The Backstory

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A map of Portuguese enclaves and interests in India, 1630

 

The Portuguese began to explore and claim parts of India at the turn of the fifteenth century, and in 1543 signed the Treaty of Bassein with the Sultan in power, thereby taking over a chunk of the Southwestern coast of the country. At the time, the Portuguese had begun to build forts, establish trade, and convert locals to Christianity. By and large, it was an unremarkable area that was more important for its safe harbor along larger trade routes.

This small holding, however, included the seven islands that would go on to comprise Mumbai. What happened to be the harbor that the first Portuguese viceroy dropped anchor then grew forward to be the bustling metropolis of Bombay under British rule, and it is in this way that the forgettable Treaty of Bassein would go on to influence the city, the country, and larger geopolitics; it kickstarted imperial claims to the subcontinent that would spark contention for more than four hundred years.

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Portuguese currency in Goa, India, in 1945

Flashing forward to the 40s, as India neared its final heave toward independence, Portuguese influence had largely faded to the background with the British in the spotlight. In Mumbai, the only visible remnants of the Portuguese rule come in crumbling seaside forts and the existence of various orders of Christian churches in the city. A local Jesuit congregation called St. Bonaventure hosts a religious feast in January that is supposedly a popular tourist attraction, but the passing of the Portuguese is just that; there is little left as a reminder that it was the Portuguese take over that eventually gave the city to Britain, but indeed, any speculative history as to whether the Portuguese "Estado da India" helped facilitate the much more prominent British control (or, as looks likely, the East India Company was strong enough to occupy any area it wanted at its height) seems futile. Indeed, as the scanty amount of historiography suggests, few consider the Portuguese moment to be anything more than a moment.

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Indians of Portuguese descent dressed in their traditional attire, 2013

That is, except in Goa, 500 kilometers south of the city, where the Portuguese influence was much stronger and continued to be that way even past Indian independence. The currency pictured above is from Goa, which continued to be recognized by Portugal as one of their territories until 1975. Today, however, Portuguese and Indian relations are stable, and Portugal currently has the third highest number of people from India in Europe. In India, there remains a sizeable population of so-called Luso-Indians, heavily concentrated in Goa. Many are still practicing Christianity, but only 3 to 5% still speak Portuguese, and even fewer wear the traditional dress pictured on the left.

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Bombay's harbor, 2011

 

On the following page, a neatline exhibit traces the movement of power emblematized by the first and second treaties of Bassein. What you'll find is a history of top-down decisions that were never quite as aware of their large reverberations as we can feel looking backward today.