History of Goa

Some parts of present-day Goa appear to have been uplifted from the sea due to geological tectonic plate movement. There is evidence to support this theory as indicated by presence of marine fossils, buried seashells and other features of reclaimed topography in the coastal belt.[2] The evidence provided by the conch shells at Surla village, fossilized marine conch shells discovered in 1863, petrified roots, 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 up from seabed as a result of violent tectonic movements. At the decline of the intensity of pluviation in the last Pleistocenic age around 10000 BC, the bottom of Deccan plateau was lifted up and out of sea-waters by the tectonic movements, formed the West-coast of India, Goa being a part thereof.[4]

Until 1993 the existence of humans in Goa during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic period was highly debated. The discovery of rock art engravings on lateritic platforms and granite boulders from Usgalimal on the banks of west-flowing river Kushavati River, has shed light on the prehistory of Goa.[5] 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 man for centuries as a source of water.[6] An anthropomorphic figure of Mother goddess and tectiforms resembling tree-like motifs have been found.[6] This site was discovered by Dr P.P.Shirodkar. Exploration of several Mesolithic sites of the Mandovi-Zuari basin, at other sites such as Keri, Thane, Anjuna, Mauxim, Kazur in Quepem, Virdi, has led to the discovery of several scrapers, points, bores, cones, etc. A hand axe has also been found at Usgalimal.[7] Further unifacial choppers were recovered on a flat-based pebble of quartzite from a pebble conglomerate at Shigaon on the Dudhsagar River.[8] Shirodakar made a detailed study of the rock engravings and dated them to Upper paleolithic and Mesolithic phases, or to 20,000-30,000 BC.[7] 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 the laterite rock compounds has posed a problem in determining the exact time period.[9]

One of the Usgalimal rock engravings, belonging to the upper Paleolithic or Mesolithic periods. These are some of the earliest traces of human settlement in India.

Dr. Nandkumar Kamat from the University of Goa discovered the prehistoric petroglyphs of Goa.[note 1] More than 125 forms were found scattered on the banks of river Kushavati in south-eastern Goa. According to Kamat, these are evidence of a prehistoric Goan shamanistic 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, 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 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, so they set up camps near the streams. The Kushavati found food security in the jungle near the steam. 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 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.

Archaeological evidence in the form of polished stone axes, suggest the first settlements of Neolithic man in Goa.[10] These axes have been found in Goa Velha.[11] During this period tribes of Austric 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.[10] According to Goan historian Anant Ramakrishna Dhume, the Gauda and Kunbi and other such castes are modern descendants of ancient Mundari tribes. Dhume notes several words of Mundari origin in the Konkani language. He describes the deities worshipped by the ancient tribes, their customs, methods of farming, and its overall effect on modern-day Goan culture.[12] 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.[12]

The Proto-Australoid tribe known as the Konkas, from whom is derived the name of the region, Kongvan or Konkan, with the other mentioned tribes, reportedly made up the earliest settlers in the territory.[13] 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 tribes as late as 1200 BC. The Kol tribe is believed to have migrated from Gujarat.[14]

During this period, the people began worship of a mother goddess in the form of anthill or Santer. The Anthill is called Roen(Konkani: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.[12]

The theocratic democracy of Sumer was transformed into the oligarchic 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.[15] 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.[16]

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: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).[17] 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.[16]

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 probably around 1600 BC to escape submergence of their civilization which thrived on sea-trade.[14] With the admixture of several cultures, customs, religions, dialects and beliefs, led to revolutionary change in early Goan society.[18]

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 BC, Chandravarman in the 6th century BC, and Ajitavarman in the 7th century BC, 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 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. This dynasty was known as the Konkan Mauryas. Goa was called Sunaparant by the Mauryas.[19]

Chandragupta Maurya incorporated the west coast of India in his province of Aparanta, and the impact of Magadhan Prakrit, the official language of the Mauryan Empire, on the local dialects resulted in the formation of early Konkani, as was the case with other Aryan vernaculars. During this era Buddhism was introduced to Goa. Similarly a native Goan named Purna, also known as Punna in Pali, who traveled to Sarnath is considered a direct disciple of Buddha, who popularised Buddhism in Goa in 5th century BC.[19]

