Grand Harbor of Bengal Porto Grande de Bengala (Portuguese) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1528–1666 | |||||||||||
 Portuguese Chittagong (at top right corner) with otherPortuguese settlements inIndia | |||||||||||
| Status | Trading post | ||||||||||
| Capital | Firingi Bunder | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Portuguese,Bengali | ||||||||||
| King of Portugal | |||||||||||
• 1528–1557 | John III (first) | ||||||||||
• 1656–1666 | Afonso VI (last) | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Imperialism | ||||||||||
• Permission from theBengal Sultanate | 1528 | ||||||||||
| 1666 | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Chittagong, the second largest city and main port ofBangladesh, was home to a thrivingtrading post of thePortuguese Empire in the East in the 16th and 17th centuries.[1] The Portuguese first arrived in Chittagong around 1528,[2] and left in 1666[3] after theMughal conquest.[4] It was the first European colonial enclave in the historic region ofBengal.[5]
Chittagong was the largest seaport in theSultanate of Bengal, which was termed as the "Shahi Bangalah" (Imperial Bengal) in Persian and Bengali. The Portuguese referred to the port city asPorto Grande de Bengala, which meant "the Grand Harbor of Bengal". The term was often simplified asPorto Grande.[6]
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On 9 May 1518, a fleet of four ships commanded byJoão da Silveira from theEstado da India arrived inChittagong fromGoa.[7] They were followed by severalembassies from theKingdom of Portugal to the Sultanate of Bengal, then reputed as the wealthiest region in the Indian subcontinent. He set up the first Portuguese factory in Bengal at Chittagong in 1517.[8] Traders fromPortuguese Malacca,Bombay andCeylon also frequented the region.[7]
Some sources indicate that Joao Coelho had arrived in Chittagong before João da Silveira. Many Malaccan Portuguese had come to the Bengal before Silveira inMoorish ships as traders.[9] Moreover, some of the Portuguese settled in Pipli (present dayOrissa) in 1514 and had visited Western Bengal.
In 1528, theSultan of Bengal permitted the Portuguese to establish factories andcustoms houses in thePort of Chittagong.[7] A fort and naval base was established in Firingi Bandar. The settlement grew into the most prominent Eurasian port on theBay of Bengal during theAge of Discovery.[10] Thecartaz system was introduced and required all ships in the area to purchase naval trading licenses from the Portuguese.[11][12] In 1590, the Portuguese conquered the nearby islands ofSandwip under the leadership of António de Sousa Godinho.[13] In 1602, the Sandwip island of Chittagong was conquered by the Portuguese from Kedar Rai of Sripur.[14]
Portuguese pirates, named Gonçalves and Carvalho, ruled the island of Sandwip for several years. Each year about 300 salt loaded ships sailed for Liverpool from Sandwip. Sandwip was very famous for itsship-building and salt industries at that time. In 1616, after the arrival of Delwar Khan, a high-ranking Mughal naval officer, the Portuguese pirates were driven away from Sandwip and Delwar Khan ruled the island independently for about 50 years.[15]
The harbour of Chittagong became the most important port to the Portuguese because of its location, navigational facilities and safe anchorage. The port is very close to the mouth of the Meghna which was the principal route to theRoyal capital of Gouda.[16]
Evidently the Portuguese found Chittagong a congenial place to live. By the end of the sixteenth century, theChittagong port had emerged as a thriving port, which attracted both unofficial Portuguese trade and settlement. According to a 1567 note of Caesar Federeci, every year thirty or thirty five ships, great and small, anchored in Chittagong port.[17] In 1598 there lived about 2,500 Portuguese and Eurasians in Chittagong and Arakan.[18][10]
The increased commercial presence includedbureaucrats, merchants,missionaries, soldiers, adventurers, sailors andpirates. The enclave had a highlylaissez-faire administration led by traders.Slave trade andpiracy flourished.[7] Major traded products included fine silk, cottonmuslin textiles,bullion, spices, rice, timber, salt andgunpowder.
