6) Portuguese" Estado da India" or" State of India"

After Vasco da Gama discovered the sea-route to India,  the Portuguese rule in India started in 1505 with the headquarters in Goa from 1510.

The territories ruled by Portugal in India were called “India Portuguesa” and included Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu. These territories are sometimes collectively referred to as Goa.

Later the name "Estado Da India" or  “State of India" was adopted and included all Portuguese territories in the Indian Ocean from Southern Africa to South – East Asia governed by a Viceroy or Governor from Goa since 1510. Mozambique got it’s own Government in 1752 and in 1844 the Portuguese Government  in Goa stopped governing  Macau, Solor and Timor. The 16^th century Portuguese possessions were considered as vice-kingdoms  and the Governors had the title of “vice-rei”  or “Governador” and later on  “Governador  e Capitao-Geral da India “. There were more than a few hundred Viceroys and Governors and some families were represented several times with different Coats of Arms of the nobility of that time since the 1600s.

 A seventeenth century grave at the ruins of St. Augustine's complex, showing the coat of Arms of the Portuguese dignitary resting here.

 

Another coat-of-Arms on a grave of about the same period, at the same venue.

Another Coat -of-Arms at the same complex.

A grave at the Bom Jesus/Se Cathedral complex showing the Coat of Arms of the Dignitary resting here.

Another coat-of Arms at the same complex from an old grave.

Seven years after India gained Independence from the British, Dadra & Nagar Haveli became independent in 1954, primarily due to the efforts of “The United front of Goans” in Dadra and “Azad Gomantak Dal" in Haveli.

Goa, Daman & Diu , on the other hand were “liberated” by the Indian government in December 1961 and  all these territories also became a part of the Indian Republic  in 1962. Since May 1987, Goa became the 25^th State of India while Daman & Diu are administered as Union Territories.

While these territories had various coats-of-arms of the Nobility as well as the State the following coat of Arms was the last one adopted by the Portuguese Government in 1935.

 Obverse side of a one escudo coin  from 1958 ( one of the last few mintages of  India Portuguesa as Goa became a part of the Indian Republic in 1962)
mentioning the legend " Estado Da India" 1 Escudo.

The coin shows the emblem which was adopted in 1935 and in vogue till the time of Portuguese leaving Goa and its other territories in India, showed a blason ( which means “A coat of Arms” or a “shield in Heraldry “) which had been inspired by a design by Francisco Coelho in the 17th century .  The design shows Sable in chief (vertical lines criss-crossing each other) and a castle Gules ( the neck of a column or heraldic colours which was dyed in red on the Flag ) as well as an "Or", which is a water wheel above the Gules ( a symbolic reminder of the Catherine Wheel i.e. the wheel on which St.Catherine who was imprisoned by the Emperor Maximian (r. 286-305) was supposed to be broken, instead the wheel  itself is said to have broken up upon her touch  and she was , therefore, beheaded to carry out the Royal orders)

 

The shield is supported by the crowned armillary-sphere (a celestial globe consisting merely of metal rings representing the Equator,the tropics, Arctic and Antarctic circles revolving on an axis) which was common for representing all the achievements of the Portuguese colonies across the World.

 

  Reverse side of the two coins in my collection  from 1958 and 1959 showing the legend "Republica Portuguesa"

Some of the other  mintages  from Goa , coins of which I have come across are 3 escudos,  30 centavos and 10 centavos, among others.

Posted on 02.10.2015:

King Carlos I of Portugal: (28.09.1863-01.02.1908): (Reign from 19.10.1889 – 01.02.1908), variously nicknamed “the Diplomat” or “the Martyr” was the King of Portugal and the Algarves.

He was a patron of science and the Arts and took personal interest in deep-sea and maritime exploration, publishing his own account of his studies in this field.

He was the first Portuguese King to meet a violent death since Sebastian of Portugal in 1578.

On 01.02.1908, while he was returning with the Royal family from the palace of Vila Vicosa to Lisbon two Republican activists – Alfredo Costa & Manuel Buica - assassinated him when he was travelling in an open carriage while passing through the Terreiro do Paco near the river Tagus killing Carlos instantly and mortally wounding his legal heir – Luis Filipe, while another Prince – Manuel- was hit in the arm. The Queen alone escaped injury. The assassins were shot immediately by the accompanying police and body-guards, while an innocent bystander was also killed in the confusion. Carlos I was succeeded by his son Manuel who was the last of the Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Dynasty as well as the last King of Portugal.

 (The undermentioned Carlos I silver coin is from the collection of Jayant Biswas. This coin was issued at the Bombay Mint (present day Mumbai Mint):

 On the Obverse of this one “Rupia” silver coin is mentioned the inscription “CARLOS I REI DE PORTUGAL” (meaning “Carlos I King of Portugal”). The year of issue is mentioned as “1903”. The initials of the designer/engraver of the King’s bust “V. Alves” (Valancio Alves) appears below the King’s bust/portrait.

 On the Reverse of this one “Rupia” silver coin is mentioned the inscription “India Portugueza” and the denomination of the coin “UMA RUPIA” (meaning “One Rupee).

The specifications of this coin are:

Denomination: “Uma Rupia” (meaning “One Rupee”); Metal: Silver – 0.917 Fineness; Weight: 11.66 gms; Thickness: 1.80 mm; Shape: Round.