Ancient Goa Research Paper

Goa. India's smallest province. A province with a turbulent history and a promising future. If Goa had never existed, India today would not be the same. Long before the early 1500s, Muslims dominated the trading scene in South Western India. They had so much economic power they had sway in the local politics. There were many groups and settlements. Some groups were Arabs, others, Muslims from Arabia and Persia. They had their time of infighting. Then, in the early 1500s, the event that sets apart Goa (south western India) from the rest of India happened: Portugal arrived. Portugal changed the balance of the region. Portugal dominated the trade that the Muslims had for so long. After removing their trade competition, Portugal introduced and, with several different tactics, tried to convert their portion of India (with Hindu and Muslim) to Christianity. One tactic was to encourage their colonists to marry locals. This had an unintended side effect of further complicating India's long-standing caste system. It was further complicated because, on top of family and skin colour, another factor was added: Portuguese relation. Another tactic was by giving locals bonuses for converting, such as moving up in the caste system where otherwise not possible. If a local both married a Portuguese colonist and converted …show more content…
After Portuguese lost influence and refused to return Goa and other South Western Indian regions, India cut diplomatic ties with Portugal and used military force to take its lands back. Goa's reintegration to India, as well as people travelling or moving before this time, is where all the cultural influences that affected Goa slowly spread throughout India. From Muslim religion to Portuguese attempts to turn Goa into Portugal, the influence exerted on Goa spread out a little to the rest of India. However, Goa is where the unique cultural amalgamation is best