Goa Inquisition
Topic: Europeans in India and the Rise of Company Rule · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 4 "The Colonial Era in India"
Meaning
The Goa Inquisition was a Roman Catholic tribunal (a church court) set up in Goa in 1560. Its job was to punish "heretics", meaning people seen as going against Church teaching. It harshly persecuted Hindus, Muslims and Jews, and also Christian converts suspected of secretly keeping their old faith. It carried out forced conversions, and many temples were destroyed. It was abolished only in 1812. It shows how the Portuguese, unlike the Dutch and French, interfered heavily in people's religious life.
Example
In Portuguese-ruled Goa, a convert suspected of quietly practising Hindu customs at home could be brought before the Inquisition and punished.
Don't confuse with
- Dutch or French rule: the Dutch and French focused mainly on trade and rarely interfered in religion. The Inquisition was a Portuguese institution, not a Dutch one.
Related concepts
- Vasco da Gama
- Portuguese in India
- Afonso de Albuquerque
- Cartaz system
- Kunjali Marakkars
- Rani Abbakka