Gandaulim (Ilhas) Explained

Official Name:Gandaulim
Native Name:Gaundalim
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:India Goa
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: India
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Goa
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:North Goa
Subdivision Type3:Sub District
Subdivision Name3:Ilhas
Leader Title:Sarpanch
Leader Name:unknown
Established Date:1540s
Population As Of:2021
Population Total:approx. 300
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Demonym:Gandaulicar
Demographics Type1:Languages
Demographics1 Title1:Official
Demographics1 Info1:Konkani
Demographics1 Title2:Also spoken (understood)
Demographics1 Info2:English, Marathi, Hindi
Demographics1 Title3:Historical
Demographics1 Info3:Portuguese
Demographics Type2:Religions
Demographics2 Title1:Dominant
Demographics2 Info1:Christianity
Demographics2 Title2:Minor
Demographics2 Info2:Hinduism
Demographics2 Title3:Historical
Demographics2 Info3:Roman Catholicism
Timezone:IST
Utc Offset:+5:30
Coordinates:15.5124°N 73.9414°W
Elevation M:8
Postal Code Type:Postcode
Postal Code:403505
Area Code Type:Telephone code
Area Code:08343
Government Type:Panchayat

Gandaulim is a village located on the western bank of the Cumbarjua Canal, within Ilhas in the state of Goa, India. Some Croatian writers have claimed that it was a colonial outpost of the Republic of Ragusa.

History

Gandaulim might have been a spice trading post of the Republic of Ragusa in the early modern period.

In the annals of 1605, Jakov Lukarević noted that Ragusan merchants invested in decorating a local church. Portuguese traveler Gomes Catão documented the town to have a population of 12,000, where wealthy ladies were carried to the churches by slaves in canopies.[1] Catão also remarked the church to be modeled on an eponymous church in Dubrovnik. These claims have since been adopted into the popular memory of the inhabitants of Gandaulim, and Ragusans are now credited for the very construction of the church; however, the factual accuracy of this remains disputed.

Some historians have used these arguments to make assumptions about the existence of a Ragusan colony.[2] Serbian economic historian Nicholas Mirkovich had lamented in 1943 about the lack of contemporary Ragusan sources to draft a history of their exploits in India.[3]

Interest in the connection was revived in 1999, when Croatian Indologist Zdravka Matišić discovered a reference to ties between Ragusa and Goa by chance while studying Sanskrit texts in India.[4] [5] That same year, Croatian author Karmen Bašić noted that while nothing definitive could be said about Ragusan arrival and departure from Goa, there was a "substantial body of evidence and sources vouching for Ragusa’s presence" and its role in the global spice trade, though the notion of a colony linked to the Saint Blaise (São Brás) church at Gandaulim remained "somewhat of a mystery".

Infrastructure

In 2016, a bridge was constructed on the outskirts of the village, over the canal. This bridge now links the islands of Ilhas de Goa to Cumbarjua.[6] [7]

Gallery

Gandaulim was a site of a historical fortress, which was demolished in early 21st century for a road expansion project.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tomas. Lora. 2014-05-19. Distant liaisons. 2021-09-20. Himal Southasian. en-GB.
  2. Andrijanić. Ivan. 26 February 2018. Hrvatska i Indija: Kulturno-povijesne i gospodarsko-političke veze. Zbornik sveučilišta Libertas. hr. Zagreb, Croatia. Libertas international university. 3. 351. 2584-6167. U Goi, na zapadnoj obali indijskoga potkontinenta, trgovci iz Dubrovnika bogato su uresili crkvu Sv. Vlaha (São Braz). Na temelju toga svjedočanstva, koje navodi Jakov Lukarević (1605),[21] neki su istraživači pretpostavili postojanje dubrovačke kolonije São Braz u blizini Goe, ali za potvrdu te tvrdnje za sad nema dovoljno dokaza (Bašić, 1999: 85–93).. 3.
  3. Mirkovich. Nicholas. 1943. Ragusa and the Portuguese Spice Trade. Slavonic and East European Review. American Series. 2. 1. 174–187. 10.2307/3020140. 3020140. 1535-0940.
  4. News: Why this Goan village will root for Croatia. The Times of India. 14 July 2018 .
  5. Web site: The Croats of Goa, India. 27 May 2018.
  6. Web site: Gaundalim Bridge, Goa | TPF. www.tpf.eu.
  7. Web site: Gaundalim, Cumbarjua bridges opened for traffic. The Goan EveryDay.