The Mangaloreans - their origins
The Mangalorean community have their (recent) roots in Goa..................
In 1498 Vasco de Gama landed on India's west coast, he was followed by Pedro Álvares Cabral a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1500 at Anjediva ( St. Marys Island) with eight Franciscan missionaries, their preaching with the promise of heaven in the afterlife appealed to the superstitious local people who were in the main a poor fishing community living on a day to day existence, the Portuguese rulers implemented state policies encouraging and even rewarding conversions among the indigenous population. They targeted the Brahmins and influential Hindus first thus allowing word of mouth to spread the bible. In 1534 Goa was made a diocese and in 1557 an archdiocese. The Archbishop of Goa was the most important ecclesiastic of the east, and was from 1572 called the Primate of the East, this was the beginning of the colony of Goa coming into existence and was of course the centre of (Catholic) Christianity in India.
This process of christianising was simultaneously accompanied by Westernisation, as the christian converts over time typically assumed a Portuguese veneer, the most visible aspect of this was the discarding of old Hindu names for new christian Portuguese names.
Early Converts depicted in 1806
The first Archbishop of Goa, passed a decree declaring, that the Goan Catholics would henceforth not be permitted to use their former Hindu names, consequently, the converts typically had to adopt the surnames of the Portuguese priest, governor, soldier or layman who stood as godfather for their baptism ceremony.
However the higher powers desired complete acculturation of all classes of Indians into Portuguese culture, they aimed to create a native citizenry loyal to their Empire, which they believed they could accomplish through mass conversions to Roman Catholicism, the Portuguese relied on the Hindus to fulfil their higher personal and official ambitions, as they were seen to possess the capital, skills, contacts, and shrewdness required to sustain the Empire and its ambitions.
The Portuguese and Hindus were great business and military collaborators; religious affiliations did not matter. Therefore, many Hindus who did not convert or even those who consistently refused to convert and overtly opposed Christendom continued to receive from the Portuguese more honours, favours and jobs.
From about 1760 the political clout of the religious orders had diminished as most children being born were now being christened, and the churches zeal for christianising died down. From the mid 1800's the Portuguese population of Goa began to decline as settlers from Portugal dried up, consequentially, the percentage of the European christian population (once a majority) has been shifting in favour of the Hindus, Brahmins & Tamils who were now the majority. Goa ended as a separate Portuguese colony only in the 1960's.
Goans in 1957
Goan Family scene 1930's
Goa 1961 before independence
Portuguese building in Goa now
The Mangaloreans move from Goa
The Mangalorean Catholic community of the Indian state of Karnataka some 220 miles south of Goa, are largely - though not entirely, descended from those Goan converts. The History of Mangalorean Catholics comprises in the main of three migrations to their final destination - Mangalore..........
Firstly they migrated south from the ancient Mohenjo Daro basin in the north ( current day Pakistan ) to the area in and around Goa, possibility due to the drying up of the Saraswati river and/or Muslim invasion in the 12th Century.
Saraswathi Children
Locations of Goa to Mangalore
The second migration was the christianising legacy, where many of the Goan ancestors of the present Mangalorean catholics fled Goa because of the Goan Inquisition. King Sebastian of Portugal decreed in 1560 that every trace of Indian customs be eradicated through the Inquisition, but many Christians of Goa were not ready for the complete abandonment of their ancient way of life, thus they were forced to leave Goa and settle in Mangalore outside the Portuguese dominion.
The Inquisition put to death anyone who refused the catholic religion including Hindus, Brahmins and Jews.
The third migration left Goa because of famines, epidemics, and political upheavals such as the Portuguese–Maratha wars in the 1780's, emigrations were around 2,000 annually.
When in 1763 Hyder Ali took control of the throne of the Mysore Kingdom, which included Mangalore after winning it from the Wodeyar's, he was quite happy to leave the Christians alone as long as they paid their taxes, under his reign the Mangalorean community flourished, but after his death in 1784 his son Tippu Sultan ascended the throne with different ideas, he issued orders to seize the christians in Mangalore, confiscate their estates, and deport them to Seringapatam some 160 miles east. They had to suffer extreme hardships, torture, death, and persecutions during their captivity, many were forcibly converted to Islam, the young women and girls were forcibly made wives of the Muslims living there, of the 60,000-80,000 christians taken captive in the 1780's only 15,000-20,000 made it out alive. Their captivity ended with the death of Tippu Sultan in the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799. The British restored the Wodeyar dynasty to the throne after the victory, but retained indirect control of the kingdom.