TheRoman Catholic Church was established in Bengal during Portuguese rule in Chittagong. The port city was the seat of the firstVicar Apostolic of Bengal.[19] The Portuguese also encouraged intermarriage with the local population.[20]
In 1615, thePortuguese Navy defeated anArakanese-Dutch VOC fleet near the port city.[10]
The Portuguese presence in Chittagong was ultimately ephemeral. The fall of theBengal Sultanate and the rise of the ArakaneseKingdom of Mrauk U changed the geopolitical landscape. Chittagong became a major bone of contention between theMughal Empire, the Kingdom of Mrauk U, theBurmese Empire and the Kingdom ofTripura.[7] The King ofMrauk U massacred 600 members of the Portuguese community in Dianga in 1607.[10][21] Subsequently, the Portuguese allied withArakan. Portuguese-Arakanesepiracy increased againstMughal Bengal in the 17th century.[22] In response, the Portuguese ravaged the Arakan coast and carried off the booty to the king ofBarisal.[21]
The Portuguese took over the eastern portion of theArab slave trade networks and sold their slaves inTamluk andBalasore, and in Deccan ports. Slaves were sold atDianga and Pipli, and transported by ship. The Portuguese built a fort at Pipli in 1599 for prisoners brought by the Arakanese.[23] In 1629 the Portuguese under the command of Diego Da Sa raidedDhaka and took many prisoners including a Syed woman, the wife of a Mughal military officer and carried her off in chains to Dianga. The prisoners were converted to Christianity.[24]
In 1632, the Mughal army expelled the Portuguese from theSatgaon (Hooghly), owing to Portuguese association with theslave trade, kidnapping and refusal to supportShah Jahan.[25][26] In 1666, the Mughal viceroyShaista Khan retook control of Chittagong after defeating the Arakanese in a naval war.[27] The Mughal conquest of Chittagong brought an end to the Portuguese dominance of more than 130 years in the port city.[28] The conquest of the port of Chittagong was similarly aimed mainly at driving Arakanese slave raiders out of Bengal.[26]
The Mughals attacked the Arakanese from the jungle with a 6500-man army supported by 288 ships of war bound for the seizure of Chittagong harbour. After three days of battle, the Arakanese surrendered. Chittagong promptly became the capital of the new Government.[3]
This battle involved movement across both land and water. To combat the pirates' skill over water, the Mughals called for the support of Dutch ships fromBatavia. Before the Dutch ships reached the coast of Chittagong, the battle had already ended. To carry soldiers,Shaista Khan constructed several large ships and a large number of galleys.[29] After the Mughals took Chittagong, the Portuguese moved to the Ferengi Bazaar in Dhaka. Descendants of the Portuguese still reside in these places.[18]
FromChittagong, the Portuguese proceeded to establish settlements in other Bengali ports and cities, notablySatgaon,Bandel andDhaka. Satgaon became known asPorto Pequeno (Little Haven). Portogola inOld Dhaka hosted the city's Portuguese community.[10]
Christianity spread across Bengal by the Portuguese traders along with theChristian missionaries. Although Christianity had already reachedAncient India withThomas the Apostle in 52 CE, the Portuguese set up the first Christian churches in Chittagong.[30] In 1498, Christian explorerVasco de Gama travelled Bengal.[31]
The descendants of the Portuguese traders in Chittagong are known asFiringis. They live in the areas of Patharghata andFiringi Bazar in Old Chittagong.[32] There are numerousPortugueseloanwords in theBengali language, including many common household terms, particularly inChittagonian language.[33] The Portuguese brought many exotic fruits, flowers and plants, especially from theirLatin AmericanBrazilian colony. They introduced chillies,delonix regia, guavas, pineapples, papayas andAlfonso mangoes toBengal.[7]
A Portuguese missionary inBritishKolkata published the first book onBengali grammar.[33] The oldest churches in Bangladesh andWest Bengal trace their origins to Portuguese missionary missions which arrived in Chittagong in the 16th century. MostBangladeshi Christians havePortuguesesurnames.[33]
After theindependence of Bangladesh,Portugal recognised it on 20 December 1974 following theCarnation Revolution, when it established relations with many decolonised nations.[34] The Portuguese have had a great influence on trade, culture, character and language of the people of Chittagong.[30]
Very few physical vestiges of the Portuguese presence are found at present in Chittagong and Bengal, generally.Darul Adalat, the first court building of Chittagong is located in the GovernmentHazi Mohammad Mohshin College campus, is a structure built by the Portuguese. The structure is locally known as Portuguese Fort. Initiative has been taken by the Department of Archaeology of Bangladesh to preserve the vestige.[35]
There are fewchurches and ruins. Some geographical place names remain, like Dom Manik Islands, Point Palmyras on theOrissa coast,Firingi Bazar in Dhaka and Chittagong.[36]
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