page_title: Captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam
section_title: Confiscation of property and destruction of churches
hierarchical_section_title: Captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam / Confiscation of property and destruction of churches
caption_attribution_description: English: Sultan Battery at Mangalore.
context_page_description: The Captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam was a 15-year imprisonment of Mangalorean Catholics and other Christians at Seringapatam in the Indian region of Canara by Tipu Sultan, the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. Estimates of the number of captives range from 30,000 to 80,000 but the generally accepted figure is 60,000, as stated by Tipu in the Sultan-ul-Tawarikh. The captivity was the most disconsolate period in the community's history. Its cause is disputed, however it is generally agreed by historians that it was purely due to religious reasons, as Tipu stated:
  "To spare them was mercy, to honour them with Islam a favour. No fault being imputed except them being Christians."
  The Mangalorean Catholic community in Mangalore flourished during the regime of Tipu's father, Hyder Ali. Soon after Tipu inherited the territory in January 1784, he issued orders to seize the Christians in Canara, confiscate their estates, and deport them to Seringapatam. His orders were carried out on 24 February 1784. Twenty thousand Christians died during the journey from Mangalore to Seringapatam.
context_section_description: On Tipu's orders, all estates and properties of the Christians were seized, and distributed among his soldiers. Churches and historical records were also destroyed. The seizures were so sudden that the Christians had no time to prepare for their departure or to dispose of what little property they possessed. The value of property confiscated is estimated by Fr. Angelus Francis Xavier Maffei, an Italian Jesuit, at Rs. 500,000.
  Tipu then ordered the destruction of all 27 churches in Canara. According to oral tradition, the Idgah mosque in Mangalore was constructed with stones from the destroyed Milagres Church. Other Christian establishments that were spared were converted to storehouses, offices, or homes for wealthy Muslims. A popular fortification in Mangalore, the Sultan Battery, built in 1784 by Tipu Sultan to prevent English warships from entering the Gurupura river, was constructed with stones taken from destroyed churches. The bells from the demolished churches eventually found their way into a number of temples in the area. After being informed of the impending roundup by a friend in Tipu's government, Fr. Joachim Miranda disbanded St. Joseph's Seminary and sent the seminarians to Verapoly, from where some proceeded to Goa while some joined the Augustinian order.
  A few buildings escaped destruction, including a small chapel at Shantigramma near Hassan, built in 1768 and said to have been saved by Tipu's Muslim officers on the pretext that it was used to store cotton. Tipu also spared the Monte Mariano church at Farangipet, on account of his father's friendship with Fr. Joachim Miranda.
  Tipu is said to have given orders to preserve the church at Baleguli, near Ancola, in gratitude for a cure by a Christian woman while at Ancola. The Igreja da Santa Cruz (Portuguese: Church of Holy Cross) at Hosabettu was saved through the intercession of the local Jain chiefs. In Seringapatam, a whole battalion of Catholics under an officer named Michael Surappa, upon hearing of Tipu's order to destroy the Seringapatam church, called their fellow soldiers to arms. Surappa, a veteran of Hyder's army, is credited with telling the assembled Christians, "I shall remain a Christian in spite of all the orders of Tipu Sultan." The church at Kirangur was spared, although the battalion gradually dispersed.
caption: The Sultan Battery in Mangalore, built in 1784, was constructed from the stones of the destroyed churches.
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