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The present-day
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
was established in 1987. Goa is India's smallest state by area. It shares a lot of similarities with
Indian history Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; by 4500 ...
, especially with regard to colonial influences and a multi-cultural aesthetic. The Usgalimal rock engravings, belonging to the
Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...
or
Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...
periods, exhibit some of the earliest traces of human settlement in India. The
Mauryan The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...
and
Satavahana The Satavahanas (; ''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras (also ''Andhra-bhṛtyas'' or ''Andhra-jatiyas'') in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavaha ...
Empires ruled modern-day Goa during the Iron Age. During the medieval period, Goa was ruled by the
Kadamba kingdom The Kadamba dynasty were an ancient royal family from modern Karnataka, India, that ruled northern Karnataka and the Konkan from Banavasi in present-day Uttara Kannada district in India. The kingdom was founded by Mayurasharma in , and at ...
,
Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...
,
Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...
and
Bijapur Sultanate The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a '' taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 14 ...
. It was ruled by the Kadambha dynasty from the 2nd century CE to 1312 and by the Deccan from 1312 to 1367. The city was then annexed by the Kingdom of Vijayanagara and was later conquered by the Bahmanī sultanate, which founded Old Goa on the island in 1440. The Portuguese invaded Goa in 1510, defeated the
Bijapur Sultanate The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a '' taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 14 ...
. The Portuguese rule lasted for about 450 years, and heavily influenced Goan
culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
,
cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...
, and architecture. In 1961, India took control over Goa after a 36-hour battle and integrated it into India. The area of Goa was incorporated into
Goa, Daman and Diu Goa, Daman and Diu (, ) was a union territory of the Republic of India established in 1961 following the Annexation of Goa, liberation of Portuguese India, with Maj Gen K P Candeth as its first governor. The Goa portion of the territory was gran ...
, which included the Damaon territory in the north of the
Konkan region The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the east. ...
. In 1987, following the
Konkani language agitation The Konkani language agitations were a series of protests in India, concerning the uncertain future of the Konkani language. They were held by Goans in the former territory of Goa, Daman and Diu; then under the administration of the Maharashtr ...
Goa was granted statehood. Goa has one of the highest
GDP per capita This is a list of countries by nominal GDP per capita. GDP per capita is the total value of a country's finished goods and services (gross domestic product) divided by its total population (per capita). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is ...
and
Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
among Indian states.


Earliest history

There is evidence of the
tectonic Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...
origins of Goa dating back to 10,000 BC. Further, evidence of human occupation of Goa dates back at least to the Lower Paleolithic Age, indicated by the archaeological findings of
Acheulean Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated with ''Homo ...
bifaces A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history. It is made from stone, usually flint or chert that has been "reduced" and shaped from a larger piece by kna ...
in the
Mandovi The Mandovi ( IPA: ) or Mahadayi ( IPA: ), formerly known as the Rio de Goa, is a river described as the lifeline of the Indian state of Goa. The Mandovi and the Zuari are the two principal rivers in the state of Goa. The Mandovi joins the Z ...
-
Zuari The Zuari River ''Zuvari,'' pronounced ) is the largest river in the state of Goa, India. It is a tidal river which originates at Hemad-Barshem in the Western Ghats. The Zuari is also referred to as the Aghanashani in the interior regions. It fl ...
basin. However, evidence suggesting the region's ancient foundation is obscured by the
legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
of Goa's creation by the Hindu sage
Parashurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According t ...
.


Geological origins

Some parts of present-day Goa appear to have been
uplifted ''Uplifted'' is the second studio album by Nigerian singer Flavour N'abania. It was released on July 20, 2010, by Obaino Music and 2nite Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Jah Dey, Oloye, Stormrex, Waga Gee, Asem, Stone, M-Ja ...
from the sea due to geological tectonic plate movement. There is evidence to support this theory as indicated by the presence of marine fossils, buried seashells, and other features of reclaimed
topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
in the coastal belt. fossilized branches have been found later in many villages on the foothills of the Sahyadri dating back more than 10,000 BC. Thus the geologists concluded that Goa has risen from the seabed as a result of violent tectonic movements. At the decline of the intensity of ''
population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
'' in the last ''Pleistocene age'' around 10000 BC, the bottom of
Deccan plateau The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura Range, Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound ...
was lifted up and out of sea-waters by the tectonic movements, formed the West-coast of India, Goa being a part thereof.


Prehistory


Paleolithic and Mesolithic era

Until 1993 the existence of
human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
s in Goa during the
Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
and
Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...
period was highly debated. The discovery of
rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...
engravings on lateritic platforms and granite boulders from ''Usgalimal'' on the banks of west-flowing river Kushavati River, has shed light on the
prehistory Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins   million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...
of Goa. The rock shelter at Usgalimal has enough space for 25 to 30 people. The perennial stream in the vicinity which might have served
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
man for centuries as a source of water. An
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
figure of
Mother goddess A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...
and tectiforms resembling tree-like motifs have been found. This site was discovered by Dr P.P.Shirodkar. Exploration of several Mesolithic sites of the
Mandovi The Mandovi ( IPA: ) or Mahadayi ( IPA: ), formerly known as the Rio de Goa, is a river described as the lifeline of the Indian state of Goa. The Mandovi and the Zuari are the two principal rivers in the state of Goa. The Mandovi joins the Z ...
-
Zuari The Zuari River ''Zuvari,'' pronounced ) is the largest river in the state of Goa, India. It is a tidal river which originates at Hemad-Barshem in the Western Ghats. The Zuari is also referred to as the Aghanashani in the interior regions. It fl ...
basin, at other sites such as
Keri ''Keri'' () is a Hebrew term which literally means "accident" or "mishap", and is used as a euphemism for seminal emission. The term is generally used in Jewish law to refer specifically to the regulations and rituals concerning the emission of ...
,
Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...
,
Anjuna Anjuna (, ; ) is a village located on the coast of North Goa, India. It is a Census Town, one of the twelve comunidades of Bardez. It is mostly a tourist destination. Its church, St. Michael's Church, Anjuna, founded in 1595, is dedicated to ...
, ''Mauxim'', ''Kazur'' in
Quepem Quepem (''Kepem'') is a town with a municipal council in South Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. The town is the administrative headquarters of the Quepem taluka (sub-district). History The town was established by a Portuguese noble ...
, ''Virdi'', has led to the discovery of several scrapers, points, bores, cones, etc. A hand
axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...
has also been found at Usgalimal. Further ''unifacial'' choppers were recovered on a flat-based pebble of quartzite from a pebble conglomerate at ''Shigaon'' on the
Dudhsagar River Dudhsagar Falls () is a four-tiered waterfall on the Mahadayi River in the state of Goa. It is 60km from Panaji by road and is located on the Belagavi–Vasco Da Gama rail route about 46km east of Madgaon and 80km south of Belagavi . Dudhsaga ...
. Shirodakar made a detailed study of the rock engravings and dated them to
Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...
and Mesolithic phases, or to 20,000-30,000 BC. These discoveries have demonstrated that the region had been supporting a population of hunter-gatherers well before the advent of agriculture. Evidence of Palaeolithic cave existence can be seen at Dabolim, Adkon, Shigaon, Fatorpa, Arli, Maulinguinim, Diwar, Sanguem, Pilerne, Aquem-Margaon et cetera. Difficulty in
carbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was ...
the laterite rock compounds has posed a problem in determining the exact time period.


Kushavati Shamanic culture

The prehistoric engravings at Usgalimal were discovered by PP Shirodkar in the early 1990s and subsequently studied by the Institute of Oceanography in Goa. More than 125 forms were found scattered on the banks of river
Kushavati Kushavati was a city in Kosala Kingdom as per epic Ramayana. The king of Kosala Lord Rama installed his son Kusha at Sravasti on the northern part of the kingdom and Kusha at Kushavati in the south. It was located on the slopes of the Vindhya R ...
in south-eastern Goa. According to Kamat, these are evidence of a prehistoric Goan
shamanistic Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...
practice. For hundreds of years, the Kushavati rock art of Goa was known locally as ''goravarakhnyachi chitram,'' or pictures made by cowherds. But people did not know how ancient the works were, nor could anyone interpret them. After thorough study of these forms, scholars have concluded that these petroglyphs differ from those found elsewhere in Goa. Deeper studies and analysis over a period of ten years showed these petroglyphs were an exquisitely carved ''ocular
labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...
'', one of the best in India and Asia. Its ocular nature added to the evidence of prehistoric shamanism. The studies have shown that the Kushavati culture was a
hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
culture with deep knowledge of local natural resources and processes – water, fish, plants, game, animal breeding cycles, seasons and natural calamities. The Kushavati culture was greatly concerned with
water security The aim of water security is to maximize the benefits of water for humans and ecosystems. The second aim is to limit the risks of destructive impacts of water to an acceptable level. These risks include too much water (flood), too little water (d ...
, so they set up camps near the streams. The Kushavati found food security in the jungle near the streams. Like every culture, its members confronted the mysteries of illness, death and birth. Kamat believes that this culture dated to 6,000 to 8,000 years ago. On basis of recent DNA-based work on human migration, Dr.
Nandkumar Kamat Nandkumar Mukund Kamat (born 1958) is an Indian scientist, researcher, writer, and academic known for his contributions in various fields, including mycology, environmental microbiology, and science popularization. He is associated with Goa Uni ...
has ruled out the possibility of Kushavati shamans belonging to the first wave of humans to arrive in Goa. They were not negritoes or austrics. Most probably they were the earliest Mediterraneans who had descended the Western Ghats, probably in their search for sea salt on Goa's coast. As the Kushavati transitioned into a Neolithic society, they began the domestication of animals and were in the last phase of using stone tools. The entire realm of shamanism underwent a radical transition. Today evidence of the metamorphosis in masked dance drama ''Perni jagor'' can be seen in the same cultural region.


