Chapter II

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION AND EXPANSION OF ANGLO INDIAN COMMUNITY IN KERALA

The Anglo-Indian communities are the Indo-European minority

community of India whose evolution, expansion, and socio positioning are

inseparably collaborative contained by the politico, ethnic and cultural

problematic of the European colonization in India.1 Anglo Indians have

historically endured a disturbed and non assimilative position in India.2

Since the commencement of their evolution as a group in India, the Anglo

Indians were largely sidelined by native Indians who made no distinction

between them and the British imperialists. Even though India is the

homeland of the Anglo-Indian community and also being constitutionally

documented as one among India’s six minority groups, they continue to

occupy a controversial position within the discourse of Indian national

identity and thus has historically been regarded as ‘un-homed’ in India, the

land which paradoxically constitutes the community’s historical recollection

most importantly, the domain of their collective memory.3

Historical Background

The evolution of Anglo-Indians can be traced back to the time of

European expedition to the unknown East. The 16th century CE, after a

millennium in the dark ages, a handful of courageous and determined

explorers, driven by a thirst of power, glory and wealth, sailed from Europe

to conquer this unknown land.4 The first Europeans who succeeded in this

endeavour were the Portuguese by the arrival of Vasco-da-Gama at the

coast of Malabar in 14985, followed by the Dutch, French and finally the

British. The continued stay of European men in this sub continent paved

the way for politically justified relations with the native women and this

union resulted in the birth of a novel community, previously known as

Eurasians and later Anglo-Indians.6

The historical evolution of Anglo-Indians as a social group started in

India with the arrival of Portuguese and its establishment as a colonial

power.7 The beginning of this was the successful expedition of the well-

known sailor Vasco-da-Gama, who started his voyage from Lisbon on 8th of

July 1498. The manuals and naval records suggest that his expedition

lasted around eight months and it came to an end at the port named

Kappadu near Calicut on 18th of May 1498.8 This was the actual foundation

of both European colonization and the evolution of Anglo-Indians as a

hybrid community in India.9

Gama’s request for the permission to leave a repository behind him in

charge of the merchandise he could not sell was dealt with a disappointing

report by the Zamorin asking for taxes in return.10 Thus the willingness for a

political discourse and magnanimity of Zamorin of Calicut short lived. Gama

broke up his relation with the Zamorin and sailed to Cannanore. There he

managed to form a trade agreement with the Kolathiri. In 1499 Gama

reached back Lisbon with fleets of ships crammed with spice.11

The next move from the Portuguese emperor was little systematic and

eventually after six months, Gama under the patronage of King Henry had

sent around 1500 men in 33 ships to India under Captain Pedro Alvarez

Cabral, out of which only 6 could reach the shore. Cabral could make good

relationship with the Zamorin.12

The second attempt under Gama succeeded in finding a storehouse at

Calicut. The acceptance that Portuguese got here envied the Arabs who were

enjoying the monopoly of trade in Calicut. Competition in trade and

consequent conflicts between them finally made Cabral leave Calicut early.13

He left the shore after destructing some Arab ships and moved to Cochin. In

24 December 1500 Cabral reached Cochin where he got a warm welcome.

The then king of Cochin Unnirama Thirumulppadu permitted him to

establish a trading station there and left some of his men to take care of it.

Later Cochin became an important centre of the Anglo-Indians.14This is

marked as a major event in the history of Anglo-Indians.15

Before leaving, Cabral abandoned some men from the team. But the

King of Kannur was generous in accepting them and making arrangements

for their stay and survival here. Thus Portuguese culture and life style

sprouted in Cochin and Kannur. After Cabral, Joao-da-Nova and followed by

Vasco-da-Gama made their visit to India. Nova couldn’t make any trade

agreements, but Gama’s activities were a clear reflection of the colonisation

plans of the Portuguese.16

The very next year Gama anchored at Anchidweep at Kannur and

visited the native ruler. On his way to Calicut, Gama wrecked a ship

carrying Muslim Hajjis, as a warning to the Muslim traders in hindering

their growth in Calicut.17 The Portuguese noticed earlier that it was the

Zamorin who makes their establishment in Kerala tough, and wanted the

Zamorin to push out all the Muslim merchants from Calicut. As expected,

the Zamorin denied Gama’s wish and as revenge Gama attacked Calicut and

moved to Cochin.18

An agreemenst was signed by Vasco-da-Gama with the ruler of

Cochin.19 The provisions of the agreement favours that, the people should

sell spices and other things to the Portuguese in the price which has

decided by the King and Portuguese.20 Gama got the right to build barracks

for the Portuguese forces. This was another mile stone in the establishment

of Anglo-Indians in Kerala21. Before going back to Portuguese Gama came to

Kannur and left 200 men there in purpose.

This new group joined with the already established people who were

abandoned by Cabral and together these groups mingled with the natives

and sprinkled their Portuguese culture. Gama left some of his men in

Cochin too. The Zamorin who had rivalry with Gama asked the King of

Cochin to confer them to him. The King denied this and the Zamorin

attacked Cochin to get them. The Portuguese force was so weak in resisting

the Zamorin and finally they accepted the defeat.22

This war started by Zamorin catalysed the expansion of Anglo-Indians

in Kerala. On 2nd September 1503, a huge Portuguese force reached Cochin

under Francisco Albuquerque to help the King of Cochin and placed him

back to his position. In return, as a token of gratitude the king provided

adequate space for the building of a Portuguese Fort23. On 27th September

1503, they started the building of a fort in the name of Dom Manuel which

subsequently developed as a Portuguese settlement. The Anglo-Indian

development fortified in connection with the Manuel fort. Albuquerque

formed a strong force for the fort and gave all the responsibilities for

maintaining the force to Duarte Pacheco.24

The Portuguese force led by Duarte Pacheco, a Portuguese Naval

admiral, conquered the Zamorin at Kodungallore and started to make a fort

there in 1504. After the native chief of Kodungallore took refuge under the

Portuguese, the Anglo-Indians started spreading towards north from

Cochin. The King Manuel of Portugal had decided to keep a permanent force

in Kerala to save the Portuguese interests and towards the same he sent

Fransisco Almeda to Cochin as his representative to look after the fort who

later became the first viceroy of Portuguese. This moulded Cochin a

Portuguese settlement in Kerala.25

Almeda gave remarkable contributions in the spreading of the Anglo-

Indian community. Their growth in Malabar area was accelerated in

connection with the building and strengthening of St. Angelo Fort and other

Forts in Kannur and Calicut. After Almeda, Alfonso de Albuquerque took

charge of viceroy who aimed the widening of Portuguese empire in India.26

Under his leadership the Portuguese attacked the Zamorin, but couldn’t

conquer him; instead they could make him sign in an accord.27 According to

this agreement they got right to build a fort at Calicut and buy spices at the

same price that they got from Cochin. But the continuous attack from the

Arabs forced them to give up the fort. This necessitated a major structural

change and the Portuguese shifted their capital from Cochin to Goa.28

However, the change in Portuguese capital never affected the spreading

of Anglo-Indians in Kerala. After Albuquerque, Loposores took charge as the

viceroy. He tried to convert Kollam as their centre. They were able to build a

fort at Tangassery, named Fort Thomas and eventually Tangassery became

a major Portuguese settlement in Kerala.29 In the meantime Kunjali

Marakkar, a close aide of the Zamorin became a major threat for their

domination in the Indian Ocean.30 Nuno da Kunha built a fort at Chaliyam

in 1531 and regained their supremacy over Indian Ocean, which was

attacked and ruined the Zamorin in 1571. But the hostility between the

Kunjali and Zamorin opened a new relationship with the Portuguese. This

gave a more assured life to the Portuguese descendants. Zamorin gave

permission to build a factory at Ponnani in 1584. Portuguese and Zamorin

attacked the Kunjali fort and caught KunjaliIV and assassinated him at Goa

in1600 and brought his head to Kannur which was kept for display in a

public place, an act worsened their image among the common people.31 The

Portuguese established factories and settlements in Cochin, Palliport,

Kannur, Calicut, Chaliyam, Purakkad, Kayamkulam and Quilon to carry on

trade in pepper, spices and other articles.32 They also built forts in most of

these places like Fort Immanuel in Cochin, Fort Thomas in Tangasseri

(Quilon) and Fort St. Angelo in Kannur in order to protect their factories.