The Satavahana dynasty began as vassals of the Mauryan Empire, but declared independence as the Mauryan Empire declined. The Satavahana dynasty ruled Goa through their coastal vassals, the Chutus of Karwar. 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 from the coastal trade from Sindh to Saurashtra, from Bharuch to Sopara to Goa, where Greek and Roman ships would halt during voyages. The Bhojas fortified themselves after the end of Satavahana Empire.[20] With the fall of the Satavahanas, the lucrative seaborne trade declined.[21] Many Greek converts to Buddhism settled in Goa during this period. Buddha statues in Greek styles have been found in Goa.[22] It can be seen that they ruled a very small part of Goa. Maharashtri prakrit was their language of administration, which influenced medieval Konkani to a great extent.[23]

Goa under the Western Kshatrapas

In the year 150AD, Vashishtiputra Satakarni was defeated by his son-in-law, the Kshatrapa King Rudradaman I who established his rule over Goa.[24] This dynasty ruled the territory until 249AD. Thereafter the dynasty's power seems to have been weakened by their generals, the Abhiras[25]

First existing as vassals of the Mauryan Empire and later as an independent empire, the Bhojas ruled Goa for more than 500 years, annexing the entirety of Goa. The earliest known record of the Bhoja Empire from Goa dates from the 4th century AD, it was found in the town of Shiroda in Goa. According to Puranik, by tradition the Bhojas belonged to the clan of Yadavas, who may have migrated to Goa via Dwaraka after the Mahabharata war.[26] Two Bhoja copperplates grants dating back to the 3rd century BC were unearthed from Bandora village, written by King Prithvimallavarman. Many other copper plates, have also been recovered from other places in Goa which date from the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD. Ancient Chandrapur, modern day Chandor, was the capital of the Bhoja Empire; the Bhojas ruled Goa, Belgaum and North Canara.

From the Bhoja inscriptions found in Goa and Konkan, it is evidenced that the Bhojas used Sanskrit and Prakrit for administration. According to Vithal Raghavendra Mitragotri, many Brahmins and Vaishyas arrived with Kshatriyas Bhojas from the north.[27] The Kshatriya Bhojas patronised Buddhism and employed many Buddhist converts of Greek and Persian origin.[28]

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.[29] 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.[30]

The Shilaharas of South Konkan ruled Goa from 755 until 1000 AD. Sannaphulla, the founder of the dynasty, was a vassal of the Rashtrakutas. 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), Chandrapura and Gopakapattana.[31] 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, 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.[31]

The Kadambas ruled Goa between the 10th and 14th centuries. In the beginning, the Kadambas ruled only Sashti present day Salcette, a small part of Konkan. They ruled from Chandor, over a large part of Goa, but the port of Gopakapattana was not included in the early years.[32]

Later King Shashthadeva conquered the island of Goa, including the ports of Gopakpattana and Kapardikadvipa, and annexed a large part of South Konkan to his kingdom. He made Gopakpattana 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 Gopakapattna had trade contacts with Zanzibar, Bengal, Gujarat and Sri Lanka (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, Gopakapattna 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. The capital was transferred to Chandor and then back to Gopakapattna because of Muhammad bin Tughluq's attack on Chandor.[32]

The Mahadeva Temple at Tambdi Surla, built during the 12th century CE is one of the few surviving medieval temples in Goa.

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 temples as they were devout Shaivites. They assumed titles like Konkanadhipati, Saptakotisha Ladbha Varaveera, Gopakapura varadhishva, Konkanmahacharavarti and Panchamahashabda.[33] 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. They are also known for patronising Jainism in Goa.

Though their language of administration was Sanskrit and Kannada, Konkani and Marathi were also prevalent. They introduced Kannada language to Goa, which had a very profound influence on the local tongue. Nagari script, Kadamba script, 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.[34] 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 [35] Goa Kadamba King Suriya Deva was assassinated by Muslim invaders.

From 1350 to 1370, Goa was ruled by the Bahmani Sultanate. In 1469 Goa was again conquered by the Bahmani Sultans of Gulbarga. This Sultanate broke up in 1492.

In 1370, the Vijayanagar Empire had reconquered Goa. Vijayanagar was a resurgent Hindu state controlling much of south India; its capitol was located at modern day Hampi, in Karnataka. The Vijayanagar rulers then held Goa for nearly a century. During that time its harbours were important ports of arrival for Arabian horses destined for the Vijayanagar calvary.

In 1492, Goa became a part of Adil Shah's Bijapur Sultanate, which established Goa Velha 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.