Neolithic period

Archaeological evidence in the form of polished stone axes, suggest the first settlements of Neolithic man in Goa. These axes have been found in
Goa Velha Goa Velha is a small town in ''Ilhas de Goa'' subdistrict, Goa state, India. It should not be confused with the World Heritage Site of the historical city of Old Goa (). St Andrew's Church is its parish church. It is well known for its yearl ...
. During this period tribes of
Austric The Austric languages are a proposed language family that includes the Austronesian languages spoken in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Madagascar, as well as Kra–Dai and Austroasiatic languages spoken in Mainland Sou ...
origin such as the ''Kols'', ''Mundaris'' and ''Kharvis'' may have settled Goa, living on hunting, fishing and a primitive form of agriculture since 3500 BC. According to Goan historian Anant Ramakrishna Dhume, the
Gauda and Kunbi Gaudas are aboriginal people residing in the coastal Indian state of Goa. They are believed to be the original inhabitants of Konkan. Most follow folk Hinduism, but many were converted to Catholicism by the Portugal, Portuguese missionaries dur ...
and other such castes are modern descendants of ancient Mundari tribes. Dhume notes several words of Mundari origin in the
Konkani language Konkani, (Devanagari: , Konkani in the Roman script, Romi: , Kannada script, Kannada: , Koleluttu: , Nastaliq: ; IAST: , ) formerly Concani or Concanese, is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Konkani people, primarily i ...
. He describes the deities worshipped by the ancient tribes, their customs, methods of farming, and its overall effect on modern-day Goan culture. The Negroids were in a Neolithic stage of primitive culture and were food-gatherers. Traces of Negroid physical characteristics can be found in parts of Goa, up to at least the middle of the first millennium. The
Proto-Australoid Australo-Melanesians (also known as Australasians or the Australomelanesoid, Australoid or Australioid race) is an outdated historical grouping of various people indigenous to Melanesia and Australia. Controversially, some groups found in parts ...
tribe known as the ''Konkas'', from whom is derived the name of the region, ''Kongvan or
Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...
,'' with the other mentioned tribes, reportedly made up the earliest settlers in the territory. Agriculture had not fully developed at this stage and was being developed. The Kol and Mundari may have been using stone and wood implements, as iron implements were used by the
megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...
tribes as late as 1200 BC. The Kol tribe is believed to have migrated from
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
. During this period, the people began worship of a mother goddess in the form of
anthill An ant colony is a population of ants, typically from a single species, capable of maintaining their complete lifecycle. Ant colonies are eusocial, communal, and efficiently organized and are very much like those found in other social Hymenop ...
or ''Santer''. The Anthill is called ''Roen''(
Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...
:रोयण), which is derived from the Austric word ''Rono,'' meaning with holes. The later Indo-Aryan and Dravidian settlers also adopted anthill worship, which was translated into Prakrit ''Santara''. They also worshipped the mother earth by the name of ''Bhumika'' in Prakrit. Anthill worship still continues in Goa.


Iron Age (from 16th century BCE)


The Formations of Gaumkaris and the self rule

The theocratic democracy of Sumer was transformed into the
oligarchic Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or throug ...
democracy of village-administration in Goa known as '' Gaumkari'', when it overlapped with the practices of the locals. The agricultural land was jointly owned by the group of villagers, they had right to auction the land, this rent was used for development, and the remainder was distributed amongst the ''Gaukars''. Sumerians view that the village land must belong to the village god or goddess, this was the main feature of the ''Gaumkari'' system where the village's preeminent deity's temple was the centre of all the activities. It consisted of definite boundaries of land from village to village with its topographic detail, its management and social, religious and cultural interaction. Gaumkari thus were in existence long before constitution of the state of Goa itself. Thus even before any king ruled the territory, oligarchic democracy in the form of Gaumkari existed in Goa. This form of village-administration was called as ''Gaumponn'' (
Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...
:गांवपण), and despite the periodic change of sovereigns, the Gaumponn always remained, hence the attachment and fidelity of the Goans to their village has always surpassed their loyalty to their rulers (most of them were extraterritorial). This system for governance became further systematised and fortified, and it has continued to exist ever since. Even today 223 comunidades are still functioning in Goa, though not in the true sense.


The later migrations

The second wave of migrants arrived sometime between 1700 and 1400 BC. This second wave migration was accompanied by southern Indians from the Deccan plateau. A wave of ''Kusha'' or Harappan people moved to
Lothal Lothal () was one of the southernmost sites of the ancient Indus Valley civilization, Indus Valley civilisation, located in the Bhal region of the Indian state of Gujarat. Construction of the city is believed to have begun around 2200 BCE. Di ...
probably around 1600 BC to escape submergence of their civilization which thrived on sea-trade. With the admixture of several cultures, customs, religions, dialects and beliefs, led to revolutionary change in early Goan society.


Maurya Empire

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (Sanskrit: elp:IPA/Sanskrit, t̪͡ɕɐn̪d̪ɾɐgupt̪ɐ mɐʊɾjɐ (reigned 320 BCE – c. 298 BCE) was the founder and the first emperor of the Maurya Empire, based in Magadha (present-day Bihar) in the Indian ...
incorporated the west coast of India in his province of
Aparanta Aparanta or Aparantaka (meaning 'Western border') was a geographical region of ancient India. It corresponded to the northern part of the Konkan region on the western coast of India. English civil servant-turned-historian J. F. Fleet believed th ...
, and the impact of Magadhan Prakrit, the official language of the Mauryan Empire, on the local dialects resulted in the formation of early
Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...
, as was the case with other Aryan vernaculars. During this era
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
was introduced to Goa. Similarly a native Goan named Purna, also known as Punna in
Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...
, who traveled to
Sarnath Sarnath (also known as Deer Park, ''Sarangnath'', ''Isipatana Deer Park'', ''Rishipattana'', ''Migadaya'', or ''Mrigadava'')Gabe Hiemstra, "Buddha Chronicle 24: Kassapa Buddhavaṃsa". ''Wisdom Library'', 14 September 2019. is a town nort ...
is considered a direct disciple of
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
, who popularised Buddhism in Goa in the 5th century BC.


The Satavahanas (c. 2nd century BCE to 2nd CE)

The Satavahana dynasty ruled Goa through their coastal vassals, the Chutus of
Karwar Karwar is a coastal City and the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district, formerly part of the Bombay Presidency, located at the mouth of the Kali River (Karnataka), Kali river along the Konkan Coast in the present-day state of Ka ...
. This period is estimated to have lasted from around the 2nd century BC to 100 AD. The Satavahanas had established maritime power and their contacts with
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
from the coastal trade from
Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
to
Saurashtra Saurashtra, Sourashtra, or variants may refer to: ** Kathiawar, also called Saurashtra Peninsula, a peninsula in western India ** Saurashtra (state), alias United State of Kathiawar, a former Indian state, merged into Bombay State and since its d ...
, from
Bharuch Bharuch () is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District. The city of Bharuch and surroundings have been settled since times of antiquity. It was a shi ...
to Sopara to Goa, where
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and Roman ships would halt during voyages. The Bhojas fortified themselves after the end of Satavahana Empire. With the fall of the Satavahanas, the lucrative seaborne trade declined. Many Greek converts to Buddhism settled in Goa during this period. Buddha statues in Greek styles have been found in Goa. It can be seen that they ruled a very small part of Goa.
Maharashtri Maharashtri or Maharashtri Prakrit (') is a Prakrit language of ancient as well as medieval India. Maharashtri Prakrit was commonly spoken until 875 CEV.Rajwade, ''Maharashtrache prachin rajyakarte''
''prakrit'' was their language of administration, which influenced medieval Konkani to a great extent. ;Goa under the Western Kshatrapas In the year 150AD,
Vashishtiputra Satakarni Vashishtiputra Sātakarni (Brahmi: 𑀯𑀸𑀲𑀺𑀣𑀺𑀧𑀼𑀢 𑀲𑀸𑀢𑀓𑀁𑀁𑀡𑀺, ''Vāsiṭhiputa Sātakaṃṇi'') was a Satavahana king, who ruled the Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and ...
was defeated by his son-in-law, the
Kshatrapa A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. A satrapy is the territory governed by a satrap. ...
King
Rudradaman I Rudradāman I (r. 130–150) was a Śaka ruler from the Western Kshatrapas dynasty. He was the grandson of the king Caṣṭana. Rudradāman I was instrumental in the decline of the Sātavāhana Empire. Rudradāman I took up the title of '' ...
who established his rule over Goa. This dynasty ruled the territory until 249AD. Thereafter the dynasty's power seems to have been weakened by their generals, the
Abhiras The Abhira people (Devanagari: आभीर) were a legendary people mentioned in ancient Indian epics and scriptures. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The Mahabharata describes them a ...


The Mauryas of Puri

The history of the Mauryas is almost non-existent. The existing records disclose the names of only three of the dynasty's kings, namely ''Suketavarman'', who ruled some time in the 4th or 5th centuries, ''Chandravarman'' in the 6th century, and ''Ajitavarman'' in the 7th century, who ruled from ''Kumardvipa'' or modern ''Kumarjuve'', but beyond that the records provide no clue as to their mutual relationship. These dates were determined by comparing the style of the
Nagari script Nagari may refer to: Writing systems * Nāgarī script, a script used in India during the first millennium * Devanagari, a script used since the late first millennium and currently in widespread use for the languages of northern India * Nandina ...
in which these records are written with the evolution of this script, which may be dated fairly accurately. It is possible to infer from the places mentioned in these records and their discovery locations that at its zenith, the Western Maurya Kingdom comprised the Lata or South Gujarat, coastal Maharashtra, Goa, and approximately half of the North Kanara district. After the Maurya Empire had passed its meridian in the 2nd century BC its satrap in Aparanta made himself independent. A scion of the imperial Mauryas, he founded a dynasty that ruled over the west coast for nearly four centuries from its capital ''Shurparaka'' or modern
Sopara Nallasopara or Nala Sopara (pronunciation: aːla sopaɾa formerly known as Sopara or Supara, is a city within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The city lies in the Palghar district of Maharashtra, India, and is governed by Vasai-Virar Municip ...
. This dynasty was known as the ''Konkan Mauryas''. Goa was called ''Sunaparant'' by the Mauryas.


