Europeans in late Mughal south Asia: The perceptions of Italian missionaries

Abstract

During the last half of the eighteenth century, a group of Roman Catholic Capuchin friars from Italy were active as missionaries in various towns in Bihar and also in Chandernagore. Their principal stations in Bihar were Bettiah and Patna. Four of these missionaries wrote letters, essays, books and translations relating to their encounter with Hinduism, Indian culture, and the political events of the period. These texts shed light on what was happening in these towns during this period, and also explain in detail the reactions of the missionaries to Hindu polytheism, Hindu mythology, the caste system, and the political culture of late Mughal society. What is particularly interesting is the contrast between their perceptions, influenced by conservative Catholicism, and those of the French and British, more influenced by Enlightenment culture.