The Portuguese sought to expand the power of the priests, as from the beginning of their empire, priests had accompanied Portuguese delegations on diplomatic missions and on occasion were the principal negotiatiors. Treaties they signed with the Keladi Nayakas progressively incorporated clauses which increased the authority of the priests over the local Catholic population, making them obedient to the priests in matters of Christian laws as well as granting priests the authority to punish violations. The Portuguese promised to refrain from slaughtering cows and to halt forcible conversions in their factories. The terms of these treaties were not always honoured by the Portuguese, with the result that whenever hostilities broke out between the Keladis and the Portuguese, the Catholic settlers were often harassed or arrested by the Nayakas.