GOA: RAINHA DO ORIENTE

Written by Marco Ramerini
Goa, is situated on an island at the mouth of the Mandovi River, at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese in India, Goa was under the rule of the Sultanate of Bijapur of whom was the second most important town, the city was wealthy, and possessed a grand natural harbour.
On 28 February 1510, Afonso de Albuquerque, the Governor of Portuguese India, with a fleet of several ships, anchored off Goa harbour, the following morning some Portuguese boats were sent in patrol, they landed and conquered the Fortress of Pangim. The next day a message from the inhabitants of Goa came, they offered the surrender of the city and the vassallage to the King of Portugal. On the morning of 4 March 1510, Albuquerque, with 1.000 Portuguese soldiers and 200 Malabarese, entered Goa. Albuquerque's first care was to repair Goa fortifications, he also established a mint, where were quickly minted gold, silver and copper money.
The Bijapurese, organized a large army and marched towards Goa. The ruinous condition of Goa's fortification, forced Albuquerque, after a fierce resistance, to abandon the town to the Sultan of Bijapur. Adil Khan, at the head of 50.000 soldiers entered Goa on 20 May 1510. The Portuguese fleet, now, was blockaded, by the monsoon, at the mouth of Mandovi River and the Portuguese ships were exposed to the Moor's cannonade, the Albuquerque's tenacity, let him to resist till 16 August 1510, when the entire Portuguese fleet sailed away. Albuquerque, waited for reinforcements from Lisbon, and when these arrived, he soon prepared a fleet of 23 ships and 2.000 men to conquer, definitively, Goa. On the morning of 25 November 1510, Albuquerque's men attacked the city, and at midday Goa were again in Portuguese hands.