The origin and growth of the Anglo-Indian community starts around these

forts and military centers.33 The Portuguese men who came here with the

force at the beginning of the invasion were mostly unmarried. The need for a

female partner for the Portuguese soldiers and the traders was inexorably

felt. This made the government who had spent huge amount of money for

their wellbeing in India to bring Portuguese women here. Later they found

this as not economic and decided to legalize the relationship between the

Portuguese men and native women, which in reality had started even long

back. In the initial stages, such intermarriages were permitted for men of

good character only and there were only some 100 marriages were recorded

in 1600.34

Origin and expansion of Anglo-Indians

Historically the origin of the Anglo-Indian community dates back to

many centuries to the earliest years of contact between Europe and India,

precisely a period of four centuries to the time when Vasco da Gama, the

Portuguese Navigator, landed at Calicut on the West Malabar Coast of India

in May, 1498. Within two years of 1500 there was at Diu a Portuguese

Governor the great Alfonso d Albuquerque.35 As a means of establishing the

Portuguese authority in India he encouraged his countrymen to marry

Indian women.36 He did not however give permission to marry except to men

of approved character. The women whom they married were the daughters

of the principal men of the land. But nevertheless, the Portuguese failed to

establish themselves permanently in India and one of the vital causes of the

Portuguese failure was the arrival of the Dutch and the English in the

opening years of the 17th century. The offspring of these mixed marriages

between the Portuguese and Indians were known as Luso-Indians. When

the Portuguese, under pressure, abandoned their Indian possessions the

Luso-Indians rapidly sank in the social scale and within a space of two

centuries the majorities of them had reverted to Indian stocks, and are

known today as Goanese, a very common community in Goa, Bombay and

the West Coast. But in the larger cities of India like Calcutta, Bombay and

Madras, the better type of Luso-Indians retained their European

characteristics and many of them ultimately amalgamated with the newly

born mixed community, the Anglo-Indians.37

The birth of the Anglo-Indian community in contradistinction to the

Luso-Indian community dates back to the year 1600 when Queen Elizabeth

granted a Charter to the East India Company to initiate trading operations

with India. The English at first merely visited Indian ports as traders. By

1612 a factory had been established at Surat and another in Madras in

1639. Bombay was a centre for trade purposes in 1668. In 1698 the East

India Company purchased the Zemindary of three villages, one of which was

called Calicutta, from which Calcutta derived its name. Very soon it was

crucial to construct fortifications and employ soldiers to defend the factories

against attacks from the Mahrattas and other marauders of those early

days. Thus there gradually grew up colonies of English men only in all the

trading factories along the shores of India, for the East India Company had

forbidden women from accompanying their men folk to India.38

Owing to the fact that the English missed the companionship of their

women, and suffered from the monotony and tedium of life in a strange and

tropical land, many of them formed alliances with the Luso-Indian and

Indian women.39 Moreover the English discovered that the offspring of mixed

marriages, the Anglo-Indians, were of great service to them in many ways.40

The Court of Directors of the East India Company on 8th April, 1687, thus

addressed their President at Madras: ‘The marriage of our soldiers to the

native women of Fort St. George is a matter of such consequence to

posterity that we shall be content to encourage it with some expense, and

have been thinking for the future to appoint a pagoda of Rs. 5 to be paid to

the mother of any child that shall hereafter be born of any such future

marriage, upon the day the child is christened, if you think this small

encouragement will increase the number of such marriages’.41 The offer of

the Directors was accepted and put into effect so that the British in this way

became officially responsible for the birth of the Anglo-Indian Community.

Gradually however, as the numbers of Anglo-Indians increased, the practice

of Britishers marrying Indian women fell into disrespect, because the

necessity for it had disappeared.42 The new arrival could always wed a girl of

mixed parentage, and it became customary for him to do so.43

From the earliest times the Anglo-Indian community stood for the

cause of England. They enlarged the inadequate forces of the East India

Company; they spilt their blood on many a battlefield, they rendered

estimable services in scrutinizing and bringing information of the enemy. In

the early days Anglo-Indians were not branded with the mark of inferiority44.

If their fathers could afford it, they were sent to England for their education,

and returned to India in the covenanted services of the Company. Those

who were not lucky enough to be sent to England were given the best

education obtainable in India and occupied the majority of the positions in

the uncovenanted Civil service, and in the warrant ranks of the Company’s

army. They fought under Clive at Arcot. They perished in the Black Hole of

Calcutta. They were to be found in the front line of battle at Plassey.45 These

were the years of their prosperity, their quiet days. The days of chaos and

hardship were fast approaching.46

The days of prosperity of the Anglo-Indian community may roughly

extend from 1600 to 1785. On the 14th of March, 1786, the first of three

repressive orders was promulgated against the community. By the first

order of March 1786 the wards of the upper orphanage school at Calcutta,

recently established under the auspices of the East India Company for the

orphans of British Military officers, were prohibited from going on to

England to complete their education, and thus qualifying for the covenanted

services.47 A second order passed in April 1791 stated that ‘no person the

son of a native Indian shall henceforth be appointed by the court in

employment in the Civil and Military forces of the Company.’ The third

Resolution passed in 1795 stated that all not come dowm from European

parents on both sides were disqualified for service in the army except as

fifers, drummers, bandsmen, and farriers. These repressive measures were

due partly to a fear of mutinies such as had occurred in the English force

under Clive in Bengal in 1776 and in the Madras army which revolted and

imprisoned Lord Pigott, Governor of Madras, in the same year; partly to a

panic in India and England caused by thinking the possibilities of a

rebellion in India led by the now numerous Anglo-Indians.48 This experience

had happened about this time to the Spaniards in San Domingo; and partly

to a desire on the part of shareholders of the East India Company for the

support with regard to filling appointments in India which up to now was in

the hands of the Indian Government, for the shareholders saw in the

Company’s service attractive careers for their sons and other near relatives.