Hyder Ali Tipu Sultan
Seringapatam
The survivors then returned to Mangalore and started to re-build their lives. According to the Scottish physician Francis Buchanan who visited Mangalore in 1801, Mangalore was a rich and prosperous port with flourishing trading activity, rice, pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, sugar, iron, saltpetre, ginger, coir and sandalwood were exported to Bombay, from here they were shipped to their final destination - Europe.
Anglo Indian family 1900's
Sultans Battery 1927
The First Sequeira........... Into this Re-built community in 1820 Mothis Sequeira was born, nothing is know of his Parents or Grandparents, who would have been survivors of Tipu Sultan's purge. he got married sometime before 1847,( his partner is unknown) because his son Inthuru was born in 1847, followed by Paul in 1849, Salvadore in 1854, John Marian in 1856 and Joseph in 1858.
The Second Sequeira
John Marian was born February 29th 1856, nothing is known of his life or who he married. They had 10 children, Helen was born On June 10th 1880, followed by twins Elaine and Raymond on January 19th 1883, then Domingo on the 10th Jan 1885, Francis John on Dec 3rd 1887, Rosa 1890, Monica 1891, Marceline on June 1st 1893, Jerome on Aug 16th 1896 and Letitia on Oct 10th 1900.
The Third Sequeira
Francis John married Maria Theresa D'Sa in 1918, He was a teacher at St.Joseph's Elimentary School, Kankanady, they had 9 children, Alice born Apr 25 1920, Elize born 1922, Dulcine born 1923, Cecelia born December 7th 1925, Henry born Aug 28 1928, Lily born Nov 2nd 1930, Robert born Nov 4th 1932, Celine born Nov 1st 1933 Harry about 1937, and Hermina born 1941. Maria Theresa also came from a long line of Mangaloreans.
The 4th Sequeira
Cecelia Born 7th December 1925 married Norman Stephenson, Oct 11th 1947 thus linking the 2 families.
Photos of the Sequeira's ...................
1950's
1930
Alan And Danny 1954
1960
Mangalore now............
City Centre
Docks and Harbour
In 1498 Vasco de Gama landed on India's west coast, he was followed by Pedro Álvares Cabral a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1500 at Anjediva ( St. Marys Island) with eight Franciscan missionaries, their preaching with the promise of heaven in the afterlife appealed to the superstitious local people who were in the main a poor fishing community living on a day to day existence, the Portuguese rulers implemented state policies encouraging and even rewarding conversions among the indigenous population. They targeted the Brahmins and influential Hindus first thus allowing word of mouth to spread the bible. In 1534 Goa was made a diocese and in 1557 an archdiocese. The Archbishop of Goa was the most important ecclesiastic of the east, and was from 1572 called the Primate of the East, this was the beginning of the colony of Goa coming into existence and was of course the centre of (Catholic) Christianity in India.
This process of christianising was simultaneously accompanied by Westernisation, as the christian converts over time typically assumed a Portuguese veneer, the most visible aspect of this was the discarding of old Hindu names for new christian Portuguese names.
The first Archbishop of Goa, passed a decree declaring, that the Goan Catholics would henceforth not be permitted to use their former Hindu names, consequently, the converts typically had to adopt the surnames of the Portuguese priest, governor, soldier or layman who stood as godfather for their baptism ceremony.
However the higher powers desired complete acculturation of all classes of Indians into Portuguese culture, they aimed to create a native citizenry loyal to their Empire, which they believed they could accomplish through mass conversions to Roman Catholicism, the Portuguese relied on the Hindus to fulfil their higher personal and official ambitions, as they were seen to possess the capital, skills, contacts, and shrewdness required to sustain the Empire and its ambitions.
Early depictions of Goa
The Portuguese and Hindus were great business and military collaborators; religious affiliations did not matter. Therefore, many Hindus who did not convert or even those who consistently refused to convert and overtly opposed Christendom continued to receive from the Portuguese more honours, favours and jobs.
From about 1760 the political clout of the religious orders had diminished as most children being born were now being christened, and the churches zeal for christianising died down. From the mid 1800's the Portuguese population of Goa began to decline as settlers from Portugal dried up, consequentially, the percentage of the European christian population (once a majority) has been shifting in favour of the Hindus, Brahmins & Tamils who were now the majority. Goa ended as a separate Portuguese colony only in the 1960's.
