Tucked away in a small corner outside the Raj Bhavan complex (Governor House), in my home town of Dona Paula in Goa, is a small cemetery. A short white wall surrounds the 103 graves which appear to be spread in non-geometric pattern. It appears indifferent to anyone walking past, considering every village in Goa will have it’s own church and an attached cemetery until one looks closely and reads the information plaque about this being a cemetery to British soldiers. Now why would you bother considering Britain ruled India for almost 200 years. The major difference here being this is Goa – which was a Portuguese colony until 1961. So why do we have a British cemetery in Goa and what were British soldiers doing in Goa? The answer lies in the Napoleonic wars of 18th century Europe, and the struggle between 2 European powers to get a stronghold in the Indian sub-continent.
Before going into the events which led to British troops in Goa, let’s look back into the history of the Indian subcontinent in the 17th century. In mid-1700s, the political landscape in India was changing rapidly. The once mighty Mughal emperors had been reduced to being local rulers of Delhi while regional chieftains had assumed enormous power and created their own kingdoms. The Maratha and Nizam were ruling the Deccan area of central India, while in south the Mysore kingdom was under the rule of Hyder Ali and later his son Tipu Sultan. Bengal had fallen to the British East India company in 1757, who were now using the enormous wealth of Bengal to fund their expansion further into mainland India. In this power play for wealth and territorial expansion were also the French, who obviously did not want to be left behind and wanted their share while competing with the British.
The French and the British were then eternal enemies, and this relationship peaked during the years of Napoleon Bonaparte. When compared to the french, the British were much better placed in India. The British were in India since the days of Mughal emperor Jehangir and by late 1700s, had 3 well established presidencies (Bombay, Madras and Calcutta) and were ruling over entire Bengal province. The French had been slow to expand into India and had adopted a slightly different approach. Knowing they could not match the British in terms of military strength in India, beginning of 1750 the french had a number of military officers employed in the services of Indian rulers, helping train and organize their armies on the European model. Many of these officers had been sponsored and encouraged by the French crown, and though they started as instructors for the local army, they would soon go on to play the role of military advisers and in some cases, use their influence to dictate the political strategy of the local rulers. An example of this is the Battle of Plassey of 1757, which was triggered when the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah attacked the British garrison in Calcutta. The British in response marched towards the nawab’s capital of Murshidabad, ultimately defeating him at Plassey. It is believed the attack on Calcutta had been advised by the french military advisers in the Nawab’s court, who saw this as an opportunity to drive the British out of Bengal.
This ever increasing involvement of the french officers in regional politics did not go unnoticed by the British. Between 1750-1799, the French and British continued to fight for domination in central and southern India. The french were initially successful in befriending the Nizam of Hyderabad but strategic battle losses reversed their fortune, with the British often capturing Pondicherry, capital of french India. As the French and British armies became stronger, the two nations ceased to fight as proxies for local rulers and the fighting between them became direct, although the wars with the native rulers continued to be an important component of the politics of southern India, particularly as the French lost ground to the British.
The french eventually found a powerful ally in Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore. In 1790’s Mysore had become one of the most powerful kingdoms in southern India under the rule of Hyder Ali and later his son Tipu Sultan. Tipu was known for his hatred towards the British and in fact he even sent a mission to the French king in 1788 proposing an alliance to drive the English out of India. Tipu had also been successful in countering the British expansion and had inflicted numerous defeats on the British army in southern India. The french continued their support and sent officers to train the Mysore cavalry and artillery units. Many of the french officers commanded units of the Mysore army while a small mercenary force of french soldiers was part of the Mysore army.
The status quo appeared to change in 1798 with Napoleon Bonaparte’s entry in the scene. Napoleon, who was then commanding the french forces in Egypt, viewed Tipu’s alliance proposal as a favorable option for French intervention in India. He sent out correspondence to Paris, suggesting a plan to send 15,000 french soldiers to India via the sea route, to assist Tipu in defeating the British.