Bhojas (c. 2nd century BCE to 4th CE)

First existing as vassals of the Mauryas and later as an independent kingdom, the Bhojas ruled Goa for more than 500 years, annexing the entirety of Goa. The earliest known record of the Bhojas from Goa dates from the 4th century, it was found in the town of Shiroda in Goa. According to Puranik, by tradition the Bhojas belonged to the clan of
Yadavas The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Satvatas, Andhakas, Bho ...
, who may have migrated to Goa via Dwaraka after the
Mahabharata war The Kurukshetra War (), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu epic poem ''Mahabharata'', arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. ...
. Two Bhoja copperplates grants dating back to the 3rd century BC were unearthed from Bandora village, written by King Prithvimallavarman. Ancient ''Chandrapur'', modern day
Chandor Chandor is a village in Salcete sub-district of South Goa, in the Indian state of Goa. It lies on the southern bank of the Zuari River and western bank of the Kushavati River. History The ancient city of Chandrapura, where Chandor now stands, ...
, was the capital of the Bhoja Empire. From the Bhoja inscriptions found in Goa and Konkan, it is evidenced that the Bhojas used
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
and
Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...
for administration. According to Vithal Raghavendra Mitragotri, many
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
s and
Vaishya Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Vedic Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of Varna hierarchy. The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, takin ...
s arrived with Kshatriyas Bhojas from the north. The
Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
Bhojas patronised
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and employed many Buddhist converts of
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
origin.


Kingdoms to Late Medieval period (1st century CE to 16th)


Table of dynasties (to 16th century)

Goa was ruled by several dynasties of various origins from circa the beginning of the common era to 1500. Since Goa had been under the sway of several dynasties, there was no organised judicial or policing system in those days, except for traditional arrangements governed by absolute rulers and local chieftains. There may have been more order under Muslim rule. During this time, Goa was not ruled as a singular kingdom. Parts of this territory were ruled by several different kingdoms. The boundaries of these kingdoms were not clearly defined and the kings were content to consider their dominions as extending over many villages, which paid tribute and owed them allegiance.


Shilaharas (755 – 1000)

The
Shilahara Shilahara was a royal dynasty that established itself in northern and southern Konkan in 8th century CE, present-day Mumbai and Southern Maharashtra ( Kolhapur) during the Rashtrakuta period. The founder of the Shilahara dynasty, Sanaphulla, ...
s of South Konkan ruled Goa from 755 until 1000 AD. Sannaphulla, the founder of the dynasty, was a vassal of the
Rashtrakuta The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from Manapu ...
s. Their copper-plate inscriptions suggest that they ruled from Vallipattana (there is no unanimity amongst the scholars regarding identification of Vallipattana, some identify it with Balli in Goa, or it may either be Banda or Kharepatan in the modern-day state of
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
),
Chandrapura Chandrapura is a census town in the Chandrapura (community development block), Chandrapura Community development blocks in India, CD block in the Bermo subdivision of the Bokaro district in the Indian States and union territories of India, stat ...
and Gopakapattana. This was a tumultuous period in Goan history. As the Goa Shilahara power waned during the 11th century, the Arab traders gained increasing control of the overseas trade. They enjoyed autonomy from the Shilaharas. In order to control this decline, Kadamba King Guhalladeva I, ruling from
Chandor Chandor is a village in Salcete sub-district of South Goa, in the Indian state of Goa. It lies on the southern bank of the Zuari River and western bank of the Kushavati River. History The ancient city of Chandrapura, where Chandor now stands, ...
, established secular, political, and economic partnerships with these Arab states. After the Chalukyas defeated the Rashtrakutas, exploiting this situation to their advantage, the Kadamba King, Shashthadeva II, firmly established his rule in Goa.


Kadambas (10th century to 14th)

The Kadambas ruled Goa between the 10th and 14th centuries. In the beginning, the Kadambas ruled only
Sashti Shashthi, Shashti, Soshthi or Chhathi (, , , , , literally "sixth") is a Hindu goddess, venerated in Nepal and India as the benefactor and protector of children. She is also the deity of vegetation and reproduction and is believed to bestow ch ...
present day Salcette, a small part of Konkan. They ruled from
Chandor Chandor is a village in Salcete sub-district of South Goa, in the Indian state of Goa. It lies on the southern bank of the Zuari River and western bank of the Kushavati River. History The ancient city of Chandrapura, where Chandor now stands, ...
, over a large part of Goa, but the port of Gopakapattana was not included in the early years.


Port of Gopakapattana (10th century to 1345)

Later King Shashthadeva conquered the island of Goa, including the ports of Gopakapattana and Kapardikadvipa, and annexed a large part of South Konkan to his kingdom. He made Gopakapattana as his secondary capital. His successor, King Jayakeshi I'','' expanded the Goan kingdom. The Sanskrit Jain text ''Dvayashraya'' mentions the extent of his capital. Port Gopakapattana had trade contacts with
Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...
,
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
,
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
and
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
(mentioned as Zaguva, Gauda, Gurjara, and Simhala in the Sanskrit texts). The city has been described in the contemporary records not only as aesthetically pleasing, but spiritually cleansing as well. Because it was a trading city, Gopakapattana was influenced by many cultures, and its architecture and decorative works showed this cosmopolitan effect. The capital was served by an important highway called Rajvithi or Rajpath, which linked it with Ela, the ruins of which can still be seen. For more than 300 years, it remained a centre for intra-coastal and trans-oceanic trade from Africa to Malaya. Later in the 14th century, the port was looted by the Khalji general
Malik Kafur Malik Kafur (died February 1316), also known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan Jalesari, Nusrat Khan during the Alauddin Khalji's co ...
. The capital was transferred to Chandor and then back to Gopakapattana because of
Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, also named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, further known by his epithets, The Eccentric Prince, or The Mad Sultan, was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from 4 February 1 ...
's attack on Chandor. Guhalladeva III, Jayakeshi II, Shivachitta Paramadideva, Vinshuchitta II and Jayakeshi III dominated Goa's political scene in the 12th century. During the rule of Kadambas, the name and fame of Goapuri had reached it zenith. Goa's religion, culture, trade and arts flourished under the rule of these kings. The Kings and their queens built many
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
temples as they were devout
Shaivites Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...
. They assumed titles like Konkanadhipati, Saptakotisha Ladbha Varaveera, Gopakapura varadhishva, Konkanmahacharavarti and Panchamahashabda. The Kings had matrimonial relationships with the Kings of Saurashtra, and even the local chieftains. The Kings patronised Vedic religion and performed major fire sacrifices like ''the horse sacrifice'' or
Ashvamedha The Ashvamedha () was a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accompanied by the king's warriors would be released to wander ...
. They are also known for patronising
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
in Goa. Though their language of administration was
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
and
Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
, Konkani and
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
were also prevalent. They introduced Kannada language to Goa, which had a very profound influence on the local tongue.
Nagari script Nagari may refer to: Writing systems * Nāgarī script, a script used in India during the first millennium * Devanagari, a script used since the late first millennium and currently in widespread use for the languages of northern India * Nandina ...
,
Kadamba script The Kadamba script is the first writing system devised specifically for writing Kannada, and Telugu language. The Kadamba script is also known as ''Pre-Old-Kannada script.'' The Kadamba script is one of the oldest scripts of the southern grou ...
, Halekannada script and Goykanadi scripts were very popular. Kadamba Tribhuvanamalla, inscribed a record, dated saka 1028 or AD 1106, that he established a Brahmapuri at Gopaka. Brahmapuris were ancient universities run by the Brahmins where the Vedas, astrology, philosophy, medicine, and other subjects were studied. Such Brahampuris were found in many places in Goa such as Savoi verem and Gauli moula. Kadambas ruled Goa for more than 400 years. On 16 October 1345 Goa Kadamba King Suriya Deva was assassinated by Muslim invaders.


Bahmani Sultanate (1350-1370, 1469-1492)

From 1350 to 1370, Goa was ruled by the
Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...
. In 1469 Goa was again conquered by the
Bahmani Sultans The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellion o ...
of
Gulbarga Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is headquarters of eponymous Kalaburagi district and Kalaburagi division, Kalaburagi city is governed by a Municipal Corporation, It is called a Sufi c ...
. This Sultanate broke up in 1492.


Vijayanagara Empire (14th century to 15th)

In 1370, the
Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...
had reconquered Goa. Vijayanagara was a resurgent Hindu state controlling much of south India; its capital was located at modern day
Hampi Hampi or Hampe (), also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the town of Hampi in Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi predates the Vijayanagara Empire; it is menti ...
, in
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
. The Vijayanagara rulers then held Goa for nearly a century. During that time its harbours were important ports of arrival for
Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( , DIN 31635, DMG ''al-ḥiṣān al-ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse with historic roots on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easi ...
s destined for the Vijayanagara cavalry.


Bijapur Sultanate (1492-1510)

In 1492, Goa became a part of Adil Shah's
Bijapur Sultanate The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a '' taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 14 ...
, which established
Goa Velha Goa Velha is a small town in ''Ilhas de Goa'' subdistrict, Goa state, India. It should not be confused with the World Heritage Site of the historical city of Old Goa (). St Andrew's Church is its parish church. It is well known for its yearl ...
as its second capital. The former Secretariat building in Panaji is a former Adil Shahi palace. It functioned for the Portuguese as the official residence of their
Viceroys A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
.


Portuguese rule (1510–1961)


Portuguese arrival

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
commanded the first circumnavigation of Africa, relying on stories and maps from earlier Portuguese voyages. His fleet of four ships set off from Lisbon in 1497. After island stops at
Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
and Cape Verde, the ships made landfall on the West African coast. They then steered southwest into the vast South Atlantic Ocean. Near Brazil, by making an eastward turn, they headed toward the southern cape of Africa which they rounded. After passing by the Rio do Infante described earlier by a fellow explorer, a northward course was set. The ships stopped at the East African ports of Mozambique, Mombasa and Malinda. An Arab pilot, or an Indian, then guided their remaining course across the Arabian Sea. A year out from Lisbon, da Gama's fleet landed in Calicut, India. Their arrival signalled the end of Muslim monopoly over the region's maritime trade. Before the Portuguese ships came to India, the seas to the east had been dominated by the
thalassocratic A thalassocracy or thalattocracy, sometimes also maritime empire, is a state with primarily maritime realms, an empire at sea, or a seaborne empire. Traditional thalassocracies seldom dominate interiors, even in their home territories. Examples o ...
Chola Empire The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...
of the
Tamils The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is o ...
, followed by their
Shailendra dynasty The Shailendra dynasty (, derived from Sanskrit combined words ''Śaila'' and ''Indra'', meaning "King of the Mountain", also spelled Sailendra, Syailendra or Selendra) was the name of a notable Indianised dynasty that emerged in 8th-century ...
successors and other Indianized seafaring states of
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
and
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
. "Indian ship-building had a high reputation at the time". Yet "by the fifteenth century the navigation of Indian waters was in the hands of the
Arabs Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
" both toward the east and westward toward the
Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...
and the
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
.


