No. 140 The Trusty Servant
Ralph Fitch, the only one to complete a tour of the East after his incarceration in Goa. Eventually returning home more than seven years after setting out, Fitch discovered that his family had already legally declared him dead! His exploits caused quite a stir and were included in Hakluyt’ s 1598 second edition.
Fitch, Stephens and Hakluyt all made contributions that, by the turn of the 17 th century, had resulted in lavish publicity for India. So the claims that Stephens contributed to the creation of the East India Company have some small basis, although it could simply be that there are so few recorded instances of pre-17 th century travel that commentators have joined the dots to arrive at convenient conclusions.
His influence on travel writing might be speculative, but there is no doubting the legacy Stephens left in his adopted home in Goa. From his arrival in 1579, Stephens spent 40 years at the Salcete mission( where the massacre had occurred in July 1583). He remarked that by 1581 he could deliver the sacrament to Goanese converts in the local Konkani language and over the course of his teaching he wrote many works in that language, of which the three most prominent are:
Doutrina Crista( written first, but printed 1622) which was a translation in to local language of a Catechism for teaching to converts. In English it means Teachings of Christianity.
But the new Christian pupils were not satisfied with the Catechism and so for the benefit of his Konkani flock, Stephens wrote the Purana Chistão in a mixture of Marathi and Konkani. The puranas are epic poems that were used to tell mythical and religious stories. Stephens adopted the same style to tell the story of Jesus. The Purana( full name Discurso sobre a vinda do Salvador ão Mundo) was completed in 1616.
The Arte da Lingoa Canarim( Konkani Language Grammar) was printed and revised after his death, but such is the importance of these three works that Stephens is known as the‘ Father of the
Thomas Stephens’ s Doutrina Crista
Konkani Language’. It remains one of the official languages recognised by the Constitution of India.
Stephens died at Salcete in 1619.
Was he the First Englishman in India? Possibly. It depends whether you can rely upon William of Malmesbury, who wrote that Sighelmus, Bishop of Sherborne was sent by King Alfred in 883 to Rome and, after presenting Alfred’ s gifts to the Pope, proceeded to the Indies to visit the tomb of Saint Thomas of Meliapur bringing back precious stones and spices.
Was Thomas Stephens the first Englishman to travel to India by the sea route? Probably. The only other contenders would be undocumented English sailors aboard Dutch or Portuguese ships.
Whatever the answer, it was not a race that Stephens took part in. But he does deserve a more prominent place in our history.
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