History, to me, is an intricately woven fabric that illustrates the human condition. It is the greatest Epic ever told, of everyone and everything that came before us – all the sorrows and all the triumphs of our species. In this blog, I intend to focus on a tiny piece of this vast and ever-expanding fabric; the history of the land we call Goa.
Primarily, the essays that I write are meant for those with a passion for learning. In essence, the idea for this blog has been borne out of my own deep-seated curiosity about the land which has provided for me since birth, and which still continues to do so. A secondary goal of mine is to serve as a freely accessible archive on the internet for any future historians or enthusiasts who wish to learn about Goa’s past.
A common misconception that those who happen to stumble across this blog might have is that I will be restricting myself to the Portuguese history of Goa, which couldn’t be further from the truth. It is my belief that it’s impossible to fully comprehend and appreciate the intricately woven fabric of history without looking at it holistically, both in terms of time and geography.
Hence, my focus will stretch all the way from the prehistory of the Konkan coast, through the numerous kingdoms of the Konkan Mauryas, the Southern Shilaharas, the Kadambas, the Vijayanagaras, the Bahmanis, and eventually to the birth of what we know today as Goa, incubated within the Estado da Índia. Likewise, in order to not restrict myself geographically, I will also acknowledge all those people-groups, kingdoms, empires and nation-states that have historically had relations with Goa- be it the mercantile Anjuvannam, the Buddhists, the Syrian Christians, the Sephardic Jews, the Romans, the minor occupation by the British, the Marathas, the Mughals, and everything in between.
It is my hope to write about all this and more, threaded together into a comprehensive narrative rather than meaningless, unrelated facts. So come join me on my journey of discovering the unexplored depths and obscurities of the rich history and culture of the tiny little seaside state of Goa!
História de Goa 