Goa at its height under Portuguese occupation. The Velhas Conquistas are highlighted in red.
The Velhas Conquistas or "Old Conquests" are a grouping of the areas in Goa which were incorporated into Portuguese India in the early half of the sixteenth century AD. Goa, Daman and Diu comprised the last remaining Portuguese possessions in India. Macau and Timor Leste were administratively separated.
Over the course of nearly five centuries of European rule since the Portuguese conquest of Goa, these areas underwent urbanisation and they were elevated to concelhos (municipalities), with the