The inquisition was established in 1560, briefly suppressed from 1774 to 1778, continued thereafter until it was finally abolished in 1812.[8] Forced conversions led to crypto-Hinduism (practising Hinduism in secret while posing to be Christians) with those accused of it imprisoned and depending on the criminal charge, could even be sentenced to death if convicted.[2][9][10][11][12] The Inquisitors also seized and burnt any books written in Sanskrit, Dutch, English, or Konkani, on the suspicions that they contained deviationist or Protestant material.[13]
The aims of the Portuguese Empire in Asia were suppressing Islam, spreading Christianity, and trading spices.[14] The Portuguese were guided by missionary fervour and intolerance. Examples of this include the Madura Mission of Roberto de Nobili (nicknamed the White Brahman), the Jesuit mission to the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar as well as the subjection of the Syrian Church to the Roman Church at the Synod of Diamper in 1599.[15]
In 1545, Francis Xavier wrote to the king requesting the need a Goan Inquisition in a letter addressed to King John III of Portugal.[16][17][18][19] Between the Inquisition's beginning in 1561 and its temporary abolition in 1774, around 16,000 persons were charged. Most of the Goa Inquisition's records were burned by the Portuguese when the Inquisition was abolished in 1812.[9] It is therefore impossible to know the exact number of those put on trial and the punishments that they were given.[2] The few records that have survived suggest that at least 57 were executed for religious crimes, and another 64 were burned in effigy because they had already died in jail before sentencing.[20][21].
However, there is no documentary evidence that 1545 letter was acknowledged or acted by the King.
Francis Xavier died in 1552 without ever living to see the commencement of the Goa Inquisition. The inquisition started 15 years after the alleged letter and much after the death of Francis Xavier.
It is estimated that by the end of the 17th century, the Christianisation of Goa meant that there were less than 20,000 people who were non-Christians out of the total Goan population of 250,000.[22][better source needed] From the 1590s onwards, the Goan Inquisition was the most intense, as practices like offerings to local deities were perceived as witchcraft. This became the central focus of the Inquisition in the East in the 17th century.[23]
In Goa, the Inquisition also prosecuted violators observing Hindu or Muslim rituals or festivals, and persons who interfered with Portuguese attempts to convert non-Christians.[2] The Inquisition laws made reconversion to Hinduism, Islam and Judaism and the use of the indigenous Konkani language and Sanskrit a criminal offence.[11] Although the Goa Inquisition ended in 1812, discrimination against Hindus under Portuguese Christian rule continued in other forms such as the Xenddi tax implemented from 1705 to 1840, which was similar to the Jizya tax.[24][25][26] Religious discrimination ended with the introduction of secularism via the Portuguese Constitution of 1838 and the subsequent Portuguese Civil Code of Goa and Daman.[27]
^ abcdSalomon, H. P. and Sassoon, I. S. D., in Saraiva, Antonio Jose. The Marrano Factory. The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians, 1536–1765 (Brill, 2001), pp. 345–7.
^Rao, R.P (1963). Portuguese Rule in Goa: 1510-1961. Asia Publishing House. p. 43. OCLC3296297.
^Neill 2004, p. 160: "By another route I have written to your highness of the great need there is in India for preachers... The second necessity which obtains in India, if those who live there are to be good Christians, is that your highness should institute the holy Inquisition; for there are many who live according to the law of Moses or the law of Muhammad without any fear of God or shame before men".
^"How did St. Francis Xavier shape Catholicism? | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 12 July 2022. However, his actions in India were not without controversy, as he was involved with the establishment of the Goa Inquisition, which punished converts accused of continuing to practice Hinduism or other religions.
^ANTÓNIO JOSÉ SARAIVA (1985), Salomon, H. P. and Sassoon, I. S. D. (Translators, 2001), The Marrano Factory. The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians, 1536–1765 (Brill Academic), pp. 107, 345-351