Indo-Portuguese school, XVIII century.

Indo-Portuguese School, Goa, XVIII century.
"The Good Shepherd".
Ivory carving.
Measurements: 11,5 x 5 x 5 cm.
Attached CITES permit.

In 1498, Vasco da Gama arrived in Kerala, being one of the first Europeans to set foot on Indian territory. The intention of the Portuguese was to establish colonies and take control of the spice trade. But it would be in Old Goa where they would install a permanent colony. Albuquerque did not want Goa to be only a naval base, but to centralize the Portuguese dominion of the Indian Ocean. He made it the capital of the Portuguese Viceroyalty of Asia, which included India, Malacca, Indonesia, East Timor, the Persian Gulf, Macao in China and the commercial bases in Japan. Goa established itself as the main market for goods from all over the East. Each street offered a different kind of products: pearls and coral from Bahrain, porcelain and silks from China, spices from the Malay archipelago and fabrics or manufactured goods from Portugal. The Portuguese Empire declared Catholicism as the official religion and inhabitants who were reluctant to convert would have the option of leaving the colony. Those who left the territory, mostly Hindus, settled in Mangalore or Karnataka. After Goa became part of the Portuguese Empire, it was visited by Spanish missionaries, led by the Jesuit St. Francis Xavier, who was in India between 1542 and 1552, beginning to preach and inculcate Catholic doctrine in the territory.