History of Mangalorean Catholics

The History of Mangalorean Catholics begins with the legacy of Lusitanian culture or the Christianisation in Portuguese in Goa and Bombay, followed by the migration of the New Christians of Portuguese Goa, to the Canara subregion then under the Kingdom of Bednore from the mid-16th to mid-18th centuries & the subsequent formation of a unique Mangalorean Catholic community and identity. Four centuries of living in South Canara gave these Catholic Christians an identity of their own, distinct from Goans & Bombay East Indians (Bombayers).

Catholic Christians of Goa migrated to Mangalore and the neighbouring areas of Mangalore in three major waves; the first after 1560, the second after 1570, and the third in about 1683. The first wave of migrants left due to the Goan Inquisition that made the use of Konknni, a punishable offence for converts to Western Christianity. The second wave left Goa because of famines, epidemics & political upheavals. The third and last wave resulted from the violent Mahratta Invasion of Goa and Bombay. Until the time of Hyder Ali's regime, the community had flourished. Soon after his son Tippu Sultan gained possession of Mangalore in January 1784, he issued orders to seize the Christians in Canara, confiscate their estates, and deport them to Seringapatam. They had to suffer extreme hardships, torture, death by execution & other kinds of persecution during the captivity, in which many were forcibly converted to Sunni Islam. Of the 60,000-80,000 Christians taken captive, only 15,000-20,000 made it out alive as Christians. The captivity ended with the defeat and death of Tippu at the Battle of Seringapatam (1799).