Database of individuals sentenced by the Inquisition of Goa from 1650-1806
21 views
Skip to first unread message
Frederick Noronha
Nov 30, 2023, 5:33:38 AM11/30/23
to Goa-Research-Net
A database of individuals sentenced by the Inquisition of Goa from 1650-1806, compiled by Alan Machado (lead researcher), Bruno Feitler, and Carlos Rocha, has been uploaded into the repository of Universidade Federal de São Paulo. The repository also preserves a database of defendants from 1561-1623 compiled in 2012 from the Reportorio prepared by the prosecutor at that time, João Delgado Figueira.
The 1650-1806 database has been compiled from the lists of autos-da-fé (acts of faith) that had been periodically sent to Lisbon from Goa, and escaped destruction when most of the Inquisition’s archive was destroyed after its final abolition in 1812. It is important to note that this database is not exhaustive as there may still be uncatalogued documentation in the Archivo Nacional de Torre do Tombo and the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal in Lisbon.
An auto-da-fe was mainly a ceremony for the reintegration of penitents into the Church. It was composed of a sermon, the public reading of sentences and the lifting of excommunication for those whose confessions were deemed satisfactory. Those with unsatisfactory confessions or who remained recalcitrant were handed over to secular justice for execution. Those sentenced to other physical penalties, such as lashes or banishment, were also delivered to secular justice.
In the database, details of the defendants are given in columns in an excel sheet, with a code assigned to each one. These details include their names, sex, age, caste, ethnicity, occupation, places of birth and residence, offences they were charged with, and the spiritual, physical, and/or pecuniary penalties imposed. Further details, where available, are given in the
column titled “observations”.
Reference details are provided in two columns, one giving the physical location of the document, and the other the location of the digitized version, where available. A link is provided for each available digitized version so that anyone interested can access the original document located in the ANTT or BNP.
The 1650-1806 database has been compiled from the lists of autos-da-fé (acts of faith) that had been periodically sent to Lisbon from Goa, and escaped destruction when most of the Inquisition’s archive was destroyed after its final abolition in 1812. It is important to note that this database is not exhaustive as there may still be uncatalogued documentation in the Archivo Nacional de Torre do Tombo and the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal in Lisbon.
An auto-da-fe was mainly a ceremony for the reintegration of penitents into the Church. It was composed of a sermon, the public reading of sentences and the lifting of excommunication for those whose confessions were deemed satisfactory. Those with unsatisfactory confessions or who remained recalcitrant were handed over to secular justice for execution. Those sentenced to other physical penalties, such as lashes or banishment, were also delivered to secular justice.
In the database, details of the defendants are given in columns in an excel sheet, with a code assigned to each one. These details include their names, sex, age, caste, ethnicity, occupation, places of birth and residence, offences they were charged with, and the spiritual, physical, and/or pecuniary penalties imposed. Further details, where available, are given in the
column titled “observations”.
Reference details are provided in two columns, one giving the physical location of the document, and the other the location of the digitized version, where available. A link is provided for each available digitized version so that anyone interested can access the original document located in the ANTT or BNP.
In total, this database contains records of 8,250 defendants, the vast majority being men: 6,257 (more than 75%). Of the total number, 1,923 (just over 23%) were non-Christians: 1,708 "Gentiles", 56 "Moors", and 159 defendants who were labelled as Christians but converted during the inquisitorial proceedings. The overwhelming number of offences among both Christians and non-Christians related to gentilidade or Indian religious practices. Of the total number sentenced, the number executed was 95 (1.15%), and the bones/ effigies of another 111 were burnt. No non-Christian was executed.
This database is a valuable addition to the growing body of information on the activities of Goa’s Inquisition, and is certain to shed more light on it, and its impact on local populations.
This database is a valuable addition to the growing body of information on the activities of Goa’s Inquisition, and is certain to shed more light on it, and its impact on local populations.
[Received via Alan Machado]
-- FN * +91-9822122436 * 784 Saligao 403511 Bardez Goa
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages