Alan Machado highlights in his book that Goa’s Inquisition was the premier institution used by the Portuguese regime to impose a new identity on its overseas subjects and secure their loyalty.
It was also intended to forge diverse populations into one nation by imposing a uniform social and civil code modelled on what was based in Portugal.
He claims that the Inquisition`s authority was not extended to non-Christians unless their offences were related to undermining the Christian character of the State or hindering the Inquisition`s operations.
With the Inquisition moving beyond doctrinal issues, Machado says the edict of 1736 was an attempt to influence Christian consciences in minute matters of everyday life. He adds that statistics show Goa's Inquisition in a far more lenient light than that of Evora and Lisbon, or for that matter, contemporary England.
The Inquisition`s documents kept secret for so many centuries, are being presently being made available to historians and the general public for study and evaluation.
Machado believes that these documents reveal an alternate narrative to the one we are familiar with, particularly regarding the Black Legend, Francis Xavier's alleged role in bringing the Inquisition to Goa, its objectives and functioning, the nature of an auto-da-fe, its relations with the king, State, and non-Christians, emigration, etc.
He invites scholars to a fresh understanding of the nature of Goa`s Inquisition and if needed, to correct the many unsubstantiated factoids used in the past. About the author/speaker: Alan Machado (Prabhu) was born in 1950, and is an engineer by profession.
Descending originally from the Macedo family, he traces his ancestry to Aldona. His ancestors, were Ganvkars of Aldona and emigrated to Mermajal, which is near Mangaluru (formerly Mangalore) in the 18th century. It was in 1784, that his ancestors were taken into captivity by Tipu Sultan along with the entire Christian population of the area.
Machado has written several well-researched books on issues of history and culture. Some of the titles are: Sarasvati’s Children (1999), Shades within Shadows (2012), Slaves of Sultans (2015), Goa’s Inquisition: Facts Fiction Factoids (2022), Rediscovering India: Out of Africa to India to its First Urban Civilization (under publication by Orient Blackswan).
In addition, Machado has contributed numerous articles to newspapers. Machado can be contacted at alan.machado3@gmail.com or +91 94801 02236
Alan Machado (Prabhu) History. 328pp. Rs 700. Pb. Larger size. Profusely illustrated. 978-81-956329-3-0