Vasco da Gama commanded the first circumnavigation of Africa,[36][37] 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 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,[38] 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.[39][40] A year out from Lisbon, de Gama's fleet landed in Calicut, India. Their arrival signaled the end of Muslim monopoly over the region's maritime trade.[41][42][43][42]

In 1510, Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque attacked Goa at the behest of the local chieftain Timayya. After losing the city briefly to its former ruler, Ismail Adil Shah, the Muslim King of Bijapur, Albuquerque returned in force on 25 November, with a fully renovated fleet.[44] In less than a day, the Portuguese fleet took possession of Goa from Ismail Adil Shah and his Ottoman allies, who surrendered on 10 December. An estimate was reported that 6,000 of the 9,000 Muslim defenders of the city died, either in the battle on the streets or while trying to escape.[45] Albuquerque managed to gain the support of the Hindu population, although this frustrated the initial expectations of Thimayya, who aspired to control the city. Albuquerque rewarded him by appointing him chief Aguazil of the city, which office had an administrative role and represented the Hindu and Muslim people; Thimayya was a learned interpreter of the local customs.[46] Albuquerque made an agreement to lower yearly dues and taxes. In spite of frequent attacks by raiders, Goa became the centre of Portuguese India. The conquest drew defference from several; neighboring kingdoms: the Sultan of Gujarat and the Zamorin of Calicut dispatched embassies, offering alliances and local concessions to be fortified.

Goa Market Place in 1583

In Goa, Albuquerque started the first Portuguese mint in the East, after complaints from merchants and Timoja about the scarcity of currency. He used it as an opportunity to announce the territorial conquest by the design of the new coins.[47] The new coin, based on the existing local coins, bore a cross on one side and the design of an armillary sphere (or esfera), King Manuel's badge, on the reverse. Gold, silver and bronze coins were issued: gold cruzados or manueis, esperas and alf-esperas, and leais.[48][49] More mints were built in Malacca in 1511.

Chapel of St. Catherine, built during the Portuguese occupation in Old Goa. [note 2]

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, 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.[50]

Goa was the base for Albuquerque's conquest 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 and other bases in Indonesia, East Timor, the Persian Gulf, Macau in China and trade bases in Japan were under the suzerainty of its Viceroy. By mid–16th century, the area under occupation had expanded to most of present-day limits.

Portuguese rule in Goa endured for four and a half centuries. Goa was eventually granted the same civic privileges as Lisbon. Its senate or municipal chamber maintained direct communications with the King 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. The Portuguese rulers in Goa were either Viceroys or Governors. Their original jurisdiction included the possessions of the Portuguese from Africa to Southeast Asia. The first viceroy to serve located himself in Kochi to the south on the Malabar coast; in 1510 this Portuguese seat of government was then established at Velha Goa.

The Portuguese base at Goa worked to consolidate their control of the lucrative spice trade. Goods from all parts of the East were displayed in its bazaar, and separate streets were designated for the sale of different classes of goods: Bahrain pearls and coral, Chinese porcelain and silk, Portuguese velvet and piece-goods, and drugs and spices from the Malay Archipelago. In the 16th century Portuguese control of the waters off South Asia enabled them to tax the cargoes of its sea trade.

In 1542, St. Francis Xavier mentions the architectural splendour of the city. It reached the height of its prosperity between 1575 and 1625. Travellers marvelled at Goa Dourada, or Golden Goa. A Portuguese proverb said, "He who has seen Goa need not see Lisbon." Yet, 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"[51]

Map of Goa, in Histoire générale des Voyages, de la Harpe, 1750.

In the main street, African and Indian slaves were sold by auction. The houses of the rich were surrounded by gardens and palm 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.[52]

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.[52]

Man and Woman of Goa. From Mary Annie Venning, 'A Geographical Present; Being Descriptions of the Principal Countries of the World'.

Around 1583, missionary activity in Cuncolim led to conflicts, culminating in the Cuncolim Revolt in which natives killed all the missionaries. The Portuguese authorities called the sixteen chieftains of each ward or vado of the Cuncolim village to the Assolna Fort, ostensibly to form a peace pact with the villagers. At the fort the Portuguese killed the chieftains, except for two who jumped from the fort into the Arabian Sea and presumably swam to Karwar. The villagers lost their traditional leaders and the Portuguese began confiscating the land of the locals. At the same time, they initiated the Goa Inquisition.

In 1556 the printing press was first introduced to India and Asia at Saint Paul's College in Goa; through the spread of the printing press, Goa led the acceleration of the availability of the knowledge and customs of Europe.[53][54][55] After getting established in Goa, the Jesuits introduced the printing press technology for the first time in history into Macau-China in 1588 and into Japan in 1590.[56] The Jesuits founded the university of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, which is the oldest existing university in Asia;[57] in the same period, Goa Medical College was established as the first European medical college in Asia.[58]

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.[59] St Francis Xavier in Goa, pioneered the establishment of a seminary, called Saint Paul's College. It was the first Jesuit headquarters in Asia.[60][61][62] 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 Moghul Emperor Jallaluddin Akbar. Having heard about the Jesuits, he invited them to come and teach him and his children about Christianity.[63]

From Goa, the Jesuit order was able to set up base almost anywhere in Asia for evangelistic missions, including the founding of Roman Catholic 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.[64] Because of state conflicts with the Jesuits, In 1762 the Marquês de Pombal expelled the order from Macau.[65] The Macau university combined evangelisation with education.[64]

In the year 1600 António de Andrade made the long voyage from Lisbon 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 into Tibet.[66][67] There he founded churches and a mission in 1625.[68] The corpse of the co-founder of the Society of Jesus, Francis Xavier, 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, whose missionary exploits in Sri Lanka are remembered with gratitude in that country; and the Venerable Angelo de Souza.[69]

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.[70][71] 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 Auto-da-fé procession of the Inquisition at Goa. The Goa Inquisition, which was established in 1560 and abolished in 1820, persecuted Hindus, Muslims, and other religious minorities

The Goa Inquisition 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 1774–1778, and finally abolished in 1812. The Goan Inquisition is considered a blot on the history of Roman Catholic Christianity in India by both Christians and non-Christians alike. 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 relapsed New Christians, Jews and Muslims who had converted to Catholicism, as well as their descendants, but were suspected of practicing their ancestral religion in secret. Numerous Portuguese Jews (as converted Catholics) had come to Goa and worked as traders. Due to persecution during the Inquisition, most left and migrated to Fort St. George (later Madras/Chennai) and Cochin, where English and Dutch rule, respectively, were more tolerant.

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. While its ostensible goal was to preserve the Catholic faith, the Inquisition was used against Indian Catholics as an instrument of social control, as well as a method of confiscating victims' property and enriching the Inquisitors. Goan Inquisition was abolished in 1812.

When the Portuguese arrived in Goa, they encountered the Sultanate of Bijapur under Yusuf Adil Shah (1450-1510). Adil Shah (written Hidalcão by the Portuguese) controlled Goa and many surrounding lands from his distant inland capital. Led by Alfonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese managed to defeat him in 1510, gaining control of Goa.[72]

In 1595 there first appeared in Indian waters the Dutch United East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie).[73] For a time then Portugal was united with Spain, and the Dutch and the Spanish were at war. Against Goa the Dutch in 1600 allied with Muslim forces; war in Goa followed. The result was the undoing of Portuguese naval dominion in the Indian Ocean and a loss of its preeminence in sea trade.[74] In 1603 and 1639, the city was blockaded by Dutch fleets, though never captured.

There began a gradual drop in Goa's prosperity. The Jesuits of Goa gradually assumed control of its trade. In 1635 Goa was ravaged by an epidemic. Jean de Thévenot in 1666, Baldaeus in 1672, and Fryer in 1675 describe Goa's accelerating decline.

Basilica of Bom Jesus

The Vijayanagar Empire (1336-1646) controlled the lands of South India 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." Vijayanagar had earlier governed Goa; its ruler Vira Narasimha Raya contemplated retaking it, but died in 1509. Krishna Deva Raya (1509-1529) then succeeded as ruler, said to be the empire's best. Then the Portuguese were aggressively establishing control of maritime trade routes and coastal ports in Cochin and Goa. The political rivalries developed so that Vijayanagar and Goa became friends. A Portuguese engineer improved irrigation for lands of Krishna Deva Raya.[75] Goa lost much of its importance with the fall of Vijayanagar.[76][77]

When Akbar (1542-1605) ruled the Mughal Empire (1526-1857), 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, meetings at his Ibadat Khana [House of Worship] included "Muslim scholars, Hindu pandits, Parsi mopeds, and Jain sadhus". Akbar "invited Jesuits from Goa" but no Buddhists were in proximity. Akbar conferred privately to discuss Christianity and theology with Goan Jesuits. In 1682 Akbar promulgated a syncretic Din-i-Ilahi [Divine Faith].[78] "The crucial question about Akbar's religious activity is whether he established a new religion or a new spiritual order." Yet his efforts came to nought.[79][80][81]

The Maratha Empire (1674-1818) to the north grew steadily in strength, far surpassing that of Goa. After his escape from Aurangzeb in Agra, the Marathi ruler Shivaji (1627-1680) started a counterattack to recoup lands lost to the Moghuls through the Treaty of Purandar (1665). Against Goa, Shivaji mounted an invasion that subdued the region adjoining the Old Conquestas. He captured Pernem, Bicholim, Sattari, Ponda, Sanguem, Quepem and Canacona. Sawantwadi Bhonsale and Saudekar Rajas became his vassals.

