KOCHI: At St Francis Church in Fort Kochi, history seems to have been dead, buried and forgotten. There is just a nondescript blue board at the church that reads, “Remembering Vasco da Gama, Portuguese navigator; he arrived in Cochin …where he died and was first buried”.
On Tuesday, it will be 500 years since the man who discovered the sea route to India in 1498, and thereby revolutionised global trade and cultural exchange, died during his third voyage to India. As ceremonies to commemorate the 500th anniversary are in full swing at Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon, where his remains were repatriated from Kochi in 1539, in the actual place of his death amnesia reigns. There are no commemorative events, not even a candle lit as votive offering.
Post-colonial takes depict Da Gama as glorified pirate
The reason for this could be an attritional process of historical revisionism. Once hailed as the man who catalysed the East-West entente (the incredible exchange of goods and ideas) and paved the way for the Estado da India (the Portuguese maritime empire), post-colonial studies are increasingly depicting da Gama as a glorified pirate, a pillager who treated the Malabar coast’s natives brutally, and as an unabashed tool of imperialism and religious persecution. Historian Fr Pius Malekandathil, an expert in Indo-Portuguese history, said that when da Gama came for the last time to Kerala, he was ageing and ill. “At the time of his death, Kochi was still the capital of Portuguese establishments. It was moved to Goa only later,” he said. Fr Pius added that a commemoration may not have been possible in Kochi because of the existence of communities who have faced great suffering due to the Portuguese. “Back in 1998, when there was an attempt to celebrate 500 years of the arrival of da Gama in India, there was strong opposition. The question was about whether it was domination or subjugation that was to be celebrated. People may not be able to see the multi-layered reality at times. A similar issue arose when there was a celebration of the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus. Many were there also who asked whether exploitation was being celebrated,” he said.
Even as da Gama’s voyage paved the way for colonialism, it also triggered the movement of ideas, commodities, plants, and culture.
“When we ask what early modernity is, scholars say that it was cultural, geographical, and societal connectedness. All this began with this pioneering voyage of da Gama,” said Fr Pius. The channel that was opened up by da Gama eventually led to the arrival of plants from South America, like papaya, pineapple, etc, to Kerala. “If not for that explorative voyage, the Indian agrarian landscape itself would have been different,” he said.
Most Fort Kochi residents in the church’s vicinity, especially the young, know little of who da Gama was, or his significance. Vasco House, believed to be the house where he stayed during his visits to Kochi, right until his death in 1524, is now a homestay. Santhosh Tom, who runs the homestay, says that the building came to his family at the time of his grandfather. “I didn’t hear anyone talking about any memorial. We only know the story, which is that da Gama stayed here, died here, and he was buried at the church which is close to the house,” said Tom.
St Francis Church itself is now under the Church of South India (CSI). Since CSI lacks any Portuguese influence, unlike the Latin Church here, a memorial from the side of the church also became unlikely. Clergy Secretary of the Cochin Diocese of CSI, Rev Praise Thaiparambil, said that for the church da Gama doesn’t hold much significance other than the fact that the tomb exists in their church. “At the time of the Portuguese, it was a Catholic church and the burial happened then. The Dutch then took over the church and it became a Dutch Reformed Church. Later, during the time of the English, it became an Anglican church. When they left, the English churches were handed over to CSI. That is how this church came to us,” said Thaiparambil, who added that the church’s name was not changed by CSI.
Fr Pius said that history shouldn’t be forgotten and it was the access, openness, connectedness, and arrival of global culture initiated by Vasco da Gama that needs to be celebrated.