The french needed a port on the west coast of India which could be used as a staging post for French forces to land and advance into mainland India. The port of Mangalore which was under Tipu’s control was selected for the landing of the french forces. While this plan was in progress, the British intelligence got wind of the french ambition and the spectre of french army on mainland India created a panic situation for the East India company. In the summer of 1799, the british hurriedly assembled an alliance with the Maratha and Nizam rulers against Tipu, promising them share of lands that will be gained on Tipu’s defeat. On the morning of 4th May 1799, the British, Nizam and Maratha forces staged a surprise attack on Tipu’s capital of Seringapatnam. Tipu was killed in the battle and the fear of french invasion by Sea appeared to have been negated for the moment.
By 1803, Napoleon came to rule in France, and confrontation between the French and British resumed in Europe. France was rapidly increasing it’s territorial reach and the french threat to India again seemed a possibility. The British knew that the french under Napoleon were now powerful enough to send a force into India without assistance from any Indian ruler. The question was when and where this could happen.By 1803, Napoleon came to rule in France, and confrontation between the French and British resumed in Europe. France was rapidly increasing it’s territorial reach and the french threat to India again seemed a possibility. The British knew that the french under Napoleon were now powerful enough to send a force into India without assistance from any Indian ruler. The question was when and where this could happen.
While almost the entire Indian west coast was now under British influence, the only place not controlled directly by them was the Portuguese colony of Goa. Occupied by Portuguese in 1510, Goa then was a tiny colony with a coast of 30-40 km, but had one of the strongest natural defenses, especially the port of the city of Old Goa. The french still had colonies in India, primary being their capital at Pondicherry on the east coast of India and a few smaller coastal villages, but none of these were strong enough or viable from a defense perspective for the french army. Some of the factors which the French would have considered for a landing in Goa were:
1)Goa has 2 majors rivers (r. Zuari and r. Mandovi) bisecting it and flowing into the Arabian Sea. The 2 rivers formed a huge island called Tiswadi which had the portuguese capital of Old Goa. The river Zuari flowed on the left and had a natural deep water port, while the river Mandovi provided a straight sail to the capital city. Both these ports were well suited for naval vessels to dock. Also the island formed a natural defense barrier.
2)The entrance to both these rivers was heavily fortified with the 3 forts of Mormugao, Cabo and Aguada protecting the river mouths. Compared to the fortification, the Portuguese army was poorly trained and equipped to thwart or hold the forts. The Portuguese had a very small garrison in Goa numbering a few thousand, which the french would have found relatively easy to attack and overpower. In return, they would have 3 well built forts suited to defend against sea attacks.
3)Further interior, the mountains of the Western Ghats on the eastern border of Goa provided a natural defense barrier from the rest of central and southern India. If a French garrison was formed in Goa, the British attack from land would have been very difficult considering the dense forests and steep mountains of the Ghats. The movement of artillery through this terrain would have been extremely difficult for the British
The British knew the importance Goa had from a strategic point. This had been proved 200 years prior, in 1510 when the Portuguese had realized the same and moved to capture this city from the King of Bijapur using a naval attack from the river Mandovi. The British could not risk Goa from falling into French hands. As allies of Portugal in Europe, the British decided it was time to move their forces into Goa.
While the exact date of arrival of British troops in Goa is not known, it is widely believed that they first entered Goa in 1798 and were initially withdrawn in 1802 but in September 1803, a force of 10,000 British soldiers entered Goa again against renewed threats from the french. The British forces took up positions in the forts of Cabo, Aguada and Mormugao, the strategic forts at the mouth of rivers Mandovi and Zuari. The fort of Cabo sat in between the other 2 forts and commanded strategic position at the approach of both the rivers. The Cabo fort is considered 900 years old, with records of a dutch monastery here in the year 1100 AD.
Though the french plan to invade India never materialized, the British troops would continue to be in Goa for 17 long years until 1815, when the situation in Europe had improved and the British no longer perceived any threat from the french. It is during these 17 years that the British cemetery was established at Dona Paula, outside the walls of the fort of Cabo and the first burial took place here in 1808. It continued to be used by the local christian population even after the British left, with the last burial recorded here in the year 1912. The cemetery has 103 graves and is the only remnant of the British presence in Goa. Though in a state of neglect now, the cemetery is part of Goa’s tryst with Napoleonic history and a tribute to the men who gave their lives in the defense of Goa from a french invasion.
About the author : Mr. Suyash Nigam, 37 years, had his education at Goa. He is an engineer and an also an alumni of Goa Institute of Management. Presently he is based at Connecticut, USA.
He is the son of a GZA member.