albuquerque who succeeded De Almeida in 1509.

2-He was ambitious man whose policy was to found a Portuguese empire in the East

3-Reversed Almeidas’s policy

4-Captured Goa from ruler of Bijapur in 1510 which became headquarter of his administration

5-In 1511 conquered Malacca fitted out to explore spice Island.

·         Conquest of Ormuz-Island in Persian Gulf in 1515

CAUSES OF PORTUGUESE FAILURE IN INDIA

(i)  No  1-strong person was not sent to India after the death of Albuquerque. The result was that the Portuguese Empire began to disintegrate.

(ii)  The 2-Portuguese administration was corrupt. The salaries of the officials were low and consequently they felt no hesitation in accepting bribes from any quarter. They were all bent upon making fortunes for themselves, unmindful of the means used.

(iii)   Tt 3-The religious policy of the Portuguese was also responsible for their ruin. The Portuguese introduced Inquisition into India and they committed atrocities on those who were not Christians. Their coercive methods created bitterness in the minds of the people.

(iv)  The 4-establishment of the Mughal Empire was also partly responsible for Portuguese failure. At the beginning of the sixteenth century. the Portuguese did not meet any great opposition. However, after the accession of Akbar in 1556, the Mughal power began to grow. Under these circumstances. there was no scope for the growth of the Portuguese power on the mainland of India.

(v)  Port 5-Portugal being a small count,, its resources were not sufficient for the conquest of a count, like India. Furthemiore the resources were divided between India and Brazil.

(vi)  In  6-1580, Portugal came under Spanish rule. The result was that Spanish interest predominated. Various restrictions were put on Portuguese entreprise in the interest of Spain.

(vii) ThT 7-The rise of the Dutch and English power in India created strong rivals in the country. They were more than a match for the Portuguese.

(viii)  

The liberation of Goa

·         The Portuguese colonies in India were a bunch of conclaves including the districts of Goa, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

·         A pioneer in the 20^th century Goan resistance to colonial rule was Goan engineer Tristão de Bragança Cunha who started the Goa Congress Committee in 1928.

·         The Goan movement was supported by Indian independence leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia and Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

·         In 1950, the Indian government, in a bid to start diplomatic measures to free Goa, asked the Portuguese government to start negotiations for the independence of Goa. However, Portugal refused saying that Goa and its other Indian possessions were not colonies but an integral part of metropolitan Portugal; and also that since the Indian republic had not existed when Goa became a part of Portugal, it had no right to ask for Goa’s merger.

·         In 1953, the Indian diplomatic mission in Lisbon (capital of Portugal) was withdrawn.

·         By 1954, India imposed travel restrictions between India and Goa which impeded transport from Goa and other Portugal enclaves which were wholly within Indian Territory.

·         Economic blockades were also imposed on the Portuguese colonies.

·         In 1955, about 3000 unarmed Indian civilians tried to enter Goa. But they were rebuffed by Portuguese police officers and around 30 civilians were killed. That year, Indian consul office in Goa was shut down. There was also a huge outcry among the Indian people against Portuguese continuance in Goa.

·         Dadra and Nagar Haveli was annexed by India in 1954 with the support of the United Front of Goans, the Azad Gomantak Dal and the National Movement Liberation Organisation.

·         The Portuguese Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar decided to resist Indian “invasion” despite being advised against it.

·         In early December 1961, Portuguese civilians were being evacuated from Goa.

·         Even though hostilities started a few days earlier, the official Goa liberation began on 18^th December with the 50th Para Brigade of the Indian Army moving into Goa in three columns.

·         The commander of the Indian forces was Major-General K.P. Candeth. The operation was codenamed “Operation Vijay”.

·         Portuguese resistance was feeble as it was heavily outnumbered.

·         Portugal appealed to the UN Security Council for a debate on Goa on 18^th India’s delegate said that the “elimination of the last vestiges of colonialism in India” was an “article of faith” for the Indian people. He also said that Goa was an inalienable part of India that had been illegally occupied by Portugal.

·         The Portuguese President called for a scorched earth policy, which meant that Goa should be destroyed before it was to be given up.

·         But the Governor General Silva decided to surrender to the Indian forces considering his forces’ inferior position. The formal surrender was made on 19^th December 1961 ending 451 years of Portuguese rule over Goa.

·         After the fall of Goa, Lisbon terminated all diplomatic relations with India and refused to recognise the incorporation of its former possessions into the Indian republic.

·         Only in 1974 did Portugal recognise Goa as a part of India and resume diplomatic relations.

·         The USSR had steadfastly supported India in this matter and also vetoed a resolution condemning the Indian invasion in the UN Security Council.

 Question for Mains GS paper 2:

Liberation of Goa was antithetical to Nehruvian approach to international affairs. Comment. (150 Words)