Latest / The History of Portugal: The Small Nation That Built a Global Empire — Fexingo History / Goa's Mughal Neighbor: Akbar and the Portuguese
Transcript
- Lucas: So last time we covered the Inquisition in Goa — pretty heavy stuff. But I want to zoom out a bit today and look at how the Portuguese Estado da Índia dealt with the elephant in the room, quite literally: the Mughal Empire. By the late 16th century, the Mughals under Emperor Akbar had become the dominant power in northern India, and the Portuguese held a string of coastal enclaves. They had to figure out how to coexist. Luna: I imagine the Portuguese weren't exactly thrilled to have a massive land empire on their doorstep. Lucas: Right. The Portuguese were a naval power — they controlled the seas, but on land they were very vulnerable. The Mughals, on the other hand, had a massive army and were expanding southward. There was a real potential for conflict. But what's fascinating is that for a while, Akbar actually sought an alliance with the Portuguese. Luna: An alliance? Against who? Lucas: The Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans were a threat to both — they were competing with the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean, and they were a rival to the Mughals in the Islamic world. Akbar saw the Portuguese as a potential counterweight. In the 1570s, he sent envoys to Goa proposing a joint attack on the Ottoman-held port of Hormuz. But the Portuguese were wary. They didn't trust the Mughals, and they had their own ambitions in the region. Luna: So nothing came of it? Lucas: Not directly, but it opened a channel of communication. Akbar was genuinely curious about Christianity. He invited Jesuit missionaries from Goa to his court at Fatehpur Sikri. The first mission arrived in 1580, led by Father Rodolfo Acquaviva. Akbar received them warmly, allowed them to build a church, and even attended some of their services. He asked endless questions about theology. Some historians think he was genuinely considering conversion, but it's more likely he was playing a political game — balancing the different religious factions in his empire. Luna: So the Jesuits were basically a diplomatic tool for him? Lucas: Exactly. He even sent an embassy to Goa in 1582, asking for more missionaries and offering trade concessions. The Portuguese, though, were never quite sure what to make of him. They sent missions in 1580, 1590, and 1595, but each time the results were mixed. The Jesuits reported back that Akbar was sincere, but they also noted he never actually converted. He was more interested in religious debate than in becoming a Christian. And he was still expanding his empire, which eventually brought him into direct conflict with the Portuguese. Luna: What was the flashpoint? Lucas: The city of Surat. Surat was a major port on the west coast, and it was under Mughal control. The Portuguese had a customs house there and demanded that all ships pay for a cartaz — a pass — to trade. The Mughals chafed at this. In 1572, Akbar's general laid siege to the Portuguese fort at Surat, but the Portuguese held out. Then in 1613, things boiled over. A Mughal ship called the Rahimi, which was carrying pilgrims to Mecca, was seized by the Portuguese. It was a huge deal — the ship was owned by the mother of Emperor Jahangir, Akbar's son. Jahangir ordered the Portuguese factory at Surat to be attacked, and trade was disrupted for years. Luna: That must have hurt Portuguese commerce. Lucas: It did. The English and Dutch were already muscling in, and the Portuguese couldn't afford to alienate the Mughals. Eventually, they backed down and returned the ship, but the damage was done. The Mughals realized the Portuguese weren't invincible. They started playing the European powers against each other, granting trading rights to the English in 1615 and later to the Dutch. The Portuguese monopoly in the Indian Ocean was effectively broken by the 1630s. Luna: So the Portuguese decline in India is partly because they couldn't manage the Mughals? Lucas: Partly. But it's more that they were overstretched. They had a network of forts and trading posts from East Africa to Japan, but they never had the manpower to control the interior. The Mughals were a land power that could project force inland, while the Portuguese were confined to the coast. When the Mughals realized the Portuguese weren't as powerful as they seemed, the balance shifted. By the time the British arrived in force, the Portuguese were already a secondary player. Luna: It's a familiar story — a naval empire meets a continental one and has to adapt or fade. Lucas: Yeah. And in some ways, the Portuguese were lucky that the Mughals didn't just crush them outright. Akbar was a pragmatist. He tolerated the Portuguese because they were useful — they provided naval security against pirates and the Ottomans, and they brought European goods. But once other Europeans offered the same services, the Portuguese lost their leverage. The relationship was always one of mutual suspicion, and in the end, the Mughals held the upper hand. Luna: I want to go back to those Jesuit missions. What was daily life like for them at Akbar's court? Lucas: Well, it was a mix of hospitality and tension. They lived in a house near the palace, and Akbar would summon them for debates. He had a hall for religious discussions where Muslims, Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, and Christians would argue theology. The Jesuits were eloquent, and they often won the debates, but Akbar never committed. He also allowed them to baptize some converts, but when they tried to convert high-ranking nobles, he put his foot down. The Jesuits also faced opposition from Muslim clerics who saw them as a threat. One Jesuit, Father Antonio de Monserrate, wrote a memoir about his time there, describing the splendor of the court and the emperor's daily routine. Luna: So they were basically theological gladiators. Lucas: In a way. But it wasn't all debate. They also set up a school and a printing press, and they translated Christian texts into Persian. The Jesuits were impressed by Akbar's intelligence and his tolerance. They thought they had a real chance at converting him, but in hindsight, it was probably wishful thinking. Akbar was too shrewd to tie himself to a minority religion. He was building a syncretic faith of his own — the Din-i Ilahi — that borrowed from all religions, including Christianity. But that's another story. Luna: I've heard of that. He tried to create a universal religion? Lucas: Yes. It wasn't a mass movement — it was mainly a court cult with a few followers. But it shows how open he was to different ideas. The Jesuits had mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it validated their teachings; on the other, it diluted Christianity into just one ingredient in a stew. They couldn't accept that. After Akbar's death in 1605, his son Jahangir was less interested in Christianity, and the missions slowly wound down. By the 1630s, the Jesuits were mostly confined to Goa again. Luna: So the Portuguese-Mughal relationship was mostly a story of missed opportunities. Lucas: That's a good way to put it. They could have been allies, but mutual suspicion and conflicting interests kept them apart. And the big winner was the English, who arrived later and learned from Portuguese mistakes. The English were more flexible — they paid bribes, they didn't try to convert people, and they played the Mughal game better. By the 18th century, they were the dominant European power in India, and the Portuguese were left with just a few enclaves like Goa, Diu, and Daman. Luna: It's amazing how much hinged on a few key moments — that ship seizure, the siege of Surat. A different outcome could have changed everything. Lucas: Absolutely. History is full of these pivot points. And for Portugal, the Mughal relationship was one of those what-ifs. If they had secured a real alliance with Akbar, they might have held onto their Indian empire longer. But they didn't, and the rest is history — quite literally.