imported>Joy: revert unexplained mass revert Undid revision 1040867838 by AvinashCabral (talk)

2021-08-27T06:48:50Z

revert unexplained mass revert Undid revision 1040867838 by AvinashCabral (talk)

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{{Short description|Medieval Ragusan trading post of São Braz}}
{{more references|date=June 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name = ''Sveti Vlaho''<br />({{lit|St. Blaise}})
| status = Possible colony
| status_text = {{plainlist|
* Colony of São Braz
}}
| empire = Denmark
| era = [[Colonial India|Colonial period]]
| p1 = Portuguese India
| flag_p1 = Flag of Portugal (1521).svg
| s1 = Portuguese India
| flag_s1 = Flag of Portugal (1521).svg
| year_start = 1530–35{{?}}
| year_end = 17th c.{{?}}
| stat_area1 = 48
| title_leader =
| leader1 =
| year_leader1 =
| leader2 =
| year_leader2 =
| title_deputy =
| deputy1 =
| year_deputy1 =
| image_flag =
| flag_type =
| image_map = Croatian India - Location of São Braz in Goa.jpg
| image_map_caption = Location of São Braz in Goa|
| common_languages =
| capital = [[Gaudelupchar fort]] in [[Gandaulim (Ilhas)|Gandaulim]]
| currency =
| today = [[India]]
| demonym =
| area_km2 = 48
| area_rank =
| GDP_PPP =
| GDP_PPP_year =
| HDI =
| HDI_year =
}}
{{Colonial India}}

'''Ragusan trade with India''' consisted of a trading post of São Braz ({{lit|St. Blaise}}), on the eastern tip of the [[Island of Goa]] on the [[Konkan Coast]], used by merchants from the [[Republic of Ragusa]] in the 16th century.

== History ==

The [[Republic of Ragusa]] was a [[maritime republic]] based in Ragusa, modern-day [[Dubrovnik]]. Like other such maritime city-states, it had links across the world and it was the quest for Indian spices and textiles that brought traders from Ragusa to Goa. They settled where the [[Gandaulim (Ilhas)|Gandaulim]] village stands today.

Croatian-American writer Adam S. Eterovich wrote about a Ragusan named Melik Ješa Dubrovčanin who came to India in (pre-Portuguese) 1480 and became a Viceroy in [[Gujarat Sultanate|Gujarat]]. He also built a palace for himself at [[Diu Island|Diu]].<ref name="Eterovich"/>{{better source needed|date=August 2021}}

There is some modern-day research, including by Croatian historian [[Darko Bekić]], into a trading post established by [[Croat]] merchants in 1530–35, shortly after the [[Portuguese conquest of Goa]] in 1510. It was economically successful for a while, mainly dealing in Indian spices and textiles. Bekić thought the Ragusans founded their own colony on the outskirts of Goa, named São Brás after the church they had built in 1563.<ref name="Tomas-Himal-2014"/>

The construction of Church of São Braz was initiated in 1553 and was completed around 1563 AD. The church bell was brought from Ragusa. There was even a palace or fortress designed by the Croatians in that location, which was recently demolished for a [[road expansion]] project.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

There is a historical source from 1605 that mentions the church in São Braz decorated by merchants from the [[Republic of Ragusa]], but there is insufficient proof of an actual colony having been there at this point ({{as of|lc=on|2018}}).<ref>{{cite journal | url = https://hrcak.srce.hr/196110?lang=en | journal = Zbornik sveučilišta Libertas | issn = 2584-6167 | publisher = Libertas international university | location = Zagreb, Croatia | volume = 3 | number = 3 | first = Ivan | last = Andrijanić | language = hr | title = Hrvatska i Indija: Kulturno-povijesne i gospodarsko-političke veze | page = 351 | quote = U Goi, na zapadnoj obali indijskoga potkontinenta, trgovci iz Dubrovnika bogato su uresili crkvu Sv. Vlaha (São Braz). Na temelju toga svjedočanstva, koje navodi Jakov Lukarević (1605),[21] neki su istraživači pretpostavili postojanje dubrovačke kolonije São Braz u blizini Goe, ali za potvrdu te tvrdnje za sad nema dovoljno dokaza (Bašić, 1999: 85–93).}}</ref>

Portuguese writer [[Gomes Catão]] wrote about how, at its peak, the colony had around 12,000 residents.<ref name="Tomas-Himal-2014"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/amazing-india/the-croats-of-goa/|title=The Croats of Goa|website=livehistoryindia.com}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=August 2021}}

Some time after the 1570s, trade between Ragusa and India declined.<ref name="Tomas-Himal-2014"/>
The Portuguese had also lost their monopoly over the spice trade to the [[British India|British]] and [[Dutch India|Dutch]] and Goa was no longer the dominant trading port.<ref name="Tomas-Himal-2014"/>

The plague of Goa also pushed refugees from Gandaulim across the [[Cumbarjua Canal|river]] to the islands of [[St Estevam]] and [[Cumbarjua]].{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

The [[Ottoman wars in Europe]] at home and the [[1667 Dubrovnik earthquake]] finally put an end to Ragusan trade with India.<ref name="Tomas-Himal-2014">{{Cite web|url=https://www.himalmag.com/distant-liaisons/|title=Distant liaisons|date=19 May 2014|website=Himal Southasian| first = Lora | last = Tomas | access-date = 20 August 2021}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
In 1999, Zdravka Matišić, a Croatian [[Indology|Indologist]] studying [[Sanskrit]] in India, chanced upon historical records that Croats may have once lived in Gandaulim, a village 3 km from [[Old Goa]].

At the Rua de Ourém archives, she found an artistic sketch of the entrance of the [[Gandaulim fort|Gaudelupchar fort]], and from the Bishop's Palace she came to know the location of the site of her search. She visited the small Church of São Braz in Gandaulim, and due to its resemblance claimed that it was a replica of [[St Blaise's Church]] in Dubrovnik, [[Croatia]].<ref name="Eterovich">{{Cite web|title=CROATIANS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND AT GOA IN INDIA, 1508|url=http://www.croatia.org/crown/croatians/www.croatians.com/DISCOVERY-GOA-S%20AFRICA.htm#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20improve%20the,Saint%20of%20Ragusa%20(Dubrovnik)|website=www.croatia.org | first = Adam S. | last = Eterovich}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=August 2021}}

The research of Matišić motivated the visit of a 15-member Parliamentary delegation from the Republic of Croatia, accompanied by Ambassador Zoran Andrić, to the village in 1999.<ref name="Tomas-Himal-2014"/>

==See also==
* [[Croatia–India relations]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1530s establishments in India]]
[[Category:17th-century disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:Ragusan trade with India|*]]
[[Category:History of Goa]]
[[Category:Colonial Goa]]

Ragusan trade with India - Revision history

imported>Joy: revert unexplained mass revert Undid revision 1040867838 by AvinashCabral (talk)