Re: [GRN] Review of The Portuguese Empire buttressed from Within

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:20:46 -0700

Selma,
This has all been well documented by Panduronga Pissurlencar using original sources. Timoja and the Goan leaders invited Albuquerque to take over Goa and get rid of Bijapur. When Albuquerque succeeded at occupying Goa after one failed attempt, he was taken in triumph by the Goans. We should not use our contemporary ideas on nationalism and colonialism to call the Goans who supported Albuquerque “traitors.” They were trying to get rid of Bijapur and Goa was a crucial spot because it was the only opening to the ocean to the Empire of Vijayanagara. After that, many Goan Hindus continued to cooperate with Portuguese for many years and the Portuguese rewarded them handsomely. 
John M. de Figueiredo 
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On Jul 27, 2026, at 12:47 PM, 'Carvalho' via Goa-Research-Net <[email protected]> wrote:


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’ 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.

Read full review here:





Selma Carvalho

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