Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

This article discusses Juliana Dias da Costa (d. 1734), an influential Portuguese woman at the court of the Mughal king Bahadur Shah I (d. 1712). Through an analysis of sources that traverse three centuries and several languages, this article demonstrates how visions of Juliana were shaped by the political aspirations of those writing about her. To Jesuits, Juliana was a proxy for their mission in India, and to the Portuguese, she was one of their own, strategically placed at court to serve their interests. And for her impoverished descendants in British India, she was emblematic of times when they held both power and prestige. Concluding with the author's encounter with a descendant of Juliana's in Pakistan, this article addresses questions of belonging that a figure such as Juliana raises today.

Comments

© 2013 by University of Hawai‘i Press

Published in the Journal of World History: http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/t-journal-of-world-history.aspx

DOI

10.1353/jwh.2012.0136

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