Latest / The History of Portugal: The Small Nation That Built a Global Empire — Fexingo History / The Portuguese Inquisition: Faith, Fear, and the Tribunal in Goa
Transcript
- Luna: Okay, we've talked about the prazos, the feitorias, the spice trade—but there's one institution that looms over Portuguese history that we haven't touched on: the Inquisition. Lucas: Right. And when we think of the Inquisition, we usually picture Spain—Torquemada, the autos-da-fé. But Portugal had its own Holy Office, established in 1536 by papal bull. And it followed the empire overseas. Luna: Especially to Goa. Lucas: Exactly. Goa became the headquarters of the Inquisition in Asia. It was formally set up there in 1560, just over two decades after the Portuguese captured the city. The first Inquisitor was a Dominican friar named Aleixo de Azevedo. He arrived with a brief: root out heresy among Christians, and enforce the Catholic faith among the native converts. Luna: So it wasn't just targeting Jews or Muslims—it was also aimed at Hindus who converted. Lucas: Precisely. Many Hindus had converted to Christianity—some willingly, others under pressure. The Inquisition suspected that many of these 'New Christians' were still practicing their old rites in secret. They called it 'crypto-Hinduism.' And they were ruthless in rooting it out. The tribunal in Old Goa would hold public autos-da-fé in the square in front of the Sé Cathedral. The condemned would wear the sanbenito, a penitential garment, and could be sentenced to flogging, prison, or even death by burning. Luna: Were there many executions? Lucas: Compared to Spain, the numbers are smaller. But still significant. One estimate says about 57 people were executed by the Goa Inquisition over its 250-year history. But thousands were tried, imprisoned, or publicly humiliated. And the social control was immense. The Inquisition also censored books—they banned Hindu texts, but also works by European authors that might be 'dangerous.' The physician Garcia da Orta, a Portuguese Jew who had converted, wrote a famous book on Indian drugs and spices. After his death, the Inquisition investigated him and his family. His sister was burned at the stake for being a crypto-Jew. Luna: That's Garcia da Orta—the guy who wrote about the medicinal uses of local plants? Lucas: The very same. His book Colloquies on the Simples and Drugs of India is a landmark of natural history. But he died in 1568, and the Inquisition’s investigation dragged on posthumously. They actually exhumed his remains and burned them in an auto-da-fé in 1580. That gives you a sense of the reach of the Inquisition. And it wasn't just in Goa—the Inquisition also had branches in Cochin, in Bassein, even in Macau and Malacca, though those were less active. Luna: So a widespread network of surveillance across the empire. Lucas: Exactly. And the Inquisition in Goa also targeted 'Old Christians'—those born in Portugal—if they were accused of heresy. For example, if a Portuguese soldier married a local Hindu woman and allowed her to continue her practices, or if someone expressed doubts about Church doctrine. The Inquisition was also deeply involved in the destruction of Hindu temples. In 1567, a synod in Goa decreed that all non-Christian religious buildings should be demolished. Thousands of temples were razed. The stones were often used to build churches. Luna: So it was a campaign of cultural erasure. Lucas: In many ways, yes. The Inquisition was a tool of both religious orthodoxy and colonial control. It enforced a strict Catholic identity on the Portuguese Empire in Asia. And it lasted a long time. The Goa Inquisition was only formally abolished in 1812, long after the European Inquisitions had been dismantled. So for over two centuries, it shaped the religious landscape of coastal India. Luna: It's a dark layer to the story of Portuguese expansion. Lucas: It is. And it’s easy to overlook when we talk about the trade and the navigation. But the Inquisition was a central institution of the Estado da Índia. It’s a reminder that the empire wasn’t just about commerce—it was also about a very rigid vision of faith. Luna: And that vision was enforced with fire and fear. Lucas: Exactly. And speaking of the empire's reach—you know, a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds making episodes like this one. No ads, no sponsors, just people who care about this kind of deep-dive history. It means we can spend time on topics like the Inquisition without worrying about commercial breaks. Luna: Yeah, it's a great community that makes this possible. And we're grateful. Lucas: So, back to the Inquisition. One of the most remarkable documents we have from this period is a detailed register of the proceedings of the tribunal in Goa from 1560 to 1623. It records the names, crimes, and sentences of thousands of individuals. It's a chilling read, but an invaluable source for understanding how the Inquisition operated day to day. Luna: What kinds of 'crimes' are listed? Lucas: Things like 'observing Hindu fasts,' 'keeping a lamp lit before an idol,' 'marrying a non-Christian,' 'uttering heretical propositions.' There's even a case of a man accused of saying that 'Moses was a greater prophet than Jesus.' The level of detail is extraordinary. It shows that ordinary people, not just elites, were caught in the net. And the punishments could be severe: public whipping, exile to the galleys, or long prison sentences. Luna: The galleys—so you'd be chained to an oar in the Indian Ocean. Lucas: Exactly. It was a cruel fate. And the Inquisition also had an economic dimension. Confiscated property from the condemned went to the Church and the state. So there was an incentive to find heretics. It made the Inquisition a self-funding institution. Luna: A self-funding machine of persecution. Lucas: Precisely. And it's a facet of the Portuguese Empire that doesn't get as much attention as the voyages of discovery, but it's absolutely integral to understanding how the empire maintained control over its diverse subjects. The Inquisition was, in many ways, the ideological backbone of the Estado da Índia. Luna: A dark backbone, but an essential one to remember.