Cristão

History

One common misconception is that the Portuguese first arrived in Malacca in 1511. In fact, an expeditionary party first landed in 1507. It is recorded in the "Sejarah Melayu" that they were mistaken to be "Bengali Puteh" (White Bengalis). The story goes the landing party insulted the Malaccan sultan by placing a garland of flowers over his head, and had them detained. The second wave came in 1511 in an armada of ships from India to free the landing party. Currently, the Malaccan Portuguese enjoy the status of being "semi-bumiputra" - which means they are half-natives, one step lower than the indgenous Malays.

Related Topics:
1511 - 1507 - Garland - India

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Another misconception is that all the Eurasians in Singapore came from Malacca: some also came from Goa, which was then still Portuguese, while others have Dutch or British ancestry.

Related Topics:
Eurasians - Singapore - Dutch - British

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Following the take-over of Malacca (Malaysia) in 1511, the Portuguese were encouraged to marry local women, under a grand design set by the Viceroy of India, Afonso de Albuqurque (pronounced "Al-ber-kerk") almost 500 years ago. {In Portuguese, the title of "Viceroy" or "Vice-Rei", meaning "Vice-King" suggests that the powers of Afonso was second only to the King of Portugal}

Related Topics:
Malacca - Malaysia - 1511

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A bull released by the King of Portugal gave a bigger incentive for Portuguese males to relocate - those who ventured overseas (known as "casados" or "married men") and married the local women were to be freemen and released from paying taxes to the crown.

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Portuguese women were barred from travelling overseas due to supersition as well as practical reasons - rounding the Cape of Good Hope in 16th century Portuguese Naus were a dangerous venture and usually required repairs by the time they reached India. But as the old Portuguese saying goes, "there are no sins south of the equator" suggests that there may have been exceptions to the rule.

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Portuguese sea captains were also renowned for their cruelty (perhaps a psychological defense mechanism) for good reason - the perils of the sea lay open not only to other European competitors to the spice market (i.e. the Dutch and French), but sea pirates from every race and creed.

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A Portuguese-based Creole, Papia Kristang, was shaped and is still spoken today by about 5,000 Christians in Malaaca and another 400 in Singapore. The uncanny semblance of Kristang to other Portuguese patois, such as the "Patua" in Macau and "Kriolu" in Cabe Verde, suggests that the language was slowly developed along Portuguese trade routes. (International relations in 16th century South-East Asia were defined by trading communities rather than state-relations.)

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Portugal lost Malacca to the Calvinist Dutch burghers in 1641, coinciding with a civil war in Portugal that saw the end to an 80-year period known as the "Union of the Crowns" (1580-1640) when Portugual joined to Castillan Spain by political marriage. Almost all contact with Portugal ended, but trade relations with the now-former Portuguese outpost of Macau continues to this day.

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The Gente Kristang (Portuguese people) maintained its traditions, religion and language almost intact, which is a curiosity and unique in the world; the cultural and linguistic links with today's Portugal (especially, Minho region), is astonishing. Because of some aspects of their language and culture, some Malaysians still refer to the Portuguese-Malay Eurasian community as 'Portuguese'.

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Currently, the Kristang community in Singapore is part of a larger umbrella group known generically as the Eurasian community. See Eurasian Singaporeans.

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