Soon after the conquest of Goa, several ambassadors from many Indian Kingdoms came to Goa in search of alliance. For the next two years, Goa was, again and again, under the attacks of the Sultan of Bijapur, Adil Shah (Hidalcao), that was resolute to reconquest the town. In 1512, a new attempt was made by the Adil Shah to drive away the Portuguese from Goa, in this year, the Moors, fortified Benasterim, which controlled the principal passage from the mainland to the island of Goa. Albuquerque, returning from Malacca, wasted no time and soon attacked the fortress, which was taken after several days of battle. After this he ordered to strengthen the forts of Benasterim, Devarim and Pangim, which commanded the principal passes to the mainland, he also founded in Goa a hospital and built several churches (Church of Priorado do Rosario, Chapel of Santa Catarina).
On 15/16 December 1515, in the harbour of Goa, the Goa's conqueror Afonso de Albuquerque died, his mortal remains, temporarily, were buried in the chapel he had built in Goa and later (1566) conveyed to Portugal. He was the builder of the Portuguese Empire in the East (Goa, Malacca, Hormuz), he was relentless with his enemies, but he also seems to have appreciated the character of the Asiatic peoples and often he left the civil administration of the places he conquered in the hands of the natives, he was the first to encourage the marriage of Portuguese soldiers with native women.
In 1530, the capital of Portuguese India was transferred from Cochin to Goa and in 1534 it became the centre of the Roman Church in the whole East and finally in 1557 Goa became seat of an archibishopric. In this occasion a large cathedral was also built (Sé of Santa Catarina 1562-1619). St. Francis Xavier arrived in Goa in 1542.
In 1543, the Goan's territory was enlarged with the annexation of the provinces of Bardez and Salcete. In 1560, was introduced the inquisition (active in 1560-1774 and in 1779-1812). In 1570, the Sultan of Bijapur made the last effort to dislodge the Portuguese from Goa, but after a siege of ten months he was forced to give up.
At the beginning of 17th. century, Goa was the capital of an empire which spreaded from Moçambique to Nagasaki and that controlled the Indian Ocean trade. This was the period of great brightness for Goa and the Portuguese power in the East, the city was also called "Goa Dourada" or "Roma do Oriente" at that time is said that Goa had 200.000 inhabitants and was able to compete with the most important cities in the world, a lot of magnificent churches and buildings were built during these years. Several of them are still visible today. A Portuguese proverb of the time said: "Quem viu Goa, dispensa de ver Lisboa".
The decline of Goa, began with the coming of the Dutch, who several times during 17th century blockaded Goa from the sea and between the 1600-1650 destroyed the Portuguese power in the East. In spite of this, Goa was never conquered and remained in Portuguese hands till December 1961 when, with Damao and Diu, was occupied by an Indian Army. In 1760, Velha Goa was abandoned, and the seat of the government was transferred to Pangim which from 1843 was declared officially the capital of Portuguese India. In 1763, the districts of Ponda, Quepem, Sanguem and Canacona were added to the Portuguese possessions. Finally, in 1788, were added also the districts of Pernem, Satari and Bicholim.
THE CHURCHES OF OLD GOA TODAY
Santa Catarina Cathedral (Sé), the largest church of Goa, it was built between 1562 and 1619, the altar was finished in 1652. The Northern tower of this church collapsed in 1776. In the Southern tower there is a gold bell.
Church and Convent of Sao Francisco de Assis, the church was built in 1661, on the site where was an old Francescan's chapel, this church has a beautiful portal in Manueline style. The Convent is today a Museum.
Chapel of Santa Catarina, was built in 1552 on the site of the old chapel (1510) built by Aphonso de Albuquerque.
Church and Convent of Sao Cajetan, was built in the years 1655-1661 by the Theatins Italian Friars.
Basilica do Bom Jesus, built during the years 1594-1605, is one of the richest churches in Goa, is known principally for the tomb of St. Francis Xavier. This basilica, where the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier are kept, is the best specimen of baroque architecture in India and is cruciform on plan. The beautiful tomb of St. Francis Xavier was a gift from Medici, Cosimo III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Ruins of the Church and Convent of the Agustinians, they were built in 1602 by Augustinians Friars, of this church and convent today remains only the tower and the arch in a ruined state. The tower has four storys with an arch in each and is nearly 46 meters high.
Church of Priorado do Rosario, Real Chapel of Santo Antonio, Church and Convent of Santa Monica (1606-1627), Church of Cruz dos Milagres (1671), Ruins of the Church and College of Sao Paulo (1541-1543).
STATISTIC OF GOA: 1881
Population (1881): 445.449 (2.500 were the "Mestiços" or "Descendentes"). Religion (1881): Christians: 55 % (there were 96 Catholic Churches); Hindus: 45 %. Languages (1881): Konkani: all the classes of the peoples, except Europeans and "Mestiços", use the Konkani language with some admixture of Portuguese words. Portuguese: the official language, is principally spoken in the capital and in the chief towns.
STATISTIC OF GOA: 1981
Languages (1981): Konkani 600.004; Marathi 266.649; Gujarati 77.677; Kannada 33.512; Urdu 27.703; Hindi 21.158; Malayalam 7.634; English 6.407; Telugu 5.527; Tamil 3.884; Punjabi 1.314. Portuguese: it is now spoken only by a small segment of the upper class families and about 3 to 5 % of the people still speak it (estimated at 30.000 to 50.000 people).
STATISTIC OF GOA: 1991
Population (1991): 1.169.793. Religion (1991): Hindus: 756.621 (64.68%); Christians: 349.225 (29.85%); Muslim: 61.455 (5.25%); Sikhs: 1.087 (0.09%); Jains: 487 (0.04%); Buddhist: 240 (0.02%); Others: 403 (0.03%).
Sé of Santa Catarina (Cathedral), the largest church of Goa
Map of Goa territory



Indo-Portuguese art (17-18 century). Torino, collezione privata, foto per gentile concessione di Walter e Mario Chiapetto

The Island of Goa, from the "Livro das Plantas das Fortalezas, Cidades e Povoaçoes do Estado da India Oriental" 1600s