Two events separated by half a century and by the seven seas have had a profound effect on Goans. The first was the Opinion Poll January, 1967. Leaves won. Goa retained its separate identity; within India. The next, Brexit poll June, 2016. Leave won. Britain regained its separate identity; within Europe. I have been flooded with requests from friends and foes alike, on and off the net, as to what the future holds for Goans with Portuguese Passports, post Brexit. I am no authority on the subject. But here, is my two paise.
There are a few clues as to what the fate of Goans could be. The first; if one travels to Dona Paula, one sees a British cemetery, immaculately maintained, on the left, just before the gates of Raj Bhavan. The second lies in British Parliament. Ernesto Soares, a Portuguese citizen of Goan ancestry, was elected to the House of Commons on a Liberal Party ticket in the year 1900, and later became Junior Lord of the Treasury. The questions; how did a British cemetery come to be in Dona Paula? How did a Goan get elected as an MP and become a minister in England?
To find the answers one has to travel back to the fourteenth century, when Britain entered into two treaties with Portugal being the Anglo Portuguese Treaty of 1373 and the Treaty of Windsor ratified, on ninth May 1386. The treaties were written in Latin, in an era when English and Portuguese were yet to evolve into languages they subsequently came to be.
The Treaty of 1373 laid down:
“It is cordially agreed that if, in time to come, one of the kings or his heir shall need the support of the other, or his help, and in order to get such assistance applies to his ally in lawful manner, the ally shall be bound to give aid and succour to the other, so far as he is able (without any deceit, fraud, or pretence) to the extent required by the danger to his ally’s realms, lands, domains, and subjects; and he shall be firmly bound by these present alliances to do this.”
Analyzing the Treaty of Windsor, Ben Trowbridge writes in History’s Unparalleled Alliance:
“It is 630 years since a treaty of alliance between King Richard II of England and King John I of Portugal was ratified at Windsor on the 9th May 1386 (The National Archives: E 30/310). Though it is not the earliest of the Anglo-Portuguese treaties that survive, the Treaty of Windsor is significant because it effectively cemented and strengthened ties between the two kingdoms and helped convert a fledgling alliance into a more permanent legacy of history.
The terms of the treaty included provisions for guaranteeing the mutual security of both nations and strengthening of commercial ties such as the right of both countries to trade on the terms enjoyed by the subjects of that country. There were even clauses encouraging freedom of movement and settlement between the two countries, as subjects of either country had the right to dwell in the domains of the other……”
He goes on:
“The reason that the alliance did not fizzle out was the marriage of Philippa, daughter of the duke of Lancaster to John I of Portugal in 1387 which added a crucial dynastic element to the alliance between the two kingdoms. Moreover the two nations were enjoying the commercial benefits that the treaty endorsed. Portuguese government records, for instance, show that the city of Oporto was profiting from the trade in cloth and a wealth of other commodities from England passing through its port and gates.
There is also evidence of settlement encouraged by the treaty in England during the 15th century from ‘alien’ subsidy records incorporated into the England’s Immigrants: 1330-1550 Database. There are 20 individuals identified as Portuguese listed in the alien subsidies for the 1440s in the National Archives record series E 179.”
So, the relations between Portugal and Britain are governed by these treaties and will remain unaffected by British withdrawal from Europe. The treaties, as can be seen above, provide for special trade relationship between the two countries, allow citizens of one country to settle in the other and even provides subsidy (now called dole) to the settlers.
It is this alliance that Britain invoked in 1800 to send its troops to Goa to pre-empt a French takeover following Napolean’s attack on Portugal. And this was the first look that the British had at Goa. And they liked what they saw. They found in the Goan what they were looking for; non vegetarian cooks, bakers, musicians, clerks. And professionals too. When the British quit Goa about quarter century later, they left their dead buried in the cemetery at Dona Paula. Goans followed them to British India and later to British East Africa. So, the Goan relations with the British go back at least two centuries.
Ernesto Soares who traces his roots to Bardez (Ucassaim Village?) and whose family was originally a Gaitonde (from Quelossim?) came to be elected to British Parliament because of the rights conferred under this treaty on Portuguese citizens.
The Treaty continued to be invoked by the parties throughout the centuries.
Portugal announced on 1.9.1939 that the Anglo Portuguese alliance remained intact and allowed the British to use its facilities during the Second World War. Thus, the Island of Madeira was used by the Allies to evacuate 2,500 combatants from Gibraltar.
From 1943 till the end of the war the Island of Azores became an Air Force base for the Allies. Speaking in the House of Commons, Winston Churchill in October, 1943 described the unique and ancient friendship between England and Portugal as an alliance “without parallel in world history”. Later, again in 1982 Britain was allowed to use the facilities of the Azores for the Royal Navy during the Falkland war.
Thus the oldest treaty in the world continues to be in force. And so does the right of Portuguese citizens to dwell and work in England. Thus Goans in England holding Portuguese passports, are consequently batting on a safe wicket. For Goans the implication is that “Goencho Saib” continues to protect and bless them wherever they be.
(Radharao F. Gracias is a senior Trial Court Advocate, a former Independent MLA, a political activist, with a reputation for oratory and interests in history and ornithology.)
