Review of The Portuguese Empire buttressed from within

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Selma Carvalho

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Jul 27, 2026, 4:47:34 PM (2 days ago) Jul 27
to The Third Thursday Goa Book Club
Dear members,

I ordered this book from the link given in the review and within 8 days it had arrived in London. There is no reason at all for readers worldwide not to enjoy books published in Goa.

TikTok reels may lie but the archives don’t. The truth has been right under our noses residing at the Historical Archives of Goa department, Panjim, which Pais investigates with great scholarly rigour. Right from the onset the Hindu brahmin hand is evident. As Afonso de Albuquerque, after laying siege to Calicut, nears Honavar, the Admiral of the Honavar fleet Timoja lies in wait—not to confront the aggressor but to present him with tribute. In the bounty he will lay at Albuquerque’s feet are “sheep, cows, chicken and refreshments”. Then Timoja soothingly assures Albuquerque that “he would lead him to a city that could easily be taken with the strength of his fleet.” These are not Pais’s words, they form part of a speech by Marquis of Vallad in 1873 exulting Timoja nearly two centuries later.  Timoja had knowledge of Portuguese. He described himself as a brahmin and a “vassal of the King of Portugal”. The complicity is not restricted to Timoja, there were others involved, their names live on, perhaps not commonly known to us Goans because we like to bury inconvenient truths, but their names are evidenced in the archives as Malurau, Menaique, Mang, Dolvi, Raulu Camotim from Divar—all richly rewarded by the Portuguese with distinguished positions. The letters of Albuquerque reveal at least sixteen other upper-caste Hindu names who rendered invaluable service in the opening decades of Portugal’s imperial ambitions in Goa. Thereby began a dance between the Hindu elite and the Portuguese which endured through the centuries.

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William Robert Da Silva

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Jul 28, 2026, 9:03:15 AM (24 hours ago) Jul 28
to goa-bo...@googlegroups.com
Selma, could I add a couple of supplementaries? From 1988-1997 I did extensive work in the Goa Archives, Panaji and, at the Jesuit House, the then Jesuit Provincial, Fr. Gregory Naik told me that his family went back in descent to Timoja of Honnavar, He was called Timoja by the Portuguese, which was a transformation of Timaya, that is Timmayya Naik. He was admiral of the west-coast at Honavar for the Vijayanagar Kingdom or Empire. I found in field work in Goa, the Ghoddeamoddnni was the 'taming of horses' from Arab and Persian peninsulas, the wild horses were 'tamed' in the coastal region before sending them to Vijayanagara (and elsewhere to Muslimym rulers of the Deccan. Later, it became a ritual-cultural festival in Goa which, my student, Dr. Bernadette Gomes, studies for masters at GU. At Honnavar, Gokarnn, Bhatkal and Karwar there were many popular memories, it will take long to narrate here. There was much at the Mandovi-Zuari tidal waters which created the Mittgauddo fields for salt panning, the saltwater-sweetwater divide for fishing and salt panning and the Kharvi. (Gabit were elsewhere in sweet waters). The mittgauddo created the manus, the river divides for controlling salt water and sweet water fishing.
And so on. After that date, given above, I was not able to fieldwork in Goa. So, only written material and, these days, people's rescue Goa agitation online, specially local people, helps collect stories of their past and their occupation.
All the best,
William Robert Da Silva

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