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 and the subsequent formation of a unique Mangalorean Catholic community and identity.: "In fact the Aryan inheritance and the Lusitanian legacy may be regarded as the first two of the three major eras in the history of our community, the third and final era being the southward migration to Mangalore and other parts of Kanara between the mid 16th and mid 18th centuries, and the subsequent growth and development of the fledgling community." Four centuries of living in South Canara gave these Catholic Christians an identity of their own,: "Four centuries of living in South Kanara gave these Catholics an identity of their own. Thus they are commonly known as Mangalorean Catholics." distinct from Goans and 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 The second wave left Goa because of famines, epidemics and 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 and 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).
Ancestral roots
Traditional accounts of the ancestral roots of Mangalorean Catholics have taught that they are descended from the Indo-Aryans who lived on the banks of the now extinct Saraswati River. Most historians agree that the Aryans descended into India from what is present-day Iran, and some came by themselves, while others came with their leaders in search of territorial expansions. The Saraswati river dried up in long stretches around 1500 BCE, when its source in the Himalayas got diverted into the Yamuna River due to sand deposition and river piracy. Due to the harshness in their native environments, several Indo-Aryan groups migrated to various different locations across India. According to Historian Alan Machado Prabhu, the modern Mangalorean Catholic community is mainly descended from two Indo-Aryan groups: the group which migrated to the Konkan region; and the group which migrated to Bengal.: "Originating, so far as is known, from the banks of the legendary Sarasvati river, some members of this group moved south towards the Konkan coast and Goa, others moved east towards Bengal. Linguistic research provides ample evidence of the common origin of the two groups. It is from these two groups that the ancestry of the modern Mangalorean Catholic community derives."
Pre-migration era
All records of an early existence of Christians in South Canara were lost at the time of their deportation by Tippu Sultan in 1784. Hence, it is not known when exactly Christianity was introduced in South Canara, although it is possible that Syrian Christians settled in South Canara just as they did in Kerala, a state south of Canara. The Italian traveler Marco Polo recorded that there were considerable trading activities between the Red Sea and the Canara coast in the 13th century. It can be surmised that foreign Christian merchants were visiting the coastal towns of South Canara during that period for commerce and possibly some Christian priests might have accompanied them for evangelistic work. In April 1321, the French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac (in south-western France) with four other friars landed at Thana. He then travelled to Bhatkal in North Canara, a port town on the coastal route from Thana to Quilon in 1328. About 1493, a cross was caught in the net by some fishermen off Mangalore. It was made of Olive wood, well finished and one span and a half in length, indicating the possibility of a Christian community in Mangalore. Some crosses painted black and red were discovered by the Portuguese in 1505 while digging up for laying the foundation for a fortress at Anjediva in North Canara. According to Paulo da Trinidade, they appeared to have belonged to a chapel or church of Christians. It is difficult to say whether these findings were Christian crosses or some other objects which looked like crosses and actually were instruments used by Hindus for astronomical observations. According to Historian Severine Silva, no concrete evidence has yet been found that there were any permanent settlements of Christians in South Canara before the 16th century. Even if it is assumed that Christianity existed in South Canara before the arrival of the Portuguese, the Christian community must have disappeared by 1498.
It was only after the advent of the Portuguese in the region that Christianity began to be propagated. In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama landed on a group of islands in South Canara on his voyage from Portugal to India. He named them El Padron de Santa Maria, which later came to be known as St Mary's Islands. In 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral, a Portuguese explorer, arrived at Anjediva with eight Franciscan missionaries. These missionaries under the leadership of Henrique Soares de Coimbra converted 22 or 23 natives to Christianity in the Mangalore region. On 19 November 1502, some Christians of Mangalore and other interior places went with presents to meet Vasco da Gama, who was in Cochin. These Christian ambassadors told da Gama that they had their bishops and all of them said mass. They also told him that they undertook pilgrimages to the sepulcher of St. Thomas. During the early part of the 16th century, Canara was ruled by Krishnadevaraya (1509–1529), the ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire. As it was not possible for the Portuguese to enter Canara with Krishnadevaraya as ruler, a Portuguese alliance with Krishnadevaraya was the only way to enter Canara. Even before Alfonso de Albuquerque's conquest of Goa in 1510, the Portuguese had factories (trading posts) in Canara, as Krishnadevaraya had granted commercial privileges to the Portuguese on the Canara coast and there was complete freedom of worship, belief and propagation of religious tenets in the Vijaynagara Empire. It was easy for the Portuguese to send re-inforcements of missionaries to the existing trading posts in Canara to advance the work of evangelisation.
