450 YEARS OF PRINTING IN INDIA (6.8.1556 – 6.8.2006) by Pratapananda Naik, S.J.

 

450 YEARS OF PRINTING IN INDIA (6.8.1556 – 6.8.2006)


Pratapananda Naik, S.J.



Before September 1556 the word print was unknown to Indian. It was only in  1556   when Jesuit brother Juan de Bustammante, who knew the art of printing landed Goa with the printing press.  The landing of printing press in Goa was mere an accident.  The Patriarch designate of Abyssinia along with 14 Jesuits accompanied printing press.  The Suez Canal was not in existence during this period,  persons going to Abyssinia from Portugal followed the Cape route to India, touched Goa to proceed to Abyssinia. The printing press which arrived in Goa was intended to help missionary work in Abyssinia   There was no urgent need of printing press in Goa.  On the political grounds  need of spread of Christianity was felt to strengthen the political rule of Portuguese in Goa

 

 ADVENT OF THE ART OF PRINTING IN GOA

 The art of printing entered India for the first time on September 6,1556 through Jesuits.  Its advent was in the nature of a  happy accident.  Generally it was as an aid to proselytisation that the printing press was taken outside Europe. We find , for instance, St. Francis Xavier in a letter written in 1549 expressing a desire that Christian literature should be printed in the Japanese language.  In Goa however, it appears that the no urgent need for the printing press was felt at this time and there was a tendency to place exclusive reliance on political power to help the spread of Christianity.  The printing press which eventually arrived in Goa was intended to help missionary work in Abyssinia; but circumstances conspired to detain it in Goa on its way to that country.  (Priolkar,1958,3-4)

  

João de Bustamante, a Spaniard, came to India with the printing press, and he must therefore be considered as the pioneer of the art of printing in India.  He was born in  Valencia in Spain round about 1536.  In 1556 he joined the Society of Jesus and was ordained in 1564.  According to information recently furnished by Fr. Wicki from Belgium, Jesuit records show that in 1563 his name was changed to João Rodrigues.  He died on August 1588.

 

 

Some of the literature known to have printed in Goa:

 

·         1556. Conclusoes e outras coisasões (Theses and other things) (Priolkar, 1958:14)

·         1557. St. Francisco Xavier.  Doutrina Christiam

No copy of First Edition is available.  MSS copies dating 1548-1614 are preserved in Lisbon and Rome (Naik, 1971: 1)

·         1557. Confecionarios

·         1560. Gonçalo Rodrigues.  Tratado contra os erros scismaticos dos Abexins (A Tract against the Schismatic Errors of the Abyssinians).

The four books mentioned above were printed by João Bustamante.

No extant printed copy of the above mentioned book is available. 

·  1556-1561. Doutrina Cristāa, or Catechism (Cartilha), printed

probably in Konkani, at Colegio de São Paulo, Goa, at some date between October  1556 and December 1561.  No surviving copy of this book is recorded.  (Boxer, 1956:2)  This was the first Konkani book printed in Goa. 

·  1561. Gaspar de Leão. Compendio Spiritual da Vida Christãa.  (Spiritual Compendium of the Christian Life).  A copy of the book is available in the New York Public Library.  It was  bought by James Lenox in a Public sale in London in July, 1862.  The printers of this book are João de Quinquencio and João de Endem.  This is the earliest book book printed in Goa which is available at present.(Priolkar, 1958:15)

 

 

The printing of books after arrival of press in was soon started.  From 1556-1588 the books were printed.  After  1588 no record of anything printed is available.  Some literature known to have been printed in Goa during the 17th century as no trace of any book published in Goa during the next twenty seven years until 1615.

 

1616                  Thomas Stephens.  Discurso sobre a vinda de Jusu Christo Nosso Salvador ao Mundo (Discourse on the Coming of the Christ to the World).  No printed copy of this book is available.

This is the famous Purana by Fr. Stephens which is written n literary Marathi.  The next two editions of this work were printed in 1649 and 1654.  But none of these have survived this day.  The next of the fourth edition, printed in 1907 at Mangalore, was prepared from some manuscripts.

 

1622.                Thomas Stephens.  Doutrina Christam.  This work on Christian Doctrine in the form of dialogue is written in the dialect spoken by Goa Brahmins.  This was written by the author before the Purāna.  A copy is available in the Government Library and another in the library of the Vatical in Rome. 

 

1632          Diogo Ribeiro.  Declaracam da Doutrina Christiam.  (A statement

of the Christian Doctrine).  This was written in the Brahmin dialect of Goa.  A copy is available in the Government library in Lisbon.

 

All the three works mentioned above were printed at the Rachol College (Priolkar, 1958:18)

 

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