Captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam

The Captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam (1784–1799) 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, although most historians consider it happened for political rather than religious reasons, owing to the alliance between the Mangalorean Catholics and the British during the Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–1784).

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. During captivity they suffered extreme hardships, torture, death, and persecutions with many Christians forcibly converted to Islam. Their captivity led to a near disintegration of the community and ended only when Tipu was killed by the British at the Battle of Seringapatam on 4 May 1799, during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. Of the 60,000–80,000 Christians taken captive, only 15,000–20,000 both made it out alive and retained their original faith. The episode had a deep impact on the Literature of Mangalorean Catholics. The bi-centennial anniversary of the Christians' release from captivity was celebrated across the region on 4 May 1999.

Roman Catholics from the South Canara district on the south-western coast of India, under the jurisdiction of the Mangalore Diocese, are generally known as Mangalorean Catholics. They are Konkani people who speak the Konkani language. All earlier records of South Canara's Christians were lost at the time of their deportation by Tipu in 1784 and it is not known when Christianity was introduced in South Canara. It is possible that Syrian Christians settled in South Canara as they had in Malabar, a region south of Canara. During the 13th century Italian traveller Marco Polo recorded that there were considerable trading activities between the Red Sea and the Canara coast. Scholars have surmised that foreign Christian merchants were visiting the coastal towns of South Canara during that period for commerce, and that some Christian priests possibly accompanied them in their evangelical work. In 1321, the French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac in south-western France, arrived in Bhatkal, North Canara. According to historian Severine Silva, no concrete evidence has yet been found that there were any permanent settlements of Christians in South Canara before the 16th century.

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