Afonso de Albuquerque

When
Francisco de Almeida '' Dom'' Francisco de Almeida (; c. 1450 – 1 March 1510), was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Gran ...
arrived to serve as the first Portuguese viceroy of the East (1505-1509), already there was a regional war on the
Malabar coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...
. In 1505 the
Estado da India The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...
was established there, in
Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...
considerably south of Goa. Almeida ended his tenure with a naval victory fought off Diu, far to the north in
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
. The admiral
Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa ( – 16 December 1515), was a Portuguese general, admiral, statesman and ''conquistador''. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across ...
became second viceroy (1509-1515). In 1510
Timoji Timoji was a privateer and pirate who served the Vijayanagara Empire and the Portuguese Empire, in the first decade of the 16th century. He claimed to have been born in Velha Goa and escaped the city in 1496, during the conquest by the Adil S ...
requested the Portuguese to take over Goa. The offer was welcomed. The city then was quickly seized from
Ismail Adil Shah Ismail Adil Shah (1498 – 27 August 1534) was the Sultan of Bijapur the western Deccan and South India who spent most of his time extending his territory. His reign helped the dynasty establish a stronghold in the Deccan. Early years Ismail A ...
, ruler of the
Bijapur Sultanate The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a '' taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 14 ...
, but as quickly lost. Albuquerque, however, returned in force on 25 November. In a day the gunnery of the Portuguese ships, and armed parties landing on shore, regained possession. Ismail Adil Shah and his Egyptian Mamluk allies formally surrendered Goa on 10 December. An estimate held that 6,000 of the 9,000 Muslim defenders died, in the battle on the streets or trying to flee. Albuquerque gained direct support from the Hindu people, which frustrated Timoji. He had expected to take autocratic command of the city. Albuquerque appointed him instead chief
Aguazil Alguacil (in Spanish), aguazil or guazil (in Portuguese) is the title for a number of governmental office-holders. Origin The term ''alguacil'' is derived from the Arabic term (''wazir''), meaning Vizier. The first known use of the term dates b ...
, an administrative office whose role included being the Hindu representative. Timoji was a learned interpreter of local customs. By eliminating the jizya tax, Albuquerque secured his victory. "Most of the population of Goa were Konkani-speaking Hindus ndAlbuquerque had the good sense to cut their taxes in half". In spite of frequent attacks by raiders, Goa became the centre of Portuguese India. The conquest drew deference from several neighboring kingdoms: the
Sultan of Gujarat The Gujarat Sultanate or Sultanate of Gujarat was a late medieval Islamic Indian kingdom in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat. The kingdom was established in 1394 when Muzaffar Shah I, the Governor of Gujarat, declar ...
and the
Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edi ...
of Calicut dispatched embassies, offering alliances and local concessions, e.g., to build fortifications. Albuquerque started a Portuguese
mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...
in Goa. Local merchants and Timoji had complained about the scarcity of currency. The new coin served to announce the recent conquests. Its value was pegged to existing coins. An additional mint was built in Portuguese
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
. Albuquerque and his successors left the customs and constitutions of the thirty village communities on the island almost untouched, abolishing only the rite of ''
sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...
'', in which widows were burned on their husband's funeral pyre. A register of these customs (''Foral de usos e costumes'') was published in 1526; it is among the most valuable historical documents pertaining to Goan customs. Goa was the base for Albuquerque's conquest of
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
in 1511 and Hormuz in 1515. Albuquerque intended it to be a colony and a naval base, distinct from the fortified factories established in certain Indian seaports. Goa was made capital of the Portuguese Vice-Kingdom in Asia, and the other Portuguese possessions in India,
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
and other bases in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
, the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
,
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
in China and trade bases in Japan were under the suzerainty of its
Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
. By mid-16th century, the area under occupation had expanded to most of present-day limits.


The new Goan polity


Civil government and jurisdiction

An initial aim of the rulers of Goa was military security, especially from the threat posed by the
Bijapur sultanate The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a '' taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 14 ...
. Goa's head of state, often titled the
Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
, was appointed directly by the Portuguese King. The viceroy might consult the finance council, the captain of the armed forces, the ''fidalgos'', the
Archbishop of Goa The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goa and Daman (, , ) encompasses the Goa state and the Damaon territory in the Konkan region, by the west coast of India. The ecclesiastical province of Goa and Damaon includes a suffragan dio ...
, the chief of judiciary, the ''Vereador da Fazenda'' (superintendent of finance), the merchants, and others in informal councils. Commercial success was a primary objective, the purchase in quantity of fine spices to carry back to Europe. Ancillary objectives were creation of a spice-trade monopoly with control over merchant competitors, and levying duties on the cargoes of merchant vessels. Scores of commercial posts and stations were established, not only throughout India, but from
Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
(Africa) and Hormuz (the Gulf) to
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
(Malaya) and
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
(China).
Portuguese rule in Goa Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
endured for four and a half centuries. Its Senate or municipal chamber maintained direct communications with the
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
and paid a special representative to attend to its interests at Court. In 1563 the Governor proposed to make Goa the seat of a parliament representing all parts of the Portuguese east, but this was rejected by the King. Eventually Goa was granted the same civic privileges as
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
. The Portuguese rulers in Goa were either Viceroys or Governors. Their original jurisdiction included those possessions of the Portuguese from east Africa to south Asia and east Asia. The first viceroy to serve located himself in
Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
to the south of Goa on the
Malabar coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...
; in 1510 this Portuguese seat of government was then established at
Velha Goa Old Goa (Konkani: ; ) is a historical site and city situated on the southern banks of the River Mandovi, within the Tiswadi ''taluka'' (''Ilhas'') of North Goa district, in the Indian state of Goa. The city was established by the Bijapur ...
.


Control of navigation

Chief among the rivals of Portuguese Goa were the traders of the
Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edi ...
, ruler of
Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...
(Kozhikode) on the
Malabar coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...
(northern
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
). The Zamorin's merchant ships regularly sailed on the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
, also venturing in the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...
. Other formidable sea traders were of
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
to the north. Opponents of the Portuguese in India could then effectively convert their merchant vessels into warships. Early naval battles were
Chaul Chaul is a historic town located in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. The Korlai Fort is located nearby. History Many foreign writers have mentioned Chaul. Ptolemy in his ''Geography of India'' calls the town Symullla or Timulla. The ...
(1508), and a decisive one off Diu (1509) won by the Portuguese. Naval combat worked to decide the status of the rivals. The distinct advantage of the Portuguese was the
cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
mounted on their ships. Vasco de Gama's flagship ''San Gabriel'' alone carried twenty guns of quality manufacture. Their mostly Muslim antagonists, lacking ship cannon, could not compete in the sea battles. Although
Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...
's invasion of India in 1526 used cannon, their use "on ships at sea was not known" before the Portuguese. Further, the well-made sailing ships of India had hulls sewn together not nailed, better in some weather, but unable to absorb the recoil from discharge of onboard cannon. "India was, on most criteria, one of the advanced countries of the world." Yet regarding naval cannon, gunnery, ship design, and nautical skill, the Portuguese had the edge. The
Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...
also disputed control of the Indian Ocean. At
Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...
overland by camel they transported Mediterranean
galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...
s in pieces for reassembly on the
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
, to reinforce their naval forces. From 1538 to 1553 the Turks sent battle fleets against the Portuguese. In several key engagements, however, the transoceanic
caravel The caravel (Portuguese language, Portuguese: , ) is a small sailing ship developed by the Portuguese that may be rigged with just lateen sails, or with a combination of lateen and Square rig, square sails. It was known for its agility and s ...
s and
galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...
s outmaneuvered the Turkish galleys. Hence, from Goa the Portuguese were able to
command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * command (Unix), a Unix command * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on A ...
the Indian Ocean. They instituted a system to tax its trade. Portuguese
cartaz The Cartaz (plural cartazes, in Portuguese) was a naval trade license or pass issued by the Portuguese empire in the Indian Ocean during the sixteenth century (circa 1502–1750). Its name derives from the Portuguese term ''cartas'', meaning letter ...
es (permits for navigation) were issued to owners of merchant vessels. The ''cartaza'' obliged the captain to keep to his ship's declared route and stop at the named Portuguese fort to pay duties on merchandise. "Any ship sailing without their ''cartas'' was treated as a pirate and was liable to capture and confiscation. . . . The Arab sea trade with India... passed into the hands of the Portuguese." During the sixteenth century "some eight hundred Portuguese
galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...
s" sailed in Indian waters, which became "virtually a Portuguese monopoly."


The spice trade

Portuguese control of the waters off South Asia enabled them to master the lucrative spice trade during the 16th century. They coordinated and consolidated their operations from their base at Goa. At first their merchants, called factors, were unfamiliar with the local produce markets, and with appraising the quality of different spices. They learned how not to overpay for poor quality. For storage until seasonal ships left for Portugal, they set up warehouses called factories. At strategic positions on many coasts of the Indian Ocean, the Portuguese established well-guarded,
fortified A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...
factories. At the
bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
s of Goa, goods from all parts of the East were displayed. Separate streets were designated for the sale of different classes of goods:
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
pearls and coral, Chinese porcelain and silk, Portuguese velvet and piece-goods, and drugs and spices from the
Malay Archipelago The Malay Archipelago is the archipelago between Mainland Southeast Asia and Australia, and is also called Insulindia or the Indo-Australian Archipelago. The name was taken from the 19th-century European concept of a Malay race, later based ...
. Fine peppers came from the nearby Malabar coast. Goa was then called ''Goa Dourada'', i.e., ''Golden Goa''. Especially the Portuguese enjoyed the great rewards to be made by shipping spice cargoes around Africa to Lisbon. The ever increasing demand of Europe meant ready buyers willing to pay top prices. "Arab and Venetian merchants remained in the spice trade throughout the century of Portuguese power in Asia" but the "trade has shifted dramatically". The middle-merchant carriers had been short-circuited by the ships direct to Lisbon.


Life in Goa

In 1542, St.
Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...
mentions the architectural splendour of the city. Goa reached the height of its prosperity between 1575 and 1625. Travellers marvelled at ''Goa Dourada'', i.e., ''Golden Goa''. A Portuguese proverb said, "He who has seen Goa need not see
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
." The houses of the rich were surrounded by gardens and
palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...
groves; they were built of stone and painted red or white. Instead of glass, their balconied windows had thin polished oyster-shells set in lattice-work. The social life of Goa's rulers befitted the capitol of the viceregal court, the army and navy, and the church; luxury and ostentation became a byword before the end of the 16th century. Nonetheless, according to Portuguese records there was a Cholera epidemic in 1543, "It is said that deaths from the disposal of the disease were so numerous that the disposal of bodies was a formidable task" In the main street, African and Indian slaves were sold by auction. Almost all manual labour was performed by slaves. The common soldiers assumed high-sounding titles, and even the poor noblemen who congregated in boarding-houses subscribed for a few silken cloaks, a silken umbrella and a common man-servant, so that each could take his turn to promenade the streets, fashionably attired and with a proper escort. In 1583, Christian missionary activity in the village of
Cuncolim Cuncolim is a town in South Goa district in the state of Goa, India. Geography Cuncolim is located at . It has an average elevation of . History It is a former village, now with a municipal council of its own, in the south Goa sub-district ...
led to conflicts, culminating in the Cuncolim Revolt. The first massacre happened when
kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
villagers killed five Catholic priests (including an Italian nobleman) and fourteen native Christians. The Portuguese authorities then destroyed orchards and attacked the Hindu villagers. Cuncolim village had sixteen chieftains, one for each ward or ''vado'' of the village. The sixteen were called to Assolna Fort, ostensibly to discuss a peace pact. At the fort the Portuguese executed the chieftains, except for one who jumped into the Assolna River and presumably swam to
Karwar Karwar is a coastal City and the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district, formerly part of the Bombay Presidency, located at the mouth of the Kali River (Karnataka), Kali river along the Konkan Coast in the present-day state of Ka ...
. The Hindus of Cuncolim then refused to pay taxes, and the Portuguese confiscated their land. In 1560 the
Goa Inquisition The Goa Inquisition (, ) was an extension of the Portuguese Inquisition in Portuguese India. Its objective was to enforce Catholic orthodoxy and allegiance to the Apostolic See of the Pontifex. The inquisition primarily focused on the New Chr ...
began, ending in 1812. The Hindu villagers who did not want to become Christian then left their villages with their idols before their temples were demolished. Most of these Hindus then settled in the neighbouring areas that were ruled by Bijapur, and again had to pay the jizya tax.


Printing press and medical college

In 1556 a
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
was first installed India at Saint Paul's College in Goa. Through publications made on the printing press, Goa opened a window on the knowledge and customs of Europe. The Jesuits brought this European-style, metal
movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable Sort (typesetting), components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric charac ...
technology to
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
in China in 1588 and to Japan in 1590. The Jesuits also founded the
University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...
in the Philippines, the oldest existing European-style university in the Far East. In the same period,
Goa Medical College Goa Medical College (GMC) is a public medical college and hospital located in Goa, India. It is one of the oldest medical colleges in Asia. The medical college is affiliated to the Goa University (GU), being its oldest unit. History Since th ...
was established as the first European medical college in Asia.
Garcia da Orta Garcia de Orta (or Garcia d'Orta; 1501–1568) was a Portuguese physician, herbalist, and naturalist, who worked primarily in Goa and Bombay in Portuguese India. A pioneer of tropical medicine, pharmacognosy, and ethnobotany, Garcia used an exp ...
(1501-1568) wrote in Goa a treatise in Portuguese on the medicinal plants of India,
Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India ''Colloquies on the Simples and Drugs of India'' () is a work published in Goa on 10 April 1563 by Garcia de Orta, a Portuguese Jewish physician and naturalist, a pioneer of tropical medicine. Outline of the ''Colóquios'' Garcia de Orta's wo ...
. It was published in 1563 in Goa on the new printing press, which contained many errors in its type-setting. The author was a physician, an herbalist, a pioneer in
pharmacognosy Pharmacognosy is the interdisciplinary scientific study of natural drugs and bioactive compounds from plants, animals, and minerals—originally focused on identifying crude drugs but now expanded to molecular, chemical, ecological, and medicin ...
, and originally a
Sephardic Jew Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
. As a ''Cristão Novo'' (
New Christian New Christian (; ; ; ; ; ) was a socio-religious designation and legal distinction referring to the population of former Jews, Jewish and Muslims, Muslim Conversion to Christianity, converts to Christianity in the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Po ...
) he had escaped the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
; but one of his sisters was not as fortunate.


Christianity in Goa

The Crown in Lisbon undertook to finance missionary activity; missionaries and priests converted large numbers of people in all spheres of society, especially in Goa. St Francis Xavier in Goa, pioneered the establishment of a seminary, called Saint Paul's College. It was the first Jesuit headquarters in Asia. St Francis founded the college to train Jesuit missionaries. He went to the Far East, traveling towards China. Missionaries of the Jesuit Order spread out through India, going as far north as the court of the great Mughal Emperor Jallaluddin
Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...
. Having heard about the Jesuits, he invited them to come and teach him and his children about Christianity. From Goa, the
Jesuit order The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by ...
was able to set up base almost anywhere in Asia for evangelistic missions, including the founding of
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
colleges, universities and faculties of education. Jesuits are known for their work in education, intellectual research, and cultural pursuits, and for their missionary efforts. Jesuits also give retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, and promote social justice and ecumenical dialogue.; Saint Paul's College Goa was a base for their evangelisation of Macau, and then for their important missionary campaigns into China and Japan. Macau eventually superseded St Paul's College, Goa. They built St Paul College in 1594 (now the University of Macau), known in Latin as the college of ''Mater Dei''.''Macao's Church of Saint Paul: A Glimmer of the Baroque in China'' By César Guillén Nuñez. Hong Kong University Press. (2009). p. 70. (, 9789622099227) Due to his personal enmity with the Jesuits, the
Marquês de Pombal A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...
expelled the order from Portuguese territories in 1762. The Macau university combined evangelisation with education. In the year 1600
António de Andrade António de Andrade (; 1580– March 19, 1634), also known as António d'Andrade or Andrada, was a Jesuit priest and explorer from Portugal. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1596. From 1600 until his death in 1634, he was engaged in missionary ...
made the long voyage from
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
to Goa, where he pursued his higher studies at St. Paul's College and was ordained a Jesuit priest. He eventually became rector of the same college. He made a landmark missionary expedition from Goa, across the length of India and into Tibet. He overcame incredible hardships in the journey as the first European to cross the
Himalaya mountains The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 peak ...
into Tibet. There he founded churches and a mission in 1625. The body of the co-founder of the Society of Jesus,
Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...
, whose example many Goan missionaries tried to emulate by engaging in evangelizing work in Asia, was shipped to Goa on 11 December 1553. Goa has also produced its own saints: the martyrs of Cuncolim; St.
Joseph Vaz Joseph Vaz, CO (21 April 165116 January 1711) was a Portuguese Oratorian priest and missionary in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Originally from Sancoale in Portuguese Goa, Vaz arrived in Ceylon during the Dutch occupation, a time when the Dutch had ...
, whose missionary exploits in Sri Lanka are remembered with gratitude in that country; and the Venerable
Agnelo de Souza Agnelo Gustavo Adolfo de Souza S.F.X. (21 January 1869 – 20 November 1927), was a Portuguese Roman Catholic priest of the Society of Pilar who performed missionary work in the province of Goa, then part of Portuguese India. The cause for hi ...
. The 16th-century monument, the cathedral or Sé, was constructed during Portugal's Golden Age, and is the largest church in Asia, as well as larger than any church in Portugal. The church is 250 ft in length and 181 ft in breadth. The frontispiece stands 115 ft high. The cathedral is dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria and is also known as St. Catherine's Cathedral. It was on her feast day in 1510 that Afonso de Albuquerque defeated the Muslim army and took possession of the city of Goa. The
Goa Inquisition The Goa Inquisition (, ) was an extension of the Portuguese Inquisition in Portuguese India. Its objective was to enforce Catholic orthodoxy and allegiance to the Apostolic See of the Pontifex. The inquisition primarily focused on the New Chr ...
was the office of the Inquisition acting within the Indian state of Goa and the rest of the Portuguese empire in Asia. It was established in 1560, briefly suppressed from 1774 to 1778, and finally abolished in 1812. Based on the records that survive, H. P. Salomon and I. S. D. Sassoon state that between the Inquisition's beginning in 1561 and its temporary abolition in 1774, some 16,202 persons were brought to trial. Of this number, only 57 were sentenced to death and executed; another 64 were burned in effigy. Most were subjected to lesser punishments or penances. The Inquisition was established to punish
New Christians New Christian (; ; ; ; ; ) was a socio-religious designation and legal distinction referring to the population of former Jews, Jewish and Muslims, Muslim Conversion to Christianity, converts to Christianity in the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Po ...
who continued practicing their ancestral religion in secret. Many Sephardic Jews (as falsely-converted Catholics) had immigrated to Goa from the Iberian peninsula. Due to persecution by the Inquisition, most left and migrated to
Fort St. George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...
(later
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
/Chennai) and
Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...
, where the English and the Dutch allowed them to be openly Jewish. In Goa the Inquisition also scrutinised Indian converts from Hinduism or Islam who were thought to have returned to their original ways. It prosecuted non-converts who broke prohibitions against the observance of Hindu or Muslim rites, or interfered with Portuguese attempts to convert non-Christians to Catholicism. Goan Inquisition was abolished in 1812.


