Arrival of the Portuguese is a testimony of the Portuguese settlement. On 9 May 1518, a fleet of four ships commanded by
João da Silveira from the
Estado da India arrived in
Chittagong from
Goa. They were followed by several
embassies from the
Kingdom of Portugal to the Sultanate of Bengal, then reputed as the wealthiest region in the Indian subcontinent. He set up the first Portuguese factory in Bengal at Chittagong in 1517. Traders from
Portuguese Malacca,
Bombay and
Ceylon also frequented the region. Some sources indicate that Joao Coelho had arrived in Chittagong before João da Silveira. Many Malaccan Portuguese had come to the Bengal before Silveira in
Moorish ships as traders. Moreover, some of the Portuguese settled in Pipli (present day
Orissa) in 1514 and had visited Western Bengal.
Established trading base In 1528, the
Sultan of Bengal permitted the Portuguese to establish factories and
customs houses in the
Port of Chittagong. A fort and naval base was established in Firingi Bandar. The settlement grew into the most prominent Eurasian port on the
Bay of Bengal during the
Age of Discovery. The
cartaz system was introduced and required all ships in the area to purchase naval trading licenses from the Portuguese. In 1590, the Portuguese conquered the nearby islands of
Sandwip under the leadership of António de Sousa Godinho. In 1602, the Sandwip island of Chittagong was conquered by the Portuguese from Kedar Rai of Sripur. Portuguese pirates, named Gonçalves and Carvalho, ruled the island of Sandwip for several years. Each year about 300 salt loaded ships sailed for Liverpool from Sandwip. Sandwip was very famous for its
ship-building and salt industries at that time. In 1616, after the arrival of Delwar Khan, a high-ranking Mughal naval officer, the Portuguese pirates were driven away from Sandwip and Delwar Khan ruled the island independently for about 50 years. The harbour of Chittagong became the most important port to the Portuguese because of its location, navigational facilities and safe anchorage. The port is very close to the mouth of the Meghna which was the principal route to the
Royal capital of Gouda. Evidently the Portuguese found Chittagong a congenial place to live. By the end of the sixteenth century, the
Chittagong port had emerged as a thriving port, which attracted both unofficial Portuguese trade and settlement. According to a 1567 note of Caesar Federeci, every year thirty or thirty five ships, great and small, anchored in Chittagong port. In 1598 there lived about 2,500 Portuguese and Eurasians in Chittagong and Arakan. The increased commercial presence included
bureaucrats, merchants,
missionaries, soldiers, adventurers, sailors and
pirates. The enclave had a highly
laissez-faire administration led by traders.
Slave trade and
piracy flourished. Major traded products included fine silk, cotton
muslin textiles,
bullion, spices, rice, timber, salt and
gunpowder. in
Karnaphuli River in 1666 in which, the Mughal received help from the Portuguese.The
Roman Catholic Church was established in Bengal during Portuguese rule in Chittagong. The port city was the seat of the first
Vicar Apostolic of Bengal. The Portuguese also encouraged intermarriage with the local population. In 1615, the
Portuguese Navy defeated an
Arakanese-
Dutch VOC fleet near the port city.
Piracy The Portuguese presence in Chittagong was ultimately ephemeral. The fall of the
Bengal Sultanate and the rise of the Arakanese
Kingdom of Mrauk U changed the geopolitical landscape. Chittagong became a major bone of contention between the
Mughal Empire, the Kingdom of Mrauk U, the
Burmese Empire and the Kingdom of
Tripura. The King of
Mrauk U massacred 600 members of the Portuguese community in Dianga in 1607. Subsequently, the Portuguese allied with
Arakan. Portuguese-Arakanese
piracy increased against
Mughal Bengal in the 17th century. In response, the Portuguese ravaged the Arakan coast and carried off the booty to the king of
Barisal.
End of settlement In 1632, the Mughal army expelled the Portuguese from the
Satgaon (Hooghly), owing to Portuguese association with the
slave trade, kidnapping and refusal to support
Shah Jahan. In 1666, the Mughal viceroy
Shaista Khan retook control of Chittagong after defeating the Arakanese in a naval war. The Mughal conquest of Chittagong brought an end to the Portuguese dominance of more than 130 years in the port city. The conquest of the port of Chittagong was similarly aimed mainly at driving Arakanese slave raiders out of Bengal. The Mughals attacked the Arakanese from the jungle with a 6500-man army supported by 288 ships of war bound for the seizure of Chittagong harbour. After three days of battle, the Arakanese surrendered. Chittagong promptly became the capital of the new Government. This battle involved movement across both land and water. To combat the pirates' skill over water, the Mughals called for the support of Dutch ships from
Batavia. Before the Dutch ships reached the coast of Chittagong, the battle had already ended. To carry soldiers,
Shaista Khan constructed several large ships and a large number of galleys. After the Mughals took Chittagong, the Portuguese moved to the Ferengi Bazaar in Dhaka. Descendants of the Portuguese still reside in these places.
Other settlements From
Chittagong, the Portuguese proceeded to establish settlements in other Bengali ports and cities, notably
Satgaon,
Bandel and
Dhaka. Satgaon became known as
Porto Pequeno (Little Haven). Portogola in
Old Dhaka hosted the city's Portuguese community. ==Spreading of Christianity==