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| Sunday, 8 August 2004 |
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An era of ... Persecution and bloody conversions Portuguese singer Christina Branco on a program Radio France International aired on the Commercial Service of the SLBC recently, described a set of songs she was singing to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Portugal's Revolution as erotic and sensual. She said that prior to the 14th century period of 'discovery' when they took other peoples' countries, Portuguese men were so sensual that they envisaged an island populated only by women which they were to conquer! 'Imagine what that would have been like!'the singer quipped. Sri Lanka has been under Portuguese rule in the 14th century and it wasn't pleasant. by Karel Roberts Ratnaweera
The Portuguese stay in the Ceylon of the 14th century - Ceilao as they called the island - was marked by persecution, robbery and bloody conversions to their faith. 'The new heroes of Portugal are not her soldiers or sailors, but her missionaries,' as it says in the tome Twentieth Century Impressions. Don Lourenco de Almeida, described as a nobleman, son of the Viceroy of Cochin, Don Francisco de Almeida, was sent in 1505 to the Maldives. History books say that the wind currents wafted his sailing ship to Point de Galle - Gale - in those days - in the South of our country. Juan de Silva was the first Christian missionary to arrive in Ceylon. The Rajavaliya states that his ship came from the Portuguese King on friendly terms. It goes on; Let it be noted that from that day the Portuguese found a footing in Colombo. Ivory, pearls - from Mannar - elephants, gems, the best-quality cinnamon and other spices were what the white invaders were after. And get them they did, by hook or by crook, or both. De Almeida's arrival in the island has been described as a 'lucky accident,' but not for the inhabitants of this country and its kings. The Portuguese were determined to establish themselves along the Malabar coast of India and stop the Muslim traders from shipping goods across West Asia, among other reasons. They wanted to consolidate themselves in Ceylon to control trade, as establishing themselves on the Indian coasts of Malabar and Madura enabled them to control East-West trade. The Portuguese had powerful fortresses in Galle, Colombo and Negombo and controlled the cinnamon districts in the South and West. In Jaffna they controlled trade with India and the pearl fishery in Mannar. They also had a minor fort at Kalpitiya. The Portuguese thought that they would have no trouble from the East so it was left unguarded. Meanwhile, when the King of Kandy wanted overlordship, he sought Portuguese help and got more of it by his conversion. The King was named Don Joao after Don Joao of Austria, the dead brother of the King of Portugal. They then defeated Rajasinghe at Kotte and brought his rivals to subjection. It is said that there was no market for European goods in Asia from which profits could be made, so the cunning Portuguese decided that they had to do business from inside Asia because if they didn't, they would have had to rake in huge amounts of bullion from Europe to pay for Asian goods. The first direct contact the Portuguese had with Kotte on arrival was merely an exchange of gifts, but later things became much more complicated. Converts to the Roman Catholic religion introduced here by the Portuguese got a better deal than others. One report says there was wholesale destruction of Buddhist and Hindu shrines. They used gifts of temple lands for their own benefit and some even learned the Sinhala language! The invaders had success with various groups of local castes such as the Karavas and Salagamas, the former being roped in to peel cinnamon which was the occupation of the Salagamas. The Karavas by their conversions enjoyed certain privileges, becoming the entrepreneurs of those days, dealing in fish. The paravas of the Western coastal regions spoke the Portuguese creole language. It was in 1517 that Vijayabahu came across a Portuguese fleet anchored off Colombo, wanting permission to build a Fort in the city. The King of Kotte reluctantly agreed and the Fort was completed in 1518 when the Portuguese began to make further demands for themselves. The King was asked to hand over all the cinnamon in the royal stores at a fixed price and when this was refused, armed clashes resulted. However, the King was forced to agree to an annual tribute. When open war resulted in Kotte in 1520 - '21, even further demands began to be made. The King was defeated and killed. Portugal's frontiers were set up in the 13th century. It skirts the extreme Western rim of the European continent bordering Spain. There was a large Muslim presence in the country since the 8th century AD. In 1505 the armadas of Francesco de Almeida, viceroy of India defeated a Muslim naval force and Portugal's sea trade took off and formed the country's main wealth. Things happen when they have to happen, as history shows. The past cannot be undone. You cannot undo the brutal occupation of Ceylon by the Portuguese any more than you can the Battle of Hastings when the Normans from Normandy in Northern France invaded Britain, killed the King and changed the whole course of English history. World War II which changed the entire course of European history cannot be undone. What can, one supposes be done, is to create awareness so that such happenings may be seen in their real light and some redresses made. Atrocities of varying degrees were committed by all three invaders, but the Portuguese were by far the most brutal. They sacked and burnt out ancient temples, tortured and killed monks and laymen and women and children and plundered the works created by our ancient master-craftsmen whose descendants are to be found to this day, mainly in the Southern coastal areas and Central hills, still practising their work in precious metals and other materials. |
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