Relations with neighboring powers

;Bijapur When the Portuguese arrived in Goa, they encountered the established regime of the
Sultanate of Bijapur The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a ''taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 1490 ...
under
Yusuf Adil Shah Yusuf Adil Shah (1450 – 5 December 1510), referred as Yusuf Adil Khan or Hidalcão by the Portuguese, was the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur for nearly two centuries. As the founder of the Adil Shahi dyna ...
(1450-1510). The Adil Shah (written ''Hidalcão'' by the Portuguese) controlled Goa (and significant territory of the Sultanate) from his distant, inland capital. Led by
Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa ( – 16 December 1515), was a Portuguese general, admiral, statesman and ''conquistador''. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across ...
, in alliance with Timoji, their 1510 attack ended in Portuguese victory. Bijapur lost Goa, but continued as a large, local power. In 1565 Bijapur and other
Deccan Sultanates The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Persianate Indian Muslim kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. They were created from the disintegrati ...
in a
jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
destroyed the capital of the Hindu Empire
Vijayanagar The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belonging to the ...
a, an ally of the Portuguese. From the spoils Bijapur doubled its size. In 1571 Bijapur in an alliance of mostly Muslim sultanates (
Ahmadnagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost imp ...
,
Bijapur Bijapur (officially Vijayapura) is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importa ...
,
Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...
,
Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...
) launched determined attacks on Goa, which failed. The defeat of this siege of Goa proved decisive. ;Kanara The
Kanara Kanara or Canara, also known as Karāvali, is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern Konkan coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The subregion comprises thr ...
coastal regions lay immediately south of Goa. Many small principalities, largely autonomous, were under Vijayanagara, then Bijapur.
Timoji Timoji was a privateer and pirate who served the Vijayanagara Empire and the Portuguese Empire, in the first decade of the 16th century. He claimed to have been born in Velha Goa and escaped the city in 1496, during the conquest by the Adil S ...
, who played a role in the 1510 capture of Goa, was from Kanara, e.g.,
Honavar Honnavar is a town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. History Honnavar is a port town in Coastal Karnataka known for its beautiful landscapes and rich history. The port hosted foreign traders from the Arab world, as well as later ...
. Goa traded with various Kanara rulers, which was an important source of rice for domestic consumption; other goods were pepper for export and timber for ships building. The Portuguese had built a fort and ran a factory in Kanara, and were often in effective local control. The Nayak rulers of the Keladi ruling family, however, began to dispute with Goa over the prices paid for trade goods, and other issues. Goa was not able to pay the increases demanded. A series of treaties were nonetheless negotiated. Then hostile Dutch influence increased and Arabs from
Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...
began to compete with Goa for the Kanara trade. ;Mughal When
Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...
(r. 1555–1605) ruled the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...
, he endeavored to harmonize the empire's conflicting religions. At Akbar's court, rival Muslim clerics had heated debates. At his new capital
Fatehpur Sikri Fatehpur Sikri () is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated from the district headquarters of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri itself was founded as the capital of the Mughal Empire in 1571 by Mughal emperors, Emperor Akbar, servin ...
, meetings at his
Ibadat Khana The Ibādat Khāna (House of Worship) was a meeting house built in 1575 CE by the Mughal Empire, Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) at Fatehpur Sikri to gather spiritual/religious leaders of different religious grounds (and beliefs) so ...
'House of Worship''more variously included "Muslim scholars, Hindu
pandit A pandit (; ; also spelled pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt. or Pdt.) is an individual with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge in Hinduism, particularly the Vedic scriptures, dharma, or Hindu philosophy; in colonial-e ...
s, Parsi
mobed A mobed, mowbed, or mobad (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭢𐭥𐭯𐭲) is a Zoroastrian cleric of a particular rank. Unlike a '' herbad'' (''ervad''), a ''mobed'' is qualified to serve as celebrant priest at the Yasna ceremony and other higher liturgi ...
s, and Jain
sadhu ''Sadhu'' (, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female), also spelled ''saddhu'') is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. They are sometimes alternatively ...
s". Akbar "invited Jesuits from Goa" but no Buddhists were in proximity. Conferring privately with Jesuits, Akbar discussed Christianity and Abrahamic theology. In 1682 Akbar promulgated a syncretic Din-i-Ilahi 'Divine Faith'' "The crucial question about Akbar's religious activity is whether he established a new religion or new spiritual order." Either way, his efforts came to nought. Goa enjoyed a flourishing trade with
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
, when Akbar annexed it in 1573. Agreeable relations were worked out, however, allowing the Portuguese at Diu to continue to issue
cartaz The Cartaz (plural cartazes, in Portuguese) was a naval trade license or pass issued by the Portuguese empire in the Indian Ocean during the sixteenth century (circa 1502–1750). Its name derives from the Portuguese term ''cartas'', meaning letter ...
es and collect duties on the sea trade. In 1602 the English arrived in Asia and pirated a loaded Portuguese merchant ship off
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
. In 1608 with 25,000 pieces of gold an English captain arranged for rights at
Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...
, the Mughal Empire's principle trading port. This led to a two-year war between the Mughals and the Portuguese, ending with a feckless treaty in 1615. The Mughals, then dominate in India but weak at sea, began to play the Europeans off against each other. Under Emperor
Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
(r. 1658–1707), the Mughals became frustrated by their war against the
Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...
s. Goa remained neutral, but once praised
Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
's valor. ;Dutch In 1595 there first appeared in Indian waters ships of the
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
United East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States General of the Neth ...
(Dutch: ''Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC''). Until then, for almost a century, the Portuguese had managed to keep secret their "more detailed information about India," especially their "priceless Portuguese navigation maps". Yet
Jan Huygen van Linschoten Jan Huygen van Linschoten (1563 – 8 February 1611) was a Dutch spy, merchant, traveller and writer. He travelled extensively along the East Indies regions under Portuguese influence and served as the archbishop's secretary in Goa between ...
, who had worked in Goa, in 1592 came away with the coveted knowledge which "taught the Dutch how to use the monsoon winds to their best advantage." Also unfortunately for Portugal, Spain had initiated the
Iberian Union The Iberian Union is a historiographical term used to describe the period in which the Habsburg Spain, Monarchy of Spain under Habsburg dynasty, until then the personal union of the crowns of Crown of Castile, Castile and Crown of Aragon, Aragon ...
, which united the two countries. Additionally, the Dutch and the Spanish were then fighting their
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
. In 1600 against Goa the Dutch allied with regional Muslim forces (the
Sultanate of Bijapur The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a ''taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 1490 ...
); then the Dutch made war on Goa. The long-term result of these hostilities was the undoing of Portuguese naval dominion in the Indian Ocean and a loss of its preeminence in sea trade. In 1603 and 1639, the city was blockaded by Dutch fleets, though never captured. The Dutch East India Company were defeated at the
Travancore–Dutch War The Travancore–Dutch War was a war between the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Indian kingdom of Travancore, culminating in the Battle of Colachel in 1741. Causes In the early 18th century, the Malabar Coast region of present-d ...
, which stifled their influence in the region. ;Vijayanagara The
Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...
(1336-1646) ruled vast lands in
South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
when the Portuguese arrived in Goa. The empire's rise as a great power was said to encompass a "mission of upholding the Hindu cause against Islam." Vijayanagara had earlier governed Goa; its ruler Vira Narasimha Raya (r. 1505–1509) contemplated retaking it, but soon died.
Krishna Deva Raya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529 and the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rulers in Indian history, he presided over t ...
(r. 1509–1529) then succeeded as ruler, said to be the empire's best. The Portuguese then were aggressively establishing control of maritime trade routes and coastal ports in
Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...
and Goa. The regional political rivalries developed so that Vijayanagara and Goa remained aligned as friendly powers. The Portuguese supplied Vijayanagara with Persian horses. A Portuguese engineer improved irrigation for lands of Krishna Deva Raya. Vijayanagara was ultimately defeated in 1646 by an alliance of
Deccan sultanates The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Persianate Indian Muslim kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. They were created from the disintegrati ...
. So vital was this alliance to Goa, that Goa lost much of its importance after the fall of Vijayanagara. There began a gradual drop in Goa's prosperity. In 1635 Goa was ravaged by an
epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...
.
Jean de Thévenot Jean de Thévenot (16 June 1633 – 28 November 1667) was a French traveller in Asia, who wrote extensively about his journeys. He was also a linguist, natural scientist and botanist. Education He was born in Paris and received his education in ...
in 1666, Baldaeus in 1672, and Fryer in 1675 described Goa in decline. ;Maratha ; The
Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
(1674-1818) to the north grew steadily in strength, far surpassing that of the Mughal Empire, let alone Goa. After his escape from
Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
in
Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...
, the Maratha ruler Chhatrapati
Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
(1627-1680) started a counterattack to recoup lands lost to the
Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...
through the
Treaty of Purandar (1665) The Battle of Purandar was fought between the Mughal Empire and the Marathas in 1665. Background The Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, appointed Jai Singh to lead a 12,000-man army against Maratha king Shivaji. Shaista Khan and Muazzam were both re ...
. Against Goa, Chhatrapati Shivaji mounted an invasion that subdued the region adjoining the Old Conquestas. He captured
Pernem Pernem (''Peddnne''; ) is a town and a municipal council in North Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. It is the capital of the Pernem Sub-District. Geography Pernem is one of the twelve sub-districts of Goa. It consists of twenty villa ...
,
Bicholim Bicholim (Konkani: ''Dicholi''; IPA: ), is a small town and a municipal council in North Goa district in the state of Goa, India. It is the headquarters of the ''Concelho'' (county) of Bicholim, one of seven that make up the '' Novas Conqui ...
,
Sattari Sattari (Konkani: ''Sot'tori''; IPA: ) is a ''taluka'' of North Goa district in the state of Goa, India. There are 77 villages and 2 towns in Sattari Taluka. The headquarters of Sattari taluka is Valpoi municipal council. It lies in the north ...
, Ponda,
Sanguem Sanguem is a city and a municipal council in South Goa district in the Indian state of Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Wes ...
,
Quepem Quepem (''Kepem'') is a town with a municipal council in South Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. The town is the administrative headquarters of the Quepem taluka (sub-district). History The town was established by a Portuguese noble ...
and
Canacona Canacona (), historically known as Kanvapura, is a city and a municipal council in the district of South Goa, Goa state, India. The Canacona taluka includes Patnem, Chaudi, Poinguinim, Loliem-Polem, Agonda, and Gaumdongre. Chaudi is the ...
from the Portuguese. Sawantwadi Bhonsale and Saudekar Rajas became his vassals. The Maratha Chhatrapati
Sambhaji Sambhaji (Sambhajiraje Shivajiraje Bhonsle, ; 14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689), also known as Shambhuraje, ruled from 1681 to 1689 as the second king ( Chhatrapati) of the Maratha Empire, a prominent state in early modern India. He was the elde ...
(1657-1689), the son of C. Shivaji, tried in 1683 to conquer all of Goa. Chh. Sambhaji almost ousted the remaining Portuguese, but suddenly a
Mughal army The army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 16th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselve ...
appeared which prevented the Maratha from completing their conquest, resulting in the culmination of the
Deccan wars The Deccan wars were a series of military conflicts between the Mughal Empire and the descendants of the Maratha Empire, Maratha ruler Shivaji from the time of Shivaji's death in 1680 until the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. Shivaji was ...
. In 1739-1740 the territory of
Bardez ''Bardez'' or ''Bardes'' ( IPA: ) is a ''taluka'' of the North Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. Etymology The name is credited to the Saraswat Brahmin immigrants who emigrated to the Konkan via Magadha plains in northern India. B ...
in north Goa was attacked by the Marathas, in order to pressure the Portuguese at
Vasai Vasai (Konkani and Marathi pronunciation: �əsəi British English: Bassein; formerly and alternatively Marathi; ''Bajipur'') is a historical place and city located in Palghar district; it was partitioned out of the Thane district in 2014. It ...
. The plan of conquest, however, was forestalled with "the payment of a large war indemnity." In June 1756 a Maratha Army invading Goa killed in action Luís Mascarenhas, Count of Alva (Conde de Alva), the Portuguese Viceroy. The Marathas, however faced an invasion from
Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...
, resulting in their defeat at the
Third Battle of Panipat The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 between the Maratha Empire and the invading army of the Durrani Empire. The battle took place in and around the city of Panipat, approximately north of Delhi. The Afghan (ethnonym), Af ...
(1761). The Maratha
Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...
's overall control slackened throughout India. The Portuguese then defeated the regional Rajas of
Sawantwadi Sawantwadi is a city located in Sawantwadi taluka, Sawantwadi Taluka, in the state of Maharashtra in Konkan region which is in the mid-western coast of India. It is a prominent town in the vicinity of Moti Lake and is well known for its woo ...
and the Raja of Sunda to reconquer an area from Pernem to Canacona. This territory formed the Novas Conquistas, within the boundaries of present-day Goa. Following the Battle of Panipat, the Mughals retained their friendly relationship with the Portuguese. ;English The long Dutch war described above led Portugal to seek an alliance with the English, which proved costly. The Dutch war did finally end in 1663. In 1665 the English demanded in payment the cession of
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
. Officially it was part of the dowry of
Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...
on her ill-starred marriage to Charles II. Though at first active rivals in India after the
English East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South Asia and Southeast A ...
arrived in 1601, the two latter attempted to coordinate against common enemies. The Maratha-derived "pirate" fleet led by the independent
Kanhoji Angre Kanhoji Angre (Help:IPA/Marathi, anʱod͡ʒiː aːŋɡɾe, also known as Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angré (August 1669 – 4 July 1729) was a Maratha Navy admiral. Kanhoji became known for attacking and capturing European Union, European Ea ...
inspired such an uneasy alliance. The 1721 Anglo-Portuguese naval attack on Culaba, the Angria stronghold, was repulsed. It was a fiasco that then embittered the partnership.


