The Portuguese in the Creole Indian Ocean : Essays in Historical Cosmopolitanism

"This monograph is an exploration of the historical legacy of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean, in particular in Goa, Macau, Melaka, and Malabar. Instead of fixing the gaze on either the colonial or the indigenous, it attempts to scrutinise a Creole space that is rooted in Indian Ocean cosmopolitanism"-- Provided by publisher "When the Portuguese first entered the Indian Ocean centuries ago, they intruded upon an ancient Creole and cosmopolitan world. Also, they entered a world with age-old connections to the Mediterranean. This book explores some of the intriguing interstices of colonial and other spaces in the ocean, through a scrutiny of personages, texts, and authors between the sixteenth and twenty-first centuries, in a variety of locales, namely, Goa (India), Macau (China), Malabar (Kerala, India), and Melaka (Malaysia). As the narrative goes back and forth between the ethnographic present and the past, it unearths the traces of old connected histories, such as those that link South and Southeast Asia. Furthermore, it explores similarities and differences with the Atlantic, especially in what concerns creolization and cosmopolitanism. It is an attempt by a Brazilian scholar to apply perspectives developed in the Atlantic--in particular, creolization--to Indian Ocean spaces and themes"-- Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Introduction....Pages 1-39 Revisiting the Creole Port City....Pages 41-56 The Malabar Coast (Kerala) and Cosmopolitanism Cosmopolitanism....Pages 57-87 Revisiting Creoles and Other Languages in the Lusophone Indian Ocean....Pages 89-114 (Dis)connections in Macau and Melaka: Constructing a Lusophone Indian Ocean....Pages 115-134 The Muslim and Portuguese Indian Ocean: A Reappraisal of Cosmopolitanism in the Early Modern Era....Pages 135-165 Conclusion....Pages 167-178 Back Matter....Pages 179-224 "Cover"--"Half-Title"--"Title" -- "Copyright" -- "Contents" -- "Preface" -- "Acknowledgments" -- "1 Introduction" -- "2 Revisiting the Creole Port City" -- "3 The Malabar Coast (Kerala) and Cosmopolitanism" -- "4 Revisiting Creoles and Other Languages in the Lusophone Indian Ocean" -- "5 (Dis)connections in Macau and Melaka: Constructing a Lusophone Indian Ocean" -- "6 The Muslim and Portuguese Indian Ocean: A Reappraisal of Cosmopolitanism in the Early Modern Era" -- "7 Conclusion" -- "Notes" -- "References."