In 1526, under the viceroyship of Lopo Vaz de Sampaio, the Portuguese took possession of Mangalore. During the rule of Lopo Vaz de Sampaio, a regular mission was established in Mangalore by some Franciscans who came from Goa, where they had been established in 1517. The Portuguese Franciscans slowly started spreading Christianity in Mangalore. On 31 January 1533, the Diocese of Goa was created by a bull of Pope Clement VII, and confirmed in 1534 by Pope Paul III by his bull Aequum Reputamus dated 3 November 1534. The Franciscan friar, Father John of Albuquerque, became the first Bishop of Goa in 1537. In 1534, Canara was placed under the ecclesiastic jurisdiction of the Bishop of Goa, where the Portuguese had a strong presence. Missionaries soon arrived and gained converts. The number of local converts in South Canara started increasing. During the mid–16th century, the Portuguese faced resistance from Abbakka Rani of Ullal, the Queen of the Bednore dynasty. The first battle between Abbakka Rani and the Portuguese was fought in 1546, where she emerged victorious, and succeeded in driving the Portuguese out of South Canara.
Migrations from Goa
Many of the Goan ancestors of the present Mangalorean Catholics fled Goa because of the Goa Inquisition introduced by the Portuguese in 1560 aimed to eradicate all culturally Hindu practices from the lives of the native converts. The Inquisition characterised any vestige of Hindu culture or Indian culture as heretical. Christian converts were banned from using Hindu names, attending any Hindu ceremonies including weddings, engaging the services of a Hindu doctor or midwife, wearing dhotis or cholis and planting tulsis (holy basils). Those Christians who were not prepared to give up completely their former Hindu practices were declared heretics and apostates and could be condemned to death. But some Christians of Goa were attached to some of their ancient Hindu customs, and refused to abandon them. Consequently, they lived in constant danger for their lives. Those who refused to comply with the rules laid down by the Inquisition were forced to leave Goa and to settle outside the Portuguese dominion. This migration is referred as the "First Wave of Migration".
It is interesting and instructive, in this light, to view the rituals and practices of Mangalorean Catholics. These Catholics of South fled from Goa (mainly from its northern districts) in successive waves. A large number fled to escape the scrutiny of the Inquisition. Among them the ritual substances banned by the Inquisition such as betel leaves, areca nuts, rice and flowers, continue to be employed in domestic celebrations and the pattern of ritual practices appears much more resemble forms described in the Inquisitorial edict.— A.P.L. D'Souza, Popular Christianity: A Case Study among the Catholics of Mangalore
Under the provisional treaties between the Portuguese and the rulers of neighboring Bednore, the Christians were allowed to build churches and help the growth of Christianity in South Canara. In 1568, the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Mangalore (Our Lady of the Rosary of Mangalore) was erected by the Portuguese at Bolar in Mangalore. The Churches of Nossa Senhora de Mercês de Velala (Our Lady of Mercy of Ullal) and São Francisco de Assis Igreja (St. Francis of Assisi) at Farangipet were also erected by the Portuguese during the same time in South Canara. These three churches were highlighted by the Italian traveller Pietro Della Valle, who visited Mangalore in 1623.
The Sultan of Bijapur attacked Goa in 1571. The Bijapur sultans were especially known for their loathing of Christianity. Fearing persecution, many Catholics from Goa migrated to South Canara. This migration is referred as the "Second Wave of Migration".