Pre-Portuguese era

A Dominican missionary by the name Jordanus Catalani, who was either Catalan or Occitan (southern French), began evangelising the locals in Sopara, Thana & Kalyan-Dombivli towns of north Konkan in around 1323 AD. Sopara was an ancient port and an international trading center.^[4]

Portuguese era

After ushering in the Age of Discovery, Portuguese Armadas under the command of Vasco Da Gama found their way to India in 1498 via the Cape Route. In the next few years they acquired many colonial possessions in what would become the Portuguese East Indies; their main aims were to capitalise on the spice trade and promotion of Christian missions to convert indigenous peoples,^[1] for which the Primate of the East Indies was founded. Although Brahmins and other higher castes were ceremoniously converted by the Portuguese Church, and were treated with favour and distinction,^{[1][verification needed]} most of them continued to engage in agriculture, fishing, and other rural occupations handed down by their ancestors, and received neither secular nor religious education.^[1] Among the converts were a number of descendants of the Ancient Indian Christian community reportedly founded by Bartholomew the Apostle.^[1] They coalesced into a community under Portuguese rule^[1] known as Norteiros and later as "Portuguese Christians"^[1] or "Bombay Portuguese" in British Bombay.

The Franciscans spearheaded the evangelisation of the "Province of the North" (Província do Norte)^[5] headquartered at Fort San Sebastian of Bassein, but the fort's officials were subordinate to the viceroy in the capital of Velha Goa. From 1534 to 1552, a priest by the name António do Porto converted over 10,000 people, built a dozen churches, convents, and a number of orphanages hospitals and seminaries. Prominent among the converts were two yogis from the Kanheri Caves who became known as Paulo Raposo and Francisco de Santa Maria. They introduced Christianity to their fellow yogis, converting many in the process.^[5] Another notable convert during this period was the Brahmin astrologer Parashuram Joshi, who was baptized on 8 September 1565 with the name Henrique da Cunha. Joshi's conversion was followed by that of 250 Hindus, including over 50 Brahmins.^[5] In Salsette, the priest Manuel Gomes converted over 6,000 Hindus in Bandra and was known as the Apostle of Salsette.^[5]

In 1573, 1,600 people were converted. Beginning in 1548, Jesuits in Bassein (Baçaim) and Bandra converted many upper-caste Hindus; Bassein recorded 9,400 baptisms in 1588.^[5] The Jesuit superior Gonçalo Rodrigues baptised between 5,000 and 6,000 Hindus in Thane (Tana), many of whom were orphans or the young children of lower-caste Hindus who were sold by their parents.^[5] In 1634, Bassein had sixty-three friars, thirty Franciscans, fifteen Jesuits, ten Dominicans, and eight Augustines.^[5] By the end of the 16th century the Catholic population of the Portuguese Province of the North was 10,000 to 15,000, centered mainly in and around Bassein.^[6]

After the Province of the North came under Maratha occupation in 1739 and Catholicism was under severe threat from the Brahmin Peshwas, the native East Indian clergy under the Vicar General at Kurla managed and nursed the community back to a flourishing population^[6] in British Bombay.

British and modern eras

Changes occurred under British rule.^[1] On 11 May 1661, the Marriage Treaty of Charles Stuart II of England and Catherine de Braganza, daughter of John IV of Portugal gave Bombay to the British Empire as intended, since the British takeover of Surat (allegedly^{[clarification needed]} as part of Catherine's dowry to Charles). A weakened Portugal, no longer a part of the Crown of Spain, had to oblige. Nevertheless, parts of present-day Bombay (such as Bandra, Thane and Vasai) remained Portuguese well into the first third of the 18th century.^[7] Since the early days of the English East India Company, there were no other Indian Christians in the North Konkan except the East Indian Catholics. Employment intended for Christians was monopolised by the East Indians. With railways and steamships came immigrants from Goa who were also called "Portuguese Christians". The British adopted a designation which would distinguish the Christians of North Konkan who were British subjects, from the Goan Catholics who were Portuguese subjects, (the Mangalorean Catholics were no longer Portuguese subjects). For Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, the Christians of North Konkan changed their name from "Portuguese Christians" to "East Indians" to impress upon the British in Bombay, that they were the earliest British subjects in India, and were entitled to certain natural rights and privileges in comparison with immigrants.^{[8][third-party source needed]}

The Bombay East Indian Association was founded on 26 May 1887 to advance the education, employment, rights and economic development of the East Indians. P F Gomes, who was knighted by Pope Leo XIII in 1888, was its first president and J L Britto its first secretary. D G D'Almeida donated ₹100,000 to establish an education fund.

During the 1960s, the Archdiocese of Bombay estimated that there were 92,000 East Indians in Bombay: 76,000 in suburban Bombay and 16,000 in the city.^[1]