Croatian India or Ragusan India consisted of the settlement and trading post of São Braz on the eastern tip of the Island of Goa. The colony was  established by Croat merchants in 1530–35, shortly after the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510. It was  economically successful for a while, mainly dealing in Indian spices and textiles. However,  clashes with the Portuguese, unstable conditions at home and the 1667 Dubrovnik earthquake finally put an end to any chances of the colony's survival. Background In 1999, Zoravka Matišić, a Croatian Indologist studying Sanskrit in India, chanced upon historical records that Croatians once lived in Gandaulim, a village set amidst sylvan surroundings just about 3 km from Old Goa. Matišić came down to widen her knowledge. At the Rua de Ourém archives, she came upon an artistic sketch of the entrance of the Gaudelupchar fort and from the Bishop's Palace she came to know the location of the site of her search. Moments of ecstasy awaited her at Gandaulim when she saw that the church of São Braz, a small chapel built in June 1541 and elevated to a parish church in 1563 by Archbishop D Frei Alexio de Menezes (1595-1607). The petite church resembled so much the church of Svete Vlaho (São Braz) in Dubrovnik in her country. Rise From the 14th century onwards, Eastern Europe was a collection of independent trading towns of which the most prominent was Dubrovnik. These trading towns had links across the world and it was the quest for Indian spices and textiles that brought traders from Dubrovnik to Goa. They settled where the Gandaulim village stands today. Some sources suggest that a Ragusan named Melik Jesa Dubrovcanin, came to India in (pre-Portuguese) 1480 and became a Viceroy in Gujarat. He also built a palace for himself at Diu.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% However, most Dubrovniker merchants arrived in Portuguese Goa sometime between 1530 - 1535 AD. They founded their colony of São Braz - named after their patron St. Blaise, on the Konkan Coast in Goa, India. At its peak, the colony had around 12 000 residents. The construction of Church of São Braz was initiated in 1553 and was completed around 1563 AD. The church bell was brought from Dubrovnik. There was even a palace or fortress designed by the Croatians in that location, which was recently demolished for a road expansion project.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Decline Sao Braz was a thriving colony until the 1570s when trade between the Croatians and Indians declined. As the trade slowed down settlers started to move on from the area. The plague that destroyed Old Goa also had the people of Gandaulim fleeing for their life across the river to the islands of StEstevam and Cumbarjua. The Portuguese had also lost their monopoly over the spice trade to the British and Dutch and Goa was no longer the dominant trading port. The last straw was the great earthquake of 1667 which destroyed Dubrovnik and its prosperity. After the earthquake it no longer had the financial or military power to trade with India or establish any presence here. Legacy Not many people who visit Goa know that in the village of Gandaulim is the St. Blaise Church which is all that remains of Goa's (and India's) Croatian connection. When it was built around 1563 CE, The Church of Sao Braz was  the replica of the original Church of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1667 CE. The replica church that you see in Goa survives, while the original in Dubrovnik has been rebuilt several times. The painstaking research of Zoravka motivated the visit of a 15-member Parliamentary delegation from the Republic of Croatia, accompanied by Ambassador Zoran Andrić, to the quaint little Gandaulim village.
Croatian India or Ragusan India is the alleged settlement and trading post of São Braz on the eastern tip of the Island of Goa. The colony was allegedly established by Croat merchants in 1530–35, shortly after the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510. It was allegedly economically successful for a while, mainly dealing in Indian spices and textiles. However, alleged clashes with the Portuguese, unstable conditions at home and the 1667 Dubrovnik earthquake finally put an end to any chances of the colony's survival. Background In 1999, Zoravka Matišić, a Croatian Indologist studying Sanskrit in India, claimed.that she had found historical records that Croatians once lived in Gandaulim, a village set amidst sylvan surroundings just about 3 km from Old Goa. Matišić came down to widen her knowledge. At the Rua de Ourém archives, she came upon an artistic sketch of the entrance of the Gaudelupchar fort and from the Bishop's Palace she decided that was the location of the site of her search. She visited Gandaulim and saw that the church of São Braz, a small chapel built in June 1541 and elevated to a parish church in 1563 by Archbishop D Frei Alexio de Menezes (1595-1607). She claimed that the church resembled the church of Svete Vlaho (São Braz) in Dubrovnik in her country. %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Legacy The St. Blaise Church is allegedly all that remains of Goa's (and India's) Croatian connection. When it was built around 1563 , the Church of Sao Braz was allegedly the replica of the original Church of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1667. Matisic claimed that the replica church that you see in Goa survives, while the original in Dubrovnik has been rebuilt several times. The claims of Zoravka motivated the visit of a 15-member Parliamentary delegation from the Republic of Croatia, accompanied by Ambassador Zoran Andrić, to the quaint little Gandaulim village.
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