Estado da India: 18th and 19th centuries

In 1757, King
Joseph I of Portugal '' Dom'' Joseph I (; 6 June 1714 – 24 February 1777), known as the Reformer (Portuguese: ''o Reformador''), was King of Portugal from 31 July 1750 until his death in 1777. Among other activities, Joseph was devoted to hunting and the opera. ...
issued a decree, developed by his minister
Marquês de Pombal A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...
, granting Portuguese citizenship to all subjects in the Portuguese Indies, with the right to be represented in the Portuguese Parliament. Pombal (1699-1782), an anti-Catholic
Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
, served the King as the ''de facto'' leader of Portugal, 1750–1777. The enclaves of Goa,
Damão Daman is a city and the administrative capital of the Indian territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is a municipal council situated in the Daman district of the union territory. The Daman Ganga River divides Daman into: Na ...
, Diu,
Dadra and Nagar Haveli Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a district of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in western India. It is composed of two separate geographical entities: Nagar Haveli, wedged in between Maharashtra and Gujarat states; and ...
became collectively known as the ''Estado da Índia Portuguesa''. The first election was held in Goa on 14 January 1822. Three local citizens were elected as members of the Portuguese parliament. From their first arrival, the Portuguese intermarried among the converted natives of Goa. They produced Luso-Indian offspring, who were also Catholic. In 1787, some disgruntled priests attempted a rebellion against Portuguese rule. It was known as the
Conspiracy of the Pintos Conspiracy of the Pintos, also known as the Pinto Revolt or the Pinto Conspiracy, and in Portuguese as ''A Conjuração dos Pintos'', was a rebellion against the Portuguese rule in Portuguese Goa in 1787. The leaders of the plot were three promi ...
. Goa was peacefully occupied by the British between 1812 and 1815 in line with the
Anglo-Portuguese Alliance The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance (, "Luso-English Alliance") is the oldest alliance that is still in force by political bilateral agreement. It was established by the Treaty of Windsor in 1386, between the Kingdom of England (since succeeded ...
during the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. The viceroy transferred his residence from the vicinity of Goa city to New Goa (in Portuguese ''Nova Goa''), today's
Panaji Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...
. In 1843 this was made the official seat of government; it completed a move that had been discussed as early as 1684.
Old Goa Old Goa (Konkani: ; ) is a historical site and city situated on the southern banks of the River Mandovi, within the Tiswadi ''taluka'' (''Ilhas'') of North Goa district, in the Indian state of Goa. The city was established by the Bijapur ...
city's population fell steeply during the 18th century as Europeans moved to the new city. Old Goa has been designated a
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
by UNESCO because of its history and architecture. The Goa civil code was introduced in 1869 after Portuguese Goa and Damaon were elevated from being mere Portuguese colonies to the status of a Província Ultramarina (Overseas possession).


Second World War

Goa was neutral during the conflict like Portugal. As a result, at the outbreak of hostilities a number of Axis ships sought refuge in Goa rather than be sunk or captured by the British Royal Navy. Three German merchants ships, the ''Ehrenfels'', the ''Drachenfels'' and the ''Braunfels'', as well as an Italian ship, took refuge in the port of
Mormugao Mormugao is a coastal town situated in the eponymous subdistrict of Southern Goa state, India. It has a deep natural harbour and remains Goa's chief port. Towards the end of the Indo-Portuguese era in 1917, thirty-one settlements were c ...
. The ''Ehrenfels'' began transmitting Allied ship movements to the
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
s operating in the Indian Ocean, an action that was extremely damaging to Allied shipping. But the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
was unable to take any official action against these ships because of Goa's stated neutrality. Instead the Indian mission of SOE backed a covert raid using members from the
Calcutta Light Horse The Calcutta Light Horse was a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1872. It was disbanded in 1947 following India's independence from British rule. Operation Creek On Military reserve, reserve since the Second Boer War, Boer ...
, a part-time unit made up of civilians who were not eligible for normal war service. The Light Horse embarked on an ancient Calcutta riverboat, the ''Phoebe'', and sailed round India to Goa, where they sunk the ''Ehrenfels''. The British then sent a decrypted radio message announcing it was going to seize the territory. This bluff made the other Axis crews scuttle their ships fearing they could be seized by British forces. The raid was covered in the book ''Boarding Party'' by
James Leasor James Leasor (20 December 1923 – 10 September 2007) was a prolific British writer of historical books and thrillers. He was one of the best-selling British authors of the 20th century. After beginning his writing career as a journalist he wro ...
. Due to the potential political ramifications of the fact that Britain had violated Portuguese neutrality, the raid remained secret until the book was published in 1978. In 1980 the story was made into the film, ''
The Sea Wolves ''The Sea Wolves'' is a 1980 war film starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven. The film, which is based on the 1978 book ''Boarding Party'' by James Leasor, is the true story of Operation Creek during the Second World War. In the ...
'', starring
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...
,
David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an English actor, soldier, raconteur, memoirist and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. His accolades include an Academ ...
and
Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...
.


Independence Movement

When India became independent in 1947, Goa remained under Portuguese control. The Indian government of
Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...
demanded that Goa, along with a few other minor Portuguese holdings, be turned over to India. However, Portugal refused due to Goa being an integral part of Portugal since 1510. By contrast, France, which also had small enclaves in India (most notably
Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: Places in India * Puducherry (union territory), formerly known as Pondicherry ** Puducherry (city), capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district The Puducherry District, also know ...
), surrendered all its Indian possessions relatively quickly. In 1954, a horde of armed Indians flooded into and took over the tiny land-locked enclaves of
Dadra and Nagar Haveli Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a district of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in western India. It is composed of two separate geographical entities: Nagar Haveli, wedged in between Maharashtra and Gujarat states; and ...
. This incident led the Portuguese to lodge a complaint against India in the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
at
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
. The final judgement on this case, given in 1960, held that the Portuguese had a right to the enclaves, but that India equally had a right to deny Portugal access to the enclaves over Indian territory. In 1955 a group of unarmed civilians, the Satyagrahis, demonstrated against Portugal. At least twenty-two of them were killed by Portuguese gunfire. Later the same year, these non-Goan Satyagrahis took over a fort at Tiracol and hoisted the Indian flag. They were driven out of Goa by the Portuguese with a number of casualties. On 1 September 1955, the Indian consulate in Goa was closed using this incident as an excuse; Nehru declared that his government would not tolerate the Portuguese presence in Goa. India then instituted a blockade against Goa, Damão, and Diu in an effort to force a Portuguese departure. Goa was then given its own airline by the Portuguese, the
Transportes Aéreos da Índia Portuguesa Transportes Aéreos da Índia Portuguesa (Air Transport of Portuguese India) or TAIP was an airline which operated from Portuguese India from 1955 to 1961. During this period, it functioned as the state airline of Portuguese India, which compri ...
, to overcome the blockade.