Thus Anglo-Indians had been deprived of every honorable career in the

military forces and the door was closed against them with regard to civil

appointments.49 Thus within the brief period of 10 years lying between 1786

and 1795, by the standing orders of the great East India Company, Anglo-

Indians had been reduced to the status of a outlawed and down-trodden

race.50 Immediate action was taken in order to give effect to these

regulations, and these conditions with slight variations were in force till the

outbreak of the Mutiny in 1857.51 Anglo-Indians in every branch of the army

were discharged from the service without any compunction as to their

future. Owing to the fact that hence forth they were regarded more like

Englishmen, they had been debarred from acquiring land or residing further

than 10 miles from the nearest Presidency town or Company’s settlement.52

Hence they could not turn to agriculture or trade. Thrown out of the

soldiering, the only profession to which they had been reared, there was

nothing for them to do but transfer their services to Indian chiefs, and they

were received with open arms. Others of them formed their own groups of

irregular infantry and cavalry; while hundreds of Anglo-Indian warriors won

their spurs in the ranks of armies not belonging to the East India

Company.53

The East India Company had hardly cast Anglo-Indians out of its army,

when it found itself beset by foes. The Marquis of Wellesley had arrived in

India in 1798 and had introduced his ‘Subsidiary System’ which initiated

the Mysore and Mahratta wars. At this time to the English in Europe were

at death-grips with the French and Napoleon in the Revolutionary Wars and

could send very little help to India. So ‘A Proclamation was issued

summoning all British and Anglo-Indian men and officers who were serving

with the Mahratta army under Perron and in other Indian States, to return

to the Company‘s forces. The Proclamation concluded with a warning that

those who failed to rejoin the British ranks would be treated as traitors.’

There was no need for the threat. The Anglo-Indians heard the ‘Call of the

Blood’ and absolutely conformed. The war against the Maharattas was

concluded abruptly and inconclusively. The Court of Directors had grown

weary of Wellesley’s ceaseless and costly campaigns, and recalled him. A

Non-Intervention policy was once again adopted and expenditure on the

military side reduced.54

During the first half of the 19th century (1800-1850) the Anglo-Indian

community made the first serious attempts to provide for the education of

their children.55 Being shut out from the army they realized that a good

education was needed for the various callings in civil life. In response to this

urge, and with the help of influential men and societies La Martiniere

College was established in 1836, St. Xavier‘s College in 1834, and many

other institutions too numerous to mention. ‘The spirit of self-help of this

period is worth bearing in mind.’56 In spite of improved educational facilities

the prospects of the community during the first half of the 19th century

were none too rosy. In fact for many the future was black. The political,

social and economic, disabilities of their community was freely discussed in

every Anglo-Indian home and ultimately it was resolved that ‘a petition’

should be presented to the British Parliament on their behalf.57 A suitable

document was drawn and J.W. Ricketts was unanimously elected agent to

present it to the Houses of Parliament. Ricketts arrived in London with this

precious Document on 27th December 1829 and it was at length duly

presented to Parliament. Owing to the political upheavals in England about

this time the petition did not produce the results which were expected of it.

The struggle for Catholic Emancipation and the Reform bill of 1832 was in

progress. The people in England had too many of their own problems to

cope with to find time for the petition of the Anglo-Indians. ‘The communal

activities of the Anglo-Indians about the period 1820-1830 had a local but

nevertheless important result. It called for the sympathy and good-will of

influential friends in the country, who gave their moral support to the

aspirations and reasonable demands of a patient and enduring section of

the British inhabitants.’58

In 1833 the Charter of the East India Company was renewed.

