Latest / The Hidden History of Bengal: Kingdoms, Empires, and Revolution — Fexingo History / The Lost Portuguese Colony of Bengal: Porto Grande de Hugli
Transcript
- Lucas: So, we've talked a lot about the Portuguese in the Sundarbans — the pirate republic of Sebastião Gonçalves Tibau and his band of Firangis. But there's another Portuguese story in Bengal that's less swashbuckling and more... colonial, I suppose. A proper settlement, with churches and a governor, right up the Hooghly River. Luna: You mean the one at Hugli? I've heard of Bandel Church, but I never knew the full story. Lucas: Exactly. That's Porto Grande de Hugli — the Great Port of Hugli. It was established around 1579, when the Mughal emperor Akbar gave permission to the Portuguese to set up a trading post. They'd already been active in the region for decades, but this was an official foothold. And it grew fast — by the early 1600s, it was a thriving city with maybe 50,000 people, including Portuguese, Indian Christians, slaves, and traders from all over. Luna: Fifty thousand? That's enormous for a colonial settlement. Lucas: It really was. And it wasn't just trade. The Portuguese brought the Augustinian order, built a monastery and a church — that's the Bandel Church, which still stands today, though rebuilt after a fire. They also ran a sort of unofficial slave market, capturing people from the local region and shipping them off to Goa, or even further. That aspect is often glossed over, but it was a major part of the economy. Luna: How did the Mughals tolerate that? They had a powerful empire right there. Lucas: Well, initially, the Portuguese were useful. They provided naval support against the Arakanese and other rivals. They also controlled the trade routes and issued cartazes — those passes we talked about in the Sundarbans episodes. But tensions grew over time. The Portuguese got arrogant, started interfering with local politics, and, crucially, they engaged in slave-taking that hit Mughal subjects. By the time Shah Jahan came to power in 1628, he had had enough. Luna: So he did what his father Jahangir couldn't, or wouldn't? Lucas: Exactly. In 1632, Shah Jahan ordered his subahdar of Bengal, Qasim Khan, to crush the settlement. The Mughals laid siege to Hugli. The Portuguese, though outnumbered, had strong fortifications and artillery. But after three months, the Mughals breached the walls. They massacred many, took others captive, and razed the city. The survivors were marched to Agra, where they were offered a choice: convert to Islam or face slavery. Many converted — or pretended to. Luna: That's brutal. But what about Bandel Church? It survived somehow. Lucas: The church was damaged but later rebuilt. The story goes that the Augustinian friars had a vision of the Virgin Mary, which protected them. That's the legend, anyway. What's historically true is that a small Portuguese community persisted in Hugli after the siege, but their power was broken. The Dutch and English took over the trade. By the time the British started building Fort William in Calcutta, the Portuguese were a minor presence. Luna: It's interesting — we usually think of the Portuguese in India as being only in Goa, on the west coast. But they had this whole chapter in Bengal. Lucas: Right. And it wasn't just Goa and Hugli. They had settlements in Chittagong, in Satgaon, and up the Ganges. But Hugli was their capital of sorts in the east. The fall of Porto Grande de Hugli really marks the end of Portuguese dominance in Bengal. After that, they were never more than a minor player. Luna: What happened to the captured Portuguese? Did any ever return? Lucas: Some did. A few years later, Shah Jahan released some of the captives as a diplomatic gesture — he wanted Portuguese help against the Arakanese again, oddly enough. But most stayed in the Mughal Empire, integrated into the local Christian community. There's a fascinating record of a Portuguese man named João Rodrigues who became a Mughal courtier and even translated the Bible into Persian. So it's not a simple story of defeat and disappearance. Luna: And the slave trade — did it continue after Hugli fell? Lucas: It shifted to other ports, but it never reached the same scale. The Mughals were more vigilant after that. Also, the arrival of the Dutch and English brought a different kind of commerce — less reliant on slavery. But the slave trade in Bengal didn't fully end until the British banned it in the 1830s. That's a whole other episode, though. Luna: I want to hear more about the church — Bandel. What does it look like today? Lucas: It's a beautiful basilica, one of the oldest churches in eastern India. The current structure dates from the 1660s, rebuilt after a fire. It has a stunning main altar, a museum with Portuguese artifacts, and a bell that was cast in 1735. You can still see a ship's anchor hanging from the ceiling — legend says it's from a Portuguese ship that was saved by the Virgin Mary. It's a pilgrimage site for Christians in Bengal. Luna: That's amazing. I'd love to visit someday. Lucas: And it's not just the church. The whole Hugli area has a Portuguese ghost town, so to speak. The old Augustinian monastery is now a college. Some colonial houses survive. It's a layer of history that most people don't know about, right in the middle of Bengal. Luna: You know, it's funny — we've done over eighty episodes on Bengal, and every time I think we've covered it all, you find something like this. Lucas: That's the beauty of history. There's always more. And speaking of which — a quick honest thing. A handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds making this many of these. We don't run ads, so it's listener supported. If you're one of those people, thank you. If you've been thinking about it, there's no pressure, but it helps us keep digging into these stories. Luna: Yeah, it really does. We spend hours on research for each episode, and every little bit helps. Anyway, back to Hugli — I'm curious about the Augustinians. Who were they? Lucas: The Augustinians were a Catholic religious order, followers of Saint Augustine. They came to Bengal in the late 1500s, right after the Portuguese settled. They built the monastery at Bandel, but also had missions up the Ganges. They were known for their education and missionary work. Some of them learned Bengali and wrote early grammars. They were a bridge between European and local cultures. Luna: And they were there during the siege? Lucas: Yes. Several Augustinians were killed or captured. One famous account is by the friar Sebastião Manrique, who wrote a detailed chronicle of the events. He describes the devastation, the looting, and the forced conversions. It's one of our main sources for what happened. Luna: I'm glad we're telling this story. It's easy to forget that Bengal's history isn't just Mughals and British — there were Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danes, all sorts of players. Lucas: Absolutely. And each left a mark. The Portuguese influence is visible in place names — like 'Firangi' for foreigners, or 'Bandel' from the Portuguese word for 'wharf'. Even some Bengali words have Portuguese roots. For example, 'almari' for cupboard comes from 'armário'. 'Sapato' became 'sapat' for shoe. It's a linguistic legacy we don't think about. Luna: I never knew that. So the Portuguese were part of Bengal's daily life even after they were gone. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what I love about these deep dives — you see how interconnected everything is. The Portuguese colony in Hugli was a flash in the pan, but its echoes lasted for centuries. Luna: Alright, I've got a new rabbit hole to explore. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: My pleasure. And to everyone listening, if you want to support more dives like this, you know where to find us. Until next time.