The Maratha Sambhaji (1657-1689), the son of Shivaji, tried in 1683 to conquer all of Goa. Sambhaji almost ousted the remaining Portuguese, but suddenly a Mughal army appeared to prevent their capture of the city. In 1739-1740 the territory of Bardez in north Goa was attacked by the Marathas, in order to pressure the Portuguese at Vasai. The plan of conquest, however, was forestalled with "the payment of a large war indemnity."[82][83]

In June 1756 in Goa, an invading Maratha Army killed in action Luís Mascarenhas, Count of Alva (Conde de Alva), the Portuguese Viceroy. Yet the Maratha soon met defeat when confronting an Afghan invasion, in the Third Battle of Panipat (1761), and the Peshwa's overall control slackened.[84] The Portuguese then defeated the Rajas of Sawantwadi and the Raja of Sunda to reconquer an area that stretched from Pernem to Canacona. This territory formed the Novas Conquistas, within the boundaries of present-day Goa.

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.[85] The English demand for payment was cession of Bombay in 1665. Officially it was part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza on her ill-starred marriage to Charles II. Though at first rivals in India after the English East India Company arrived in 1601,[86][87] the two latter attempted to coordinate against common enemies. The Maratha-derived "pirate" fleet led by the independent Kanhoji Angre inspired such an uneasy alliance. The 1721 Anglo-Portuguese naval attack on Culaba, the Angria stronghold, was repulsed. It was a fiasco that embittered the partnership.[88]

In 1757, King Joseph I of Portugal issued a decree, developed by his minister Marquês de Pombal, granting Portuguese citizenship and representation to all subjects in the Portuguese Indies. The enclaves of Goa, Damão, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli became collectively known as the Estado da Índia Portuguesa, and were represented in the Portuguese parliament. (The first election was held in Goa on 14 Jan 1822, electing 3 locals as members of Parliament.)[89]

In 1787, some priests started a rebellion against Portuguese rule. It was known as the Conspiracy of the Pintos. Goa was peacefully occupied by the British between 1812-1815 in line with the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance during the Napoleonic Wars.

The viceroy then transferred his residence from the vicinity of Goa city to New Goa (in Portuguese Nova Goa), today's Panaji. In 1843 this was made the official seat of government in 1843; it completed a move that had been discussed as early as 1684. Old Goa 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 by UNESCO because of its history and architecture.[90]

Goa remained 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. The Ehrenfels began transmitting Allied ship movements to the U-boats operating in the Indian Ocean, an action that was extremely damaging to Allied shipping.

But the British Royal Navy 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, 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. 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.[91] In 1980 the story was made into the film, The Sea Wolves, starring Gregory Peck, David Niven and Roger Moore.

When India became independent in 1947, Goa remained under Portuguese control. The Indian government of Jawaharlal Nehru insisted that Goa, along with a few other minor Portuguese holdings, be turned over to India. However, Portugal refused. By contrast, France, which also had small enclaves in India (most notably Puducherry), surrendered all its Indian possessions relatively quickly.[93][94]

In 1954, unarmed Indians[92] took over the tiny land-locked enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. This incident led the Portuguese to lodge a complaint against India in the International Court of Justice at The Hague. 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,[92] demonstrated against Portugal. At least twenty-two of them were killed by Portuguese gunfire.[92]

Later the same year, the Satyagrahis took over a fort at Tiracol and hoisted the Indian flag. They were driven away by the Portuguese with a number of casualties. On 1 September 1955, the Indian consulate in Goa was closed; 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, to overcome the blockade.

The territory of Goa, Daman and Diu was a union territory of India from 19 December 1961 to 30 May 1987.

After a brief period military rule, on 8 June 1962, military rule was replaced by civilian government when the Lieutenant Governor Kunhiraman Palat Candeth nominated an informal Consultative Council of 29 nominated members to assist him in the administration of the territory. Dayanand Bandodkar was elected as the first Chief Minister of Goa, Daman and Diu.

Goa was later admitted Indian statehood in 1987. Pratapsingh Rane, who had previously served as Chief Minister of Goa, Daman and Diu, was elected as the first Chief Minister of the newly formed state.

Goa has a high GDP per capita and Human Development Index compared to most Indian states.