﻿ON" THE COAST OF MALABAR. 375 



old prerogatives, and subject to almost the same op- 

 pressions and extortions. 



The New or Portl'guese Cuuistians. 



Thev consist of that race of new converts, whom 

 the Portuguese made mostly fVom the lonesr casts 

 along the sea sliore, where they built a gre-a many 

 churches ; which, in distinction t'rora the Sijrians, 

 are generally called the Latin churches. The^ con- 

 sider themselves not as subjects of the difiereiit Ka- 

 jas in whose territory they reside, but enjoyed for- 

 merly the protection of both the Portuguese and the 

 Duicfi governm.ents, to a great extent. They ac- 

 knowledged only their jurisdiction in ci\il and cri- 

 minal matters, arid paid no taxes to the native princes. 

 This exemption they maintai; ed, in some manner, 

 till the year 178.5, when Mr. \'ax Angelbeck, 

 then governor of Cochin, sau- no otlier remedv to 

 save at least part of their priviiegvs from rhe daily 

 increasing pov.er of the Raja or Coc/tin. bi:t to enter 

 into a new v/ritten agreement \\ ith the itaja ; in 

 conformity to w hich they were to pay a ceriain sti- 

 ])uiated sum yearly to the Raja, which should be col- 

 lected by their ov>n head people ; and in case of d*^- 

 lays or failure, the Dutch governnicnt was to intorce 

 payment, and not the Raja. Another article defined 

 the jurisdiction whicli the Lutc/i sliould still exer- 

 cise over them. But even these slipuiations, the 

 Raja did not long nor scrupulously adhere to, tiil at 

 last he V. ent so far as to turn a :^!eat part of them 

 fairly out of his dominion^ bv obh«ino il.em to ac- 

 tept some trifliiig consideraiion tor the landed csu;tes 

 •\Viiich they were conipciLd to aLanc-n, and the icst 

 he treated, if possible, moie se\erely than ins own 

 Hindoo subjects. 



B B 4 The 



