Portuguese East Indies in the context of "Saint Thomas Christians"

The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani, Malankara Nasrani, or Nasrani Mappila, are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), who, for the most part, employ the Eastern and Western liturgical rites of Syriac Christianity. They trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. The Saint Thomas Christians had been historically a part of the hierarchy of the Church of the East but are now divided into several different Eastern Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Protestant, and independent bodies, each with their own liturgies and traditions. They are based in Kerala and they speak Malayalam. Nasrani or Nazarene is a Syriac term for Christians, who were among the first converts to Christianity in the Near East.

Historically, this community was organised as the Province of India of the Church of the East, by Patriarch Timothy I (780–823 AD) in the eighth century, it was served by bishops and a local dynastic archdeacon. In the 14th century, the Church of the East declined in the Near East, due to persecution from Tamerlane. Portuguese colonial overtures to bring St Thomas Christians into the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, administered by their Padroado system in the 16th century, led to the first of several rifts (schisms) in the community. The attempts of the Portuguese culminated in the Synod of Diamper, formally subjugating them to the Portuguese Padroado and imposing upon them the Roman Rite of worship. The Portuguese oppression provoked a violent resistance among the Thomasine Christians, that took expression in the Coonan Cross Oath protest in 1653. This led to the permanent schism among the Thomas' Christians of India, leading to the formation of Puthankoor or Puthankūttukār ("New allegiance" ) and Paḻayakūṟ or Pazhayakūr ("Old allegiance") factions. The Paḻayakūṟ comprise the present day Syro-Malabar Church and Chaldean Syrian Church which continue to employ the original East Syriac Rite. The Puthankoottukar, who continued to resist the Catholic missionaries, organized themselves as the independent Malankara Church and entered into a new communion with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, inheriting from them the West Syriac Rite, replacing the old East Syriac Rite liturgy.

Fort Kochi (/ˈkoʊtʃi/ KOH-chee, Malayalam: [cò:çi kō:tā]; Cochin Portuguese: Cochim de Baixo, European Portuguese: [kuˈʃĩ ðɨ ˈβaʃu]), formerly also known as Fort Cochin, is a region of Kochi city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the Fort Manuel of Kochi, the first European fort on Indian soil, controlled by the Portuguese East Indies. This is part of a handful of water-bound islands and islets toward the south-west of the mainland Kochi, and collectively known as Old Kochi or West Kochi. Adjacent to this is the locality of Mattancherry. In 1967, these three municipalities along with a few adjoining areas, were amalgamated to form the Kochi Municipal Corporation.

Fort Kochi is rich in heritage and culture, and is a prominent tourist destination for both domestic and international travellers- being ranked as ninth among the top 25 in National Geographic’s Top Tourist Destinations To Explore In 2020.

Bombay, also called Bom Bahia or Bom Baim in Indo-Portuguese creole, and Mumbai in the local language; is the financial and commercial capital of India and one of the most populous cities in the world. It's also the cosmopolitan city centre of the Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area, and the cultural base of the Bollywood film industry. At the time of the arrival of the Portuguese Armadas, Bombay was an archipelago of seven islands. Between the third century BCE and 1348, the islands came under the control of successive Hindu dynasties. The Delhi Sultanate had been ruling the area, along with Chaul, New Bombay, (Thana), and Damaon; with the local administration at Bassein (Vasai) since the raids of Malik Kafur in the Konkan region and across the Indian subcontinent. This territory in North Konkan, along with the Bombay islands were later taken over by the Sultan of Guzerat from 1391 to 1534, when he had declared the end of the his suzerainty to Delhi, after the Timurid invasion of it. Growing apprehensive of the power of the Moghal emperor Humayun, Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was obliged to sign the Treaty of Bassein on 23 December 1534; according to which, the Seven Islands of Bombay, Fort San Sebastian of Bassein in the strategic town of Bassein (Vasai), and its dependencies were offered to the Portuguese East Indies. The places were only later officially surrendered on 25 October 1535, by the Sultan of Guzerat.

The Portuguese in Goa-Anjediva and Bombay-Bassein were actively involved in the foundation and growth of their Latin Christian religion in Bombay and the neighbouring area. They called the island by various names, which finally took the written form Bom Baim, when the islands were leased to several Portuguese officers during their regime. Portuguese Franciscans and Jesuits built several churches in and around Bombay (Mumbai); the prominent ones are the St. Michael's Church at Mahim, St. John the Baptist Church at Andheri, St. Andrew's Church, the Basilica of Mount Bandra (Bombay) at Bandra, the Gloria Church at Byculla, & the Holy Spirit Church Nandakhal at Virar. The Portuguese also built several fortifications around the city, like the Bombay Castle, Castella de Aguada (Castelo da Aguada or Bandra Fort) and Madh Fort.

The Philippine dynasty (Portuguese: Dinastia Filipina), also known as the Third Dynasty of Portugal (Portuguese: Terceira Dinastia) is the name given to the House of Habsburg (Portuguese: Casa de Habsburgo, Casa da Áustria) in the context of its rule of Portugal between 1581 and 1640, during which Portugal was one of the many possessions of the Spanish Monarchy in what has been dubbed by historians as the "Iberian Union". It consisted of three kings: Philip I (the dynasty's founder and namesake per Portuguese historiographical tradition), Philip II and Philip III.

The history of Portugal from the 1580 succession crisis to the House of Braganza monarchs was a period of transition. At its beginning, under the House of Aviz, the Portuguese Empire spice trade was near its height. It continued to enjoy widespread influence after Vasco da Gama reached the East Indies by sailing around Africa in 1497–1498. Vasco da Gama's achievement completed the exploratory efforts inaugurated by Henry the Navigator, and opened an oceanic route for the profitable spice trade into Europe that bypassed the Middle East.