University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2007 Deliberations of the Portuguese Overseas Council on the Estado da Índia: survival 1707-50 Yong Huei Sim University of Wollongong Recommended Citation Sim, Yong Huei, Deliberations of the Portuguese Overseas Council on the Estado da Índia: survival 1707-50, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Faculty of Arts, University of Wollongong, 2007. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/1735 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact Manager Repository Services: [email protected]. DELIBERATIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE OVERSEAS COUNCIL ON THE ESTADO DA ĺNDIA: SURVIVAL 1707-50 Presented to the Faculty of Arts of the University of Wollongong in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY from UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG by YONG HUEI SIM (TEDDY) FACULTY OF ARTS 2007 CERTIFICATION I, Yong Huei Sim (Teddy) declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Faculty of Arts, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Yong Huei Sim 30 May 2007 ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the survival of the Portuguese Empire in the East against the backdrop of the rise of the British Empire in India in the first half of the eighteenth century. The topic is investigated from the perspective of metropolitan Portugal through the central institution of the Overseas Council, based in Lisbon. In a nascent field such as this, the methodology is part hypothesis-testing and part exploratory using empirical data from the archives of Lisbon and published primary sources. The register of the Council’s deliberations and other original documents provide empirical evidence about the role of leadership in the survival of the eastern Empire. With so much focus on the decline studies of the Estado da India (Portuguese State of India) as well as Portuguese private and informal enterprise east of India, this thesis sets out to prove that, despite a series of severe defeats, the Estado was, in a livelier sense of the word, “alive and kicking”. It shows how the survival and prolongation of the Estado was dependent upon the centre and on direct representatives from that centre. It also reveals how this balance of interests was likely to tilt towards the latter the further away this periphery was from the centre. In the centre,this thesis tries to show how the personal style of the leadership of King João V also affected the administration dealing with the Estado, as well as the number and quality of leadership sent to India. More concretely, on the ground in India, it shows how survival was dependent on the day-to-day instruments of the early modern state, that is, diplomacy, war, trade and revenue extraction. In the context of the early modern international environment, the study shows how treaties were forged to bring the Portuguese respite from hostility, even though they were not followed to the full letter of the agreement. In terms of war, this thesis reveals that, despite their severe limitations, Portuguese arms were able to hold their own, despite suffering periodic defeats. In terms of revenue extraction, it shows how revenue collection became less reliant on trade and more dependent on rent. In exploring the attempt to revive commerce at Mozambique, this study shows how the endeavour was foiled by self-interests and by an attitude that was not conducive to business transactions. It also explores areas of ‘soft’ factors like religion and culture, where the results of state investment proved uncertain, although they would translate into factors of colonization in the long term. At the far end of the Eastern Empire in Timor, the study examines the role of religious establishments and state intervention in installing a permanent presence in the first half of the eighteenth century. Back in India, in examining the much touted revival in the 1740s, it reveals that it largely consisted of territorial stabilization and had little to do with later New Conquests. Finally, this study bridges the gap between what is relatively known about one of the “less successful” players in a period when the British power was on the rise. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis began as a result of finding out more about my subject area whilst working as an education officer. The process has since helped me not only to understand my professional area but know more about myself. This project would not have been possible without the support of my family members especially my mother who, at times, bore the brunt of the ups and downs of the project. The project would also probably have stopped without the support of my wife, Sandy, and my mother-in-law. Special thanks to my supervisor (Dr Lorraine White) and her partner (Stewart), who have always and especially nearing the end of the project, provided invaluable assistance; for instance, putting me up at their place. Special thanks also to Professor Adrian Vickers for taking special interest to get the project moving. At the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, the help from Dr Sintra and the staff is much appreciated. Thanks are also extended to the Fundação Oriente who provided financial assistance for part of the purchase of materials. To all others whom I have not been able to mention, my deep appreciation to those who have helped in one way or another. Teddy 31 Mar 2006 TO JUN, OUR MOTHERS AND LORRAINE TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 1 2 Background 32 ¾ Portugal and its Empire to 1700 ¾ Constraint of Distance and Technology ¾ Context of Brazil and Empire 3 Leadership from Lisbon to Goa 56 ¾ Court of D. João V and Early Baroque Government ¾ Background and Role of Overseas Council ¾ The Viceregal Institution 4 Business of India 1 – War and Diplomacy 101 ¾ Diplomacy with Protagonists in India ¾ War and Reinforcements ¾ Peacemaking and Conflicts outside India 5 Business of India 2 – Commerce and Political Economy 142 ¾ Trade Activities of Estado and Conflicts ¾ Aspects of Revenue Collection ¾ Mozambique 1707-50 6 Business of India 3 – Religiosos, Race, State and Extreme Periphery 175 ¾ “Civilizing Mission” ¾ Poselytising Enterprises ¾ Macao and Sub-Imperialism at Timor 7 Beginning of a Revival? 201 ¾ Origins of New Conquests ¾ Campaigns, Diplomacy and Stabilization in Commerce ¾ D. João V’s Demise 8 Conclusions 226 Appendices A. Glossary 234 B. List of Governors and Viceroys 1668-1750 236 C. Tables 1-4 and Map-Statistics 237 D. Maps 1-6 239 ¾ Bibliography 245 Please see print copy for image Dom João V From Zuquete A.E. directed, Nobreza de Portugal (Lisbon, 1969), p. 573 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The Estado da ĺndia in the first half of the eighteenth century has, to date, not been studied in any book-length treatment. A few reasons may account for this. First, this period coincided with the reign of King João V and is stereotyped as one of increasing absolutism. Yet, ruling during a period of transition, Dom (D.) João V’s role was less ‘popular’ than that of his son, who was associated with the ‘enlightened despotism’ of Pombal. In Portugal, dictatorship was only toppled in the last quarter of the twentieth century. Democracy and associated liberal ideas are still evolving in Portugal. 1 Hence, research in autocracy-related topics may be uncongenial. The fall of communism in the last decade of the twentieth century boosted the liberal ideology further. 2 Second, extending from this, India, the supposed backwater of the Portuguese empire in the eighteenth century, was seen as the last bastion of feudal vestiges and mercantilist practices of, and by, the Portuguese. Hence, whenever the king was discussed in relation to India, traditional narratives often took the route of an un-analytical chronicling of military exploits by his governors. The preoccupation of the historiography of the East is largely absorbed with the first half of the seventeenth century and before. In Portugal, many resources and much attention are still tied up in research of the glorious period of the sixteenth century because “there remains much to be studied”.3 This is affirmed by Wiarda in his Handbook of Portuguese Studies, who ascribes the reasons for the gap in studies on the Portuguese East to the lack of orientalists. 4 Third, contemporary materialistic culture is almost always concerned with success, ‘progress’ and quantifiable 1 improvement. In the early modern period, only the Dutch and British empires qualified as having achieved hegemony. And while it is still tolerable to study the British empire, it is more ‘fashionable’ to study the current American empire for possible signs of decline.5 The linkage of India in the first half of the eighteenth century with D. João V is apt because his reign of 1707-50 almost spans this entire period. Here, the focus of the Portuguese second empire is lopsidedly inclined towards the ‘rich’ and ‘higher priority’ Brazil. Moreover, the handful of studies covering the end of the sixteenth to mid-seventeenth centuries is concerned with the causes for decline. Yet, the remnants of the territories and outposts of the Portuguese East survived well into the twentieth century. Indeed, Portuguese India experienced a brief spate of expansion in the second half of the eighteenth century.6 At the extreme periphery, Macao participated alongside the great colonial powers such as France and Britain in the Boxer suppression in China at the turn of the nineteenth century.7 As an extraterritorial concession, Portuguese Macao even outlasted British Hong Kong in the reversion to China at the end of the twentieth century.