Could Henry Derozio have had a Goan connection?

[Frederick FN Noronha * फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا‎]

You would have heard of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (the first Indian to write in English, as he is often described in texts). But, beyond this, little seems to be known about the ancestry of this early 19th century genius who died amazingly young... but is still remembered.

Poemhunter.com [http://www.poemhunter.com/henry-louis-vivian-derozio/biography/] writes: "Derozio was generally considered an Anglo-Indian, being of mixed Portuguese descent, but he was fired by a patriotic spirit for his native Bengal, and considered himself Indian."

Portuguese? And consider himself Indian?

Britannica.com confuses things further, and brings an English mother on board: "The son of an Indian father and an English mother, Derozio was influenced by the English Romantic poets." [http://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Louis-Vivian-Derozio]

Others call him a "prominent Anglo-Indian' [http://www.preservearticles.com/201104225808/short-biography-of-henry-louis-vivian-derozio.html]

If he was of Portuguese descent, would he have (mis) spelt his surname (Rosario, I'm guessing) as Derozio? Goa, because of its earlier encounter with European rule, had already had some stirrings in protest here (Pintos, &c).

It is possible that Derozio's mum was Bengali, as the Portuguese were settled there too. If this was the case, the records would have been known, and we would have perhaps not been given the chance to forget it :-) But, in finding out his ancestry, the track runs surprisingly cold!

Regards, FN

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[antonio CABA]

Derozio could have been a combination or a corruption of de + Rozario akin to some of the Goan surnames like d'Gama, de Costa or D'Costa etc. Rozario is very much a Portuguese -Goan surname. Just some conjecture on my part!

RC

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