Who Was the Catholic Population of 17th-18th Century Georgia?

Abstract

It can be argued that up to the end of the 18th century, the Catholic population of Georgia, specifically of the Principality of Samtskhe (Samtskhe-Saatabago, occupied by the Ottomans), were predominantly non-Georgian. As suggested by Russian sources of the early 19th century, they must have been Catholic Armenians having migrated to Georgia from various regions of the Ottoman Empire at different times.