Influenced no doubt somewhat by the Anglo-Indians ‘petition, Section 87 of

the said Act stated that –‘No native of the said territories, nor any natural

born subject of His Majesty resident therein, shall, by reason of his religion,

place of birth, descent, colour, or any of them, be disabled from holding any

place, office, or employment under the said Company.’59 In theory all posts

were thrown open to people of any race in India, but in practice only the

subordinate trades were bestowed upon Indians and Anglo-Indians, since

higher services could be filled only by recruitment in England.60 Fortunately

for Anglo-Indians, about this same time (1833), English took the place of

Persian as the official language of the Courts and Government offices.61 In

future English was to be the only medium of correspondence in commercial

houses. English being their mother-tongue, the Anglo-Indians had an

advantage in this direction and very soon many of the community found

employment under Government and in commercial firms as clerks, though

in subordinate positions. This advantage, however, was only temporary

because Lord Bentinck, who was Governor-General from 1828 to 1836, with

the cooperation of Lord Macaulay who drew up his famous Minute on

Education in 1835, determined that the linguistic disadvantage of Indians

should be removed, and accordingly instruction in English was ordered to

be imparted in Indian schools.62

Fortune once again came to the rescue of Anglo-Indians for soon new

avenues of employment were opening up for them. In 1825 the first railway

had run in England.63 In 1845 the East India Railway was projected in

India.64 Simultaneously railway schemes were set on foot in Madras and

Bombay. The first train in India ran from Bombay to Thana in 1853. In

1851 the Telegraph system was inaugurated.65

Anglo-Indians found ample employment on the railways, and in the

telegraph and custom services. These departments needed men of

adventurous stock who were willing to endure the hardships, risks, and

perils of pioneers. The Anglo-Indians had in them the spirit of their

forefathers and placed in navigation Companies with captains, second

officers, engineers and mechanics. From them were recruited telegraph

operators, artisans and electricians. They supplied the railways with station

staffs, engine-drivers, permanent way-inspectors, guards, auditors - in fact

every higher grade of railway servant. The Mutiny of 1857 too had proved

beyond doubt the absolute loyalty of the Anglo-Indians and removed the

suspicion which had been responsible for the repressive measures of the

latter part of the 18th century.66

The modern period for the Anglo-Indians may be begun in the year

1911. It was in this year that the term Anglo-Indians was substituted by

Government for the old name Eurasians, by which the community was

known. In the 20th century Indians have made rapid progress in every

direction. The universities, colleges and schools, of India have turned out

thousands of young men well-fitted to hold posts in all the departments of

Government and in civil capacities too. The Morely-Minto Reforms of 1909,

the Montagu-Chelmsford of 1919, and the Indian Bill of 1935 have given

Indians an increasing share in the Government of their country. As the

Indians are fitting themselves more and more to undertake leadership in all

phases of life in India, it is only in the natural order of affairs that Anglo-

Indians should lose the near monopoly they once held and find in the

struggle to secure employment more difficult.67

Today young men of Anglo-Indian community with a good high school

education, and some with degrees, are roaming the streets in search of

employment, and unemployment is widespread. Hundreds, of the

community are to be found today in all the large towns begging for their

daily bread. The community as a whole is downhearted and discouraged,

and had not yet found a solution for its difficulties. In many senses the

community had faced more difficult problems and been through more trying

circumstances in this modern age than ever before in its history.68

Anglo-Indian Expansion in Kerala

The Anglo-Indians of Kerala are chiefly the ancrstors descendants of

the Portuguese, who settled down in the west coast of Malabar in the

sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. There is a sprinkling of the Dutch, the