Indian annexation of Goa

On 27 February 1950, the Government of India asked the Portuguese government to open negotiations about the future of Portuguese colonies in India. Portugal asserted that its territory on the Indian subcontinent was not a colony but part of metropolitan Portugal and hence its transfer was non-negotiable, and that India had no rights to this territory because the Republic of India did not exist at the time when Goa came under Portuguese rule. On 18 December 1961, Indian troops crossed the border into Goa and annexed it. Operation Vijay involved sustained land, sea and air strikes for more than thirty-six hours; it resulted in the unconditional surrender of Portuguese forces on 19 December 1961 by
Manuel António Vassalo e Silva Manuel António Vassalo e Silva (8 November 1899 – 11 August 1985) was an officer of the Portuguese Army and an overseas administrator. He was the 128th and the last Governor-General of Portuguese India. Personal life Silva was the only son ...
. A United Nations resolution condemning the invasion was proposed by the United States and the United Kingdom in the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
, but it was vetoed by the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Goa celebrates Liberation Day on 19 December every year, which is also a state holiday.


Post-Annexation (1961 – present)


As a Union Territory (1961-1987)

The territory of
Goa, Daman and Diu Goa, Daman and Diu (, ) was a union territory of the Republic of India established in 1961 following the Annexation of Goa, liberation of Portuguese India, with Maj Gen K P Candeth as its first governor. The Goa portion of the territory was gran ...
was a
union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...
of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
from 19 December 1961 to 30 May 1987. Its official language was declared to be
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
, much to the anger of the majority of the native Goans. After a brief period of military rule, on 8 June 1962, military rule was replaced by civilian government when the
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Kunhiraman Palat Candeth Lieutenant General Kunhirāman Pālātt Kandèt,PVSM (23 October 1916 – 19 May 2003) was a senior officer in the Indian Army who played a commanding role in the Liberation of Goa from Portuguese control in 1961, and briefly served as ...
nominated an informal Consultative Council of 29 nominated members to assist him in the administration of the territory.
Dayanand Bandodkar Dayanand Balkrishna "Bhausaheb" Bandodkar (12 March 1911 – 12 August 1973) was an Indian politician who served as the first Chief Minister of Goa, Daman and Diu. Born in Pernem to a Marathi family who had immigrated from Tuljapur in British ...
of the
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party ( MGP) is a political party in India. It was Goa's first ruling party after the end of Portuguese rule in Goa in 1961. The party has its base amongst non-Brahmin Hindu migrants from Maharashtra and their desce ...
was elected as the first Chief Minister of Goa, Daman and Diu. He attempted to merge Goa with Maharashtra by importing Marathi immigrants from the neighbouring state (Goa's population increased by almost 35% in the 1960s due to heavy immigration of Marathi people), but his plans were foiled by the
Goa Opinion Poll The 1967 Goa status referendum popularly known as the Goa Opinion Poll was a referendum held in newly annexed union territory of Goa and Damaon in India, on 16 January 1967, to deal with the Konkani language agitation and to decide the future of ...
.


State of Goa (1987 -present)

In February 1987, the Indian government finally recognized Konkani as the official language of Goa. Goa was later admitted to Indian statehood in May 1987.
Pratapsingh Rane Pratapsingh Raoji Rane (born 28 January 1939) is an Indian politician who has served as the Chief Minister of Goa a record seven times and was also the former Leader Of Opposition in the Goa Legislative Assembly. He has been a Member of Legis ...
, who had previously served as Chief Minister of
Goa, Daman and Diu Goa, Daman and Diu (, ) was a union territory of the Republic of India established in 1961 following the Annexation of Goa, liberation of Portuguese India, with Maj Gen K P Candeth as its first governor. The Goa portion of the territory was gran ...
, was elected as the first Chief Minister of the newly formed state. Goa has a high
GDP per capita This is a list of countries by nominal GDP per capita. GDP per capita is the total value of a country's finished goods and services (gross domestic product) divided by its total population (per capita). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is ...
and
Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
compared to most Indian states.


See also

*
Portuguese conquest of Goa The Portuguese conquest of Goa occurred when the governor Afonso de Albuquerque captured the city in 1510 from the Sultanate of Bijapur. Old Goa became the capital of Portuguese India, which included territories such as Fort Manuel of Cochin, ...
*
Goa Inquisition The Goa Inquisition (, ) was an extension of the Portuguese Inquisition in Portuguese India. Its objective was to enforce Catholic orthodoxy and allegiance to the Apostolic See of the Pontifex. The inquisition primarily focused on the New Chr ...
* Goan Catholics under the British Indian Empire * Sackings of Goa and Bombay-Bassein * History of Goan Catholics *
Timeline of Goan history This is a timeline of Goan history. It overlaps with the histories of other regions in South Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and colonial powers that influenced the region, including Portugal. Stone Age *, B.P. (Before Portuguese) Arrival of m ...
* Battle of Goa (1638) *
Annexation of Goa The Annexation of Goa was the process in which the India, Republic of India annexed the Portuguese State of India, the then Portuguese Indian territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, starting with the armed action carried out by the Indian Armed ...
*
List of peers and fidalgos in Portuguese India The Kingdom of Portugal gave titles and created coats of arms for its fellow Portuguese citizens of Goan origin from the early 1700s, both Goan Hindu and Goan Catholics. However, these titles lost their recognition after the 5 October 1910 revolu ...


Notes

* Gune, Vithal Trimbak (1979) ''Gazetteer of the Union Territory Goa, Daman and Diu: Goa'' (Goa) * Nayak, K.D (1968) ''Gomantakachi sanskrutic ghadan'' n Marathi(Margao: Gomant Vidya Niketan)


Footnotes


References


Bibliography

* * Banerjea, D., ''Goa, 2002'' (Allied Publishers 2005) Criminal Justice India Series . * Bhagamandala Seetharama Shastry & Charles J. Borges, ''Goa-Kanara Portuguese Relations, 1498-1763'' * De Souza, Teotonio R., ''Goa Through the Ages: An economic history'', vol. 2. (Concept Publishing Co. 1990) * De Souza, Teotonio R., ''Medieval Goa. A socio-economic history'' (Goa: Goa,1556 1979, 2d ed. 2009) * Krishna Ayyar, K. V., ''A short history of Kerala'' (Ernakulam: Pai & Co. 1966) * Nayak, K. D., ''Gomantakachi sanskrutic ghadan'' ''Marathi(Margao: Gomant Vidya Niketan 1968) * Panikkar, K. M., ''Malabar and the Portuguese'' (1929; reprint New Delhi: Voice of India 2016) * Pearson, M. N., ''The Portuguese in India'' (Cambridge University 1988) * Priolkar, Anant, ''The Goa Inquisition, Being a Quatercentenary Commemoration Study of the Inquisition in India'' (Bombay University Press) * Rao, R. P., ''Portuguese rule in Goa: 1510-1961'' (Bombay: Asia Publishing House 1963) * Sakshena, R. N., ''Goa: Into the Mainstream'' (Abhinav Publications 2003) . * Satoskar, Ba. Da, ''Gomantak prakruti ani sanskuti, khand II'' ''Marathi(Pune: Shubhda publishers 1982) ** De Souza, Teotonio R., editor, ''Indo-Portuguese History. Old issues, new questions'' (Delhi: Naurang Rai Concept 1985) ;Articles * * Boxer, C.R. "Golden Goa 1510-1954." ''History Today'' (Nov 1954) 4#11 pp 754–763. *Gune, Vithal Trimbak (1979) ''Gazetteer of the Union Territory Goa, Daman and Diu: Goa'' (Goa) ;Secondary * Boxer, C. R., ''The Portuguese Seaborne Empire, 1415-1825'' (New York: Knopf 1969) * Chaudhuri, K. N., ''Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean'' (Cambridge University 1985) * Davies, C. Collin, ''An Historical Atlas of the Indian Peninsula'' (Oxford University 2d ed. 1949) * De Mendonça, Délio. ''Conversions and Citizenry: Goa under Portugal, 1510-1610'' (2002
online
* Diffie and Winius, ''Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415-1580'' (University of Minnesota 1977) * Henn, Alexander. ''Hindu-Catholic encounters in Goa: Religion, colonialism, and modernity'' (Indiana University Press, 2014
online
* Ikram, A. J., ''Muslim civilization in India'' (New York: Columbia University 1964) * Jayasuriya, Shihan de Silva. ''The Portuguese in the East: A Cultural History of a Maritime Trading Empire'' (2008) * Panikkar, K. M., ''A survey of Indian History'' (New York: Asia Publishing House 1947, 4th ed. 1964) * Russell-Wood, A. J. R., ''The Portuguese Empire, 1415-1808: A World on the Move'' * Sarker, Himansu Bhusan, ''Trade and commercial activities of Southern India in the Malayo-Indonesian world'' (Calcutta: Firma KLM 1986) * Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta, ''A History of South India. From prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagara'' (1947; New Delhi: Oxford University 4th ed. 1975) * Smith, Vincent, ''Oxford History of India'' (3d ed. 1958), edited by Percival Spear. * Subrahmanyam, Sanjay, ''The Portuguese empire in Asia, 1500-1700: A political and economic history'' (2012) * Wolpert, Stanley, ''A New History of India'' (Oxford University 1977, 7th ed. 2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:History of Goa Articles containing video clips