Captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam - Under The Wodeyar Rajas and Hyder Ali

Under The Wodeyar Rajas and Hyder Ali

By 1686, Seringapatam, capital of the Kingdom of Mysore, was home to a community of more than 400 Catholics who were severely harassed in the following two decades when their churches were destroyed and the priest's house confiscated. This destruction was undertaken in the name of the Wodeyar king, Kanthirava Narasaraja I by his finance minister. The priest's house was eventually returned to the church in 1709. Sometime between 1700 and 1717, another church was built in Rampura, a suburb of Seringapatam, in the face of local opposition. Relations between the Wodeyars and the Mangalorean Catholics improved until 1717, when an anti-Christian outburst led to the expulsion of the resident priest who was thereafter forbidden to preach. Several more anti-Christian demonstrations followed, but by 1736 relations had once more improved between the two groups.

Hyder Ali, born in 1721 or 1722 at Budikote in the northern part of Mysore State, joined the Mysorean Army and distinguished himself in the 1749 Siege of Devanahalli. He took part in the Carnatic wars of (1751–1755) and gained in-depth experience of warfare. Hyder Ali rapidly rose to power at the Mysore court and soon became prime minister and general of the king. From 1761 onwards, he took de facto control of the throne of the Mysore Kingdom through the Wodeyar dynasty. In 1763, he occupied Mangalore and Canara, but maintained amicable relations with the Christians. Historian Severine Silva states, "the general relations between Hyder and Christians form a chapter which has been entirely lost." Hyder was close friends with two Goan Catholic priests, Bishop Noronha, and Fr. Joachim Miranda. Sehwarts, a Protestant missionary, also lived at the court of Hyder. However, Hyder was also involved in suppressing the Jesuit order.

Hyder's army included several Catholic soldiers and he allowed Christians to build a church within the Seringapatam Fort where French generals offered prayers and priests visited. Mangalorean historian A.L.P. D'Souza mentions that Hyder had also used Canara Christians for administrative purposes. In accordance with the two treaties concluded with Portugal, Hyder allowed Portuguese priests to settle disputes among the Christians. Despite this, the Christians in general hated Hyder Ali because of the heavy taxes they were made to pay to the king's treasury.

In February 1768, the British captured Mangalore and Canara from Hyder. At the end of the same year, Hyder, along with his son Tipu Sultan, defeated the British and recaptured Mangalore. After the conquest, Hyder was informed that the Mangalorean Catholics had helped the British in their conquest of Mangalore. Hyder believed that this behaviour amounted to treachery against the sovereign. Summoning a Portuguese officer and several Christian priests from Mangalore, he asked for suggestions as to how the Mangalorean Catholics should be punished. The Portuguese officer suggested the death penalty for those Catholics who had helped the British, as it was the standard punishment for betraying a sovereign. Rather than follow this advice, Hyder chose a diplomatic stance and imprisoned Christians found guilty of treachery instead of executing them. Later, he opened negotiations with the Portuguese. Agreement was reached and suspicions against the clergy and the Christians were removed and they were no longer chastised. During Hyder's regime, Roman Catholicism in Mangalore and the Mangalorean Catholic community continued to flourish.

Historians claim that Hyder was extremely tolerant towards the Christians. According to historian Severine Silva, he followed the same policy of religious tolerance towards Christians as he had from the beginning, even though the Christians had revolted against him. The Second Anglo-Mysore War began in 1780 and led to Hyder's death on 7 December 1782, at Arcot. Afterwards the British recaptured the fort at Mangalore.