The Mangaloreans move from Goa
The Mangalorean Catholic community of the Indian state of Karnataka some 220 miles south of Goa, are largely - though not entirely, descended from those Goan converts. The History of Mangalorean Catholics comprises in the main of three migrations to their final destination - Mangalore..........
Firstly they migrated south from the ancient Mohenjo Daro basin in the north ( current day Pakistan ) to the area in and around Goa, possibility due to the drying up of the Saraswati river and/or Muslim invasion in the 12th Century.
Saraswathi Children
Locations of Goa to Mangalore
The second migration was the christianising legacy, where many of the Goan ancestors of the present Mangalorean catholics fled Goa because of the Goan Inquisition. King Sebastian of Portugal decreed in 1560 that every trace of Indian customs be eradicated through the Inquisition, but many Christians of Goa were not ready for the complete abandonment of their ancient way of life, thus they were forced to leave Goa and settle in Mangalore outside the Portuguese dominion.
The Inquisition put to death anyone who refused the catholic religion including Hindus, Brahmins and Jews.
The third migration left Goa because of famines, epidemics, and political upheavals such as the Portuguese–Maratha wars in the 1780's, emigrations were around 2,000 annually.
the Fort at Goa 1783
Maratha wars in the 1780's
When in 1763 Hyder Ali took control of the throne of the Mysore Kingdom, which included Mangalore after winning it from the Wodeyar's, he was quite happy to leave the Christians alone as long as they paid their taxes, under his reign the Mangalorean community flourished, but after his death in 1784 his son Tippu Sultan ascended the throne with different ideas, he issued orders to seize the christians in Mangalore, confiscate their estates, and deport them to Seringapatam some 160 miles east. They had to suffer extreme hardships, torture, death, and persecutions during their captivity, many were forcibly converted to Islam, the young women and girls were forcibly made wives of the Muslims living there, of the 60,000-80,000 christians taken captive in the 1780's only 15,000-20,000 made it out alive. Their captivity ended with the death of Tippu Sultan in the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799. The British restored the Wodeyar dynasty to the throne after the victory, but retained indirect control of the kingdom.
Hyder Ali Tipu Sultan
The taking of Seringapatam
The survivors then returned to Mangalore and started to re-build their lives. According to the Scottish physician Francis Buchanan who visited Mangalore in 1801, Mangalore was a rich and prosperous port with flourishing trading activity, rice, pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, sugar, iron, saltpetre, ginger, coir and sandalwood were exported to Bombay, from here they were shipped to their final destination - Europe.
Brahmin school in the 1920's
Cricket in the 1930's
Mangalore & a view of the Jagannath Temple
Mangalore Central
Main street Mangalore 1890
The Old Railway Station
The Old Port
The First Sequeira........... Into this Re-built community in 1820 Mothis Sequeira was born, nothing is know of his Parents or Grandparents, who would have been survivors of Tipu Sultan's purge. he got married sometime before 1847,( his partner is unknown) because his son Inthuru was born in 1847, followed by Paul in 1849, Salvadore in 1854, John Marian in 1856 and Joseph in 1858.
The Second Sequeira
John Marian was born February 29th 1856, nothing is known of his life or who he married. They had 10 children, Helen was born On June 10th 1880, followed by twins Elaine and Raymond on January 19th 1883, then Domingo on the 10th Jan 1885, Francis John on Dec 3rd 1887, Rosa 1890, Monica 1891, Marceline on June 1st 1893, Jerome on Aug 16th 1896 and Letitia on Oct 10th 1900.
The Third Sequeira
Francis John married Maria Theresa D'Sa in 1918, He was a teacher at St.Joseph's Elimentary School, Kankanady, they had 9 children, Alice born Apr 25 1920, Elize born 1922, Dulcine born 1923, Cecelia born December 7th 1925, Henry born Aug 28 1928, Lily born Nov 2nd 1930, Robert born Nov 4th 1932, Celine born Nov 1st 1933 Harry about 1937, and Hermina born 1941. Maria Theresa also came from a long line of Mangaloreans.
St Josephs now
The 4th Sequeira
Cecelia Born 7th December 1925 married Norman Stephenson, Oct 11th 1947 thus linking the 2 families.
Photos of the Sequeira's ...................
Mangalore now............
City Centre
Docks and Harbour
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