Storia do Mogor 281.25
Storia do Mogor (Irvine) 281.25
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281.25.1
[yy] But let us now come back to the persecutions at Tanjor, of which I have already spoken at some length. It is my duty, dear reader, to tell you what has since taken place. At the beginning of December (? 1701) the Reverend Father Martin, Jesuit, appeared at my house. After a good deal of ceremony and compliments, he produced a letter from Monsieur Martin, governor of Pondicherry, in which he begged me as a Christian to be so good as to interest myself in the protection of these oppressed believers, and procure for them some respite, they and their imprisoned pastors. He represented to me that their misfortunes arose from nothing but certain acts and importunities of this, that, and the other person in the king's entourage, whereby from being their friend he had been turned into their enemy. The reverend father (Martin) had brought with him a large present made up of European curiosities, a mirror of crystal, and a poignard mounted with jewels in the style of this country. He expected by means of these presents to procure some letters of recommendation from the Governor-General Daoutan (Da,ud Khan), who has taken the place of Jufacarcan (Zu,lfiqar Khan). He has been sent into this kingdom of the Karnatik by orders of Aurangzeb, whose domination extends over all the petty Hindu kings and governors of these countries, all of them being tributary to him, as I have (I think) already explained.
281.25.2
I took into consideration in a Christian spirit the misfortunes to which this new Christian community was exposed. I was also of opinion that all these presents would be useless and in vain; for this reason I did not think it advisable to present them, because these Mahomedans are very touchy, and I feared that the general might conceive some idea quite opposed to the facts. Neither did I desire the father to go to him, though this was his intention; and he meant to take me with him, he meeting the necessary expenses of the journey. I made up my mind to avoid all this labour and expenditure by writing a letter on the subject to this nobleman. In it I besought him as a friend, and by reason of the obligation that he had always professed to be under to me, to look with a favourable eye upon the Christians of Tanjor. They had been cruelly persecuted by their king, who had unjustly imprisoned two Jesuit fathers, my near relations. Would he have the goodness to interpose with his authority to protect the said Christians and get those fathers out of prison, where they were so unjustly and so narrowly detained, and also procure the restitution to the former (the Christians) of the goods so unjustly forfeited? I wrote other letters on the same subject to the first minister of the Karnatik province [? the Diwan], who is always in attendance on the above general; also to other officers of the army with whom I was acquainted and who were great friends of mine.
281.25.3
I sent all this correspondence to the camp by one of my servants. After these dispatches had started, Pere Martin proposed to leave for his college at Pondicherry, which is part of the same mission, and by his hands I sent [78] a letter in reply to that of Governor Martin, detailing what I had done for the relief of the Christians at his solicitation and as a response to the friendship with which he honoured me. As soon as my man arrived at the army, he presented my letters to the general commanding, Da,ud Khan, along with some presents that I sent him on my own behalf. He also delivered the other letters to the first minister and the other officers to whom I had the honour of writing. These men, having read them and learnt that the captive fathers were my near relations, were extremely incensed against the King of Tanjor. The commanding general, in particular, and the first minister displayed much resentment on the subject; and on the spot they sent for the envoy of that prince, who is always present in the army of the general to secure the interests of the king, his master. They blamed the king loudly for his hardihood in imprisoning the poor European Brahmans from Rome (that is the name they give the priests). To this they added some harsh and severe language, and told him they were amazed still more at the acts of the king, his master, when he knew that these fathers were near relations of the doctor Nicolas Manuchy, physician to the Mogul Emperor, his suzerain.
281.25.4
To this Da,ud Khan added the words: 'He is also my physician and my father.' These last words were said by the general because from his early youth, when I still lived in the Mogul country, he had called me 'father.' Falling into a great rage, he ordered the agent to put such pressure on his master that the captive fathers, the Roman Brahmans, should be set at liberty and the Christians allowed to live according to their religion. He added: 'If you do not obey my commands I will have you put to death, and wage continual war against your master. Do not fail thus to write to him. I also require him to restore all the property that has been confiscated from the Christians.' The envoy upon receiving these orders wrote in the above sense to his prince, and described the manner in which he had been treated by Da,ud Khan. The cause of this harshness was the persecution he had commenced against the Christians, and the confiscation of their goods. He prayed, therefore, first of all for the release of the Jesuit fathers, known as the Roman Brahmans, the cessation of all persecution of his Christian subjects, and the rebuilding of the ruined churches. As a consequence of these acts, he stood in danger of his life, and his majesty ran the risk of a war if these demands were not conceded.
281.25.5
While this correspondence was in progress, Da,ud Khan, the first minister, and all the other officers, gave indications of taking the matter very much to heart, and swore with most terrible strength at the malignity of those deeds at Tanjor. The crime was so much the greater for being perpetrated upon poor people living peaceably, who had never given their king any cause of complaint. Thus, no sooner had he received the letter of his envoy than the king sent forth edicts, whereby he permitted his fugitive Christian subjects to return unmolested to their houses, and there enjoy their possessions as heretofore. He ordered the release of those who were in prison, and all Christians were free to follow their religion. The two European fathers, the Roman Brahmans, were taken out of prison. But as the remedy came somewhat late, through the fault of the Jesuit fathers of Pondicherry, it appeared that one of them, attacked by fever and dysentery, had succumbed. He was a Portuguese, and his name was Simon Carvalho; but the other, a French father, was released, as well as all the other Christians.
281.25.6
I also received, in connection with this affair, a letter from Da,ud Khan, addressed to the King of Tanjor. It was full both of menaces and compliments; its purport was the securing to these poor persecuted men the liberty they had lost. I caused it to be conveyed to its destination, and by way of reply he (the king) announced that on the receipt of his envoy's letter he had complied with everything — the Christians were at rest, the Roman Brahmans at liberty — though it was known that they were not Brahmans, as they asserted, but of the same profession as those who dwelt at Pondicherry. In spite of this, the prince was terribly enraged against the Christians, even going so far as to write to all the kings, his neighbours, asking them to destroy everyone of that faith found within their states. But the letters and the menaces of Da,ud Khan put an end to all these disorders, and not a single prince was found willing to follow the king's suggestion.
281.25.7
Upon the departure of the Reverend Father Martin for Pondicherry, I determined to visit that place myself, and send some of my most trusted servants to Tanjor. The latter were to make inquiries as precise as possible into the truth of the reports about the persecution. My object was to satisfy myself whether what was said about the reverend French Jesuit fathers in regard to the Hindu ceremonies they practised was true or false. On this head [80] I assure you that the whole is quite true, following the report of my servants and the statements of certain merchants I know. In addition, there is also what I learnt about it from several French clerics and secular priests, who had seen the reports and found them to be quite consistent and in accordance with the truth.