French and the English descendants also among them. But most of them

have intermingled by inter-marriages now. Persons of unmixed European

blood also are there. The surnames Almeida, Abrao, Alweyn, Aruja, Bivera,

Coutinho, Carvalho,Cabral, Coelho, Correya, D’costa, D’Couto, D’Cunha,

D’Cruz, D’Rose, D’Silva, D’Souza, D’Claus, Dias, Durome, Fereira, Faria,

Fernandez, Figerado, Figueres, Furtado, Furtal, Furtas, Gomez, Gonsalvez,

Lopez, Luiz, Livero, Mendez, Nunez, Nevis, Netto, Noronho, Olivero, Paiva,

Padua, Pereira, Pinheiro, Pinto, Prakasia, Rodriguez, Rozario, Rebeiro,

Rebello, Saiza, Severenvce, Sequira, Surrao, and Zimenthy indicate

Portuguese origin; Gallyot, Hoogewerf, Hendricks, Jacobs, Jacques, Lobo,

Meyn, Van Ross, Van Reyke and Van Spall-Dutch origin; Labauchardier and

Lafrenais-French origin and Jackson, Mcleod, Price, Platel, Williams and

Watts-British origin. There are a few offsprings of Germans, Swiss and

Italians also among the Anglo-Indians of Kerala as Guenthers, Schmidts,

Guezlers and Niglis. However, it is seen that some of the Portuguese names

were adapted by converts to Christianity in the south during the Portuguese

Period.69

It was the Portuguese king, Dom Manuel who sanctioned the marriage

of Portuguese men, who had rendered good services to native women. These

marriages were most often from the high ranking and rich families which

enabled them to learn the native language, Customs and manners and

helped them to establish better contacts with the native population. It has

been recorded that the Raja of Cochin arranged the marriage of a

Portuguese Officer with a Namboothiri lady.70

The Portuguese were in Kerala for a period of 165 years. Vasco Da

Gama landed at Calicut on May 18, 1498, followed by Pedro Alvarez Cabral

who came to Cochin on 24th December, 1500. The Portuguese had

settlements in Quilon, Kayamkulam, Poracad, kochi, Cranganore,

Palliport, kozhicode, Chaliyam and cannanore. They also built forts at Kochi,

Palliport, Cranganore, Quilon, Calicut and Cannanore. With the surrender

of Cochin to the Dutch on January 6, 1963, the Portuguese supremacy in

Kerala ended. The Protestant Dutch followed a policy of religious

persecution. Hence most of the mixed races who were Catholics fled from

the towns to interior places where they could follow their religion

unmolested. However, in their own interests, the Dutch revised their policy

subsequently and tried to attract back those who left. The Mestices, as the

mixed races were then called were allowed to erect a church at Vypin. The

present church of Our Lady of Hope at Vypeen was accordingly built and

the altar and the old screen from

the Church of St.Francis at Fort Cochin were transferred to that Church.71

When the Dutch surrendered to the British on October 19, 1795, many

among the Dutch preferred to remain in Cochin. But they were gradually

reduced to such great distress that the British Government had to settle

pensions on them. The Dutch and their descendants inter married with

Portuguese descendants.72 During the period of the British, some of them

married girls of mixed blood while some others had connections with Thiya

women of Malabar. The progenies of such connections most often followed

the life of their mothers and seldom came forward to claim that they were of

mixed race. But in case of solicitous fathers, the children were sent to

Anglo-Indian schools where they were well educated and looked after. Such

progenies thrived in life because of the special treatment they received at the

hands of British Government. Some of the Frenchmen also settled down and

married girls of mixed decent. Thus we find among the Anglo-Indians of

Kerala, people with the blood of European who came chiefly from countries

like Portugal, Holland, France and Great Britain.73

Anglo- Indians in Alleppey

There is very close affinity between the Anglo- Indians of Cochin and

Alleppey. The Anglo- Indians belong to the Latin Church, and till 1952

Alleppey Diocese was part of the Cochin Diocese and most of the Anglo-

Indians in Alleppey had originally come from Cochin and its suburbs. There

are Anglo-Indians came from Kollam and Kayamkulam who reached there

for business and employment. Early settlers in Alleppey were men who hold

important positions in the erstwhile Travancore Government and important

positions in the Commercial banking Houses established by the Europeans.

Mr. A.J Veiyra the Chief Secretary of Travancore, Mr. A. J. Van Rose the

excise Commissioner of Travancore Government, Mr. Robert Cleur the

magistrate of Alleppey, Walter Cleur, the Chief Customs officer of Alleppey,

Dr. Robert Veiyra, Dr. Charles Veiyra, Dr. John La Bouchariere and Dr.

Gomez Medical Officers of the local hospital were the pioneers of Anglo-

Indian settlers in Alleppey. Some of the members of the Anglo-Indian

community established well in commercial sector especially the export of

coir products. Thomas S.D’Cruz, C.J.hantney, E.Bout, Joe Fernandez and

Edward Fernandez were the most important among them. The members of

the community are well connected with the Latin Catholic Diocese of

Alleppey. The Anglo-Indian association is very active in Alleppey. The Anglo-

Indian Community in Cochin maintains distinct entity having their own

customs and mode of life.

Anglo-Indian Settlement in Cannanore

The first Church in Malabar and the first Portuguesze Church in India

was built in Cannanore by the Portuguese. When Vasco d agama reached

Calicut on 20th May 1498 he failed to get the permission from the King to

build a fort at Calicut. Hence Gama contracted the Kolathiri , the local king

of Cannanore and obtained permission to construct a fort at Cannanore.

The construction of the fort was undertaken by Joao Da Nova and he built

store house and a Church at the shore of Cannanore. Portuguese Viceroy

Francisco de Almeida built the castle and the Fort at Cannanore. The Anglo-

Indian Community developed in and around the Cantonment area at

Burnacherry where the Holy Trinity Church situates. They developed the St.

Treasa’s Anglo-Indian School and St. Michael’s Anglo-Indian School in to

renowned education institutions. The Anglo-Indian Association is very active

in Cannanore. It has its activities right from 1952. The Anglo-Indian

teachers at At, Treasa’s and St Michael’s schools sufficiently supported the

activities of the organisation. Now due to large scale migration there is

around 50 Anglo-Indian families in Burnacherry. Anglo-Indian community

in Cannoore will be remembered due to the Fort St. Angelo, the vibrant

Activities of Anglo-Indian MLA C.F.Pereira, the Chief of Indian Naval Staff

Admiral R.L.Pereira,Mrs. Ancel Netto and Mr. Desmond Netto IPS.

Anglo-Indians in Calicut

Calicut had the Anglo-Indian experience from 1498 when Vasco da

Game reached Kappad. Bishop Dr. Maxwell Valentine Noronha, an Anglo-

Indian became Bishop of Calicut in 1980. The prominent Anglo-Indian in

religious order could be seen in late Archbishop of Shillong Dr. Hubert

D’Rozario SDB who was from Calicut. The two Anglo-Indian girl’s high

schools confirm the strong hold of the community in Calicut. Large scale

migration after independence weakened the structure and functioning of the

association.

Anglo-Indians in Chathiath

Chathiath is one of the important centres of Anglo-Indians in Kerala.

Pachalam, Vaduthala are the adjacent areas where the Anglo-Indians live in

large number. With nearly 1000 Anglo-Indian families in the parish of

Chanthiath, there is a strong feeling of Anglo-Indian presence and unity.

The members of the community were called by others as Saipanmar or

Parangikar and considered as the higher strata of citizens at this area. Anglo-

Indian Association is very vibrant and the Chanthiath-vaduthala Anglo

Indian Association is the biggest association in the union. Edword

Rodrigues, Francis Correya, Francis Severance and Joseph Diaz were the

early leaders of the community.

Anglo-Indians in Kollam

Portuguese established their settlement in Kollam and their authority

could be assessed from the remains of the Fort St. Thomas, near

Thangassery. In later years, Dutch and French and finally English came to

Cochin. The descendants of these Europeans now formed the present Anglo-

Indian Community in Quilon. Apart from Thangassery Anglo-Indians lived

at Chavara, Neendakara, Clappana, Eravipuram, Kovilthottam and the

surrounding areas of the present Quilon city. Mr. S.P.Luiz, A.A.D. Luiz and

Stephen Padua were responsible for the strengthening of the community in

this area. The two Anglo-Indian Schools- the Infant Jesus High School for

Boys and the Mount Carmel High School for girls are situated here. The

great names to remembered are Gen. Noronha who lead the UN Missions in

Congo, Ms. Janis Spink, athlet, Dr. N.P. Fernandez and a number of priests

including Msgr.A.J.Rozario, the Vical General of the Diocese of Quilon and

nuns from this area did wounderful service for the community.

Notes and References

1. Moritz Deutschmann, Cultural History of British Colonialism in India,

German, 2011, pp. 1-15.

2. Noel Pitts Gist & Roy Dean Wright, Marginality and Identity: Anglo Indians

as a Racially Mixed Minority in India, Leiden, 1973, p. 122.

3. Ibid., p. 34.

4. Frederick Charles Danvers, Portuguese in India- Being a History of the Rise

and Decline of Their Eastern Empire, New Delhi, 1988, pp. 22-47.

5. L. L. Mehta, Advanced Study in the History of Modern India: Volume One:

1707 – 1813, New Delhi, 2005, p. 323.

6. Ronald Daus, Portuguese Eurasian Communities in South East Asia (Local

History and Memoirs),Singapore, 1989, p. 35.

7. Ibid., p. 68.

8. Richard Worth, Vasco Da Gama, New York, 2009, pp 33-49.

9. Lionel Caplan, Children of Colonialism: Anglo-Indians in a Postcolonial

World, New York, 2003, p. 112.

10 Richard Worth, Op.cit, p. 55.

11 A.Sreedhara Menon, A Survey of Indian History, Kottayam, 2007, pp. 176-

178.

12 M.N. Pearson, The Portuguese in India, Cambridge, pp 120-124.

13 Richard Worth, Op.cit, pp. 61-66.

14 A. Sreedhara Menon, Op. cit., p. 231.

15 Ibid.

16 Ibid., p. 178.

17 Richard Worth, Op.cit., pp. 66-68.

18 Sreedhara Menon. A, Op.cit.p. 179.

19 Sanjay Subramanyam, The Career and Legend of Vasco d agama, New

York, 1997, p. 14.

20 Ibid.

21 P. J. Cherian, Perspectives on Kerala history: the second millennium,

Thiruvananthapuram, 1999, p. 34.

22 Sreedhara Menon A., Op. cit., pp.179-80.

23 T. V. Mahalingam, South Indian Studies, Mysore, 1990, pp. 404 - 405

24 Henry Mores Stephens, Albuquerque, p. 31.

25 Richard Worth, Op. Cit. p.72.

26 Henry Mores Stephens, Albuquerque, New Delhi,1897, p. 35.

27 Frederick Charles Danvers, The Portuguese in India: A. D. 1571-1894,

London, 1894, p. 146.

28 Ibid.

29 Census of India, 1961, Volume 7, p. 132.

30 Pius Malekandathil, Maritime India: Trade, Religion and Polity in the Indian

Ocean, Delhi, 2010, p. 90.

31 Ibid., pp. 131-140

32 Celsa Pinto, Trade and Finance in Portuguese India: A Study of the

Portuguese Country Trade 1770-1840 (XCHR Studies Series No. 5), Celsa,

1994, p. 122-217.

33 Ibid.

34 Ibid.

35 Morse Stephens, Albuquerque and the Early Portuguese Settlement in India,

New Delhi, 2003, p.134-145

36 Ibid.

37 Karin Larsen, Faces of Goa, New Delhi, 1997, p.411.

38 Asiatic Journal and monthly miscellany, (Vol.-23)

39 Sultana Choudhry, Multifaceted Identity of Interethnic Young People:

Chameleon Identities, England, 2010, p. 31

40 Esther Mary Lyons, Unwanted!: Memoirs of an Anglo-Indian Daughter of

Rev Michael Delisle Lyons of Detroit, Michigan, Kokata, 2005, p. 33.

41 Nicholas B. Dirks, Colonialism and Culture, Michigan, 1992, pp.122-126.

42 C. J. Hawes, Poor Relations: The Making of a Eurasian Community in British

India 1773-1833, London, 1996, pp.6-19.

43 Ibid

44 Alison Blunt, Domicile and Diaspora: Anglo-Indian Women and the Spatial

Politics of Home, Blackwell, 2005, p.134.

45 Peter Harrington, Plassey 1757: Clive of India’s Finest Hour, London, 1994,

pp. 34-35.

46 Johnson O’Toole, Confessions of ‘A Gay Globetrotter’, London, 2003, p.

124.

47 Austin Anthony D’Souza, Anglo-Indian education: a study of its origins and

growth in Bengal up to 1960, London, 1996, p. 15.

48 Nancy Lucille Brennan, The Anglo Indians of Madras; An Ethnic Minority in

Transition., Syracuse, 1979, p.78.

49 Mark Harrison, Public Health in British India: Anglo-Indian Preventive

Medicine 1859-1914, Cambridge, 1994, p. 22.

50 Bharati Debi & Anshu Prokash Nandan, The Anglo-Indians of Calcutta: a

community of communities, Kolkata, 2005. p. 6.

51 Evelyn Abel, The Anglo-Indian community: survival in India, Delhi, 1988,

pp.33-38.

52 Ibid.

53 Ibid.

54 C. N. Weston, Anglo-Indian revolutionaries of the Methodist Episcopal

Church, p. 104

55 Austin Anthony D’Souza, Anglo-Indian education: a study of its origins and

growth in Bengal up to 1960, Delhi, 1976, p.94.

56 Arnold P. Kaminsky & Roger D. Long, India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life

in the Republic: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic, Volume 1, p. 39.

57 Austin Anthony D’ Souz, Op.Cit., p. 88.

58 Subodh Kapoor, The Indian Encyclopaedia, Volume 1, California, 2011, p.

268.

59 G. S. Chhabra, Advanced Study in the History of Modern India, New Delhi,

2005, p. 75

60 Zareer Masani, Indian Tales of Raj, Berkeley, 1987, p.151.

61 Harish Trivedi, Colonial Transactions: English Literature and India,

Manchester, 1995, p. 37.

62 C. N. Weston, Op.cit., pp. 107-8

63 Sidney Homer and Richard Sylla, A History of Interests Rates, New Jersy,

2005, p. 179.

64 Daniel Thomer, Investment in Empire: British Railway and Steam Shipping

Enterprise in India, 1825-1849, p. 66.

65 Evelyn Abel, Op.cit., p. 32. 4

66 William Ferguson Beatson Laurie, Sketches of some distinguished Anglo-

Indians: with an account of Anglo-Indian periodical literature, London,

1887, pp.100-120.

67 Evelyn Abel, Op.cit., p. 43.

68 Saurav Gangopadhyay, Anglo Indians Yesterdays and Today, p.488.

69 P. Achutha Menon, The Cochin State Manual, Ernakulam, 1911, p.311.

70 Sreedhara Menon A., Op.cit. p. 162.

71 Report of the Backward Classes Commission, (Vol-1).

72 P. Achutha Menon,Op. cit. p. 311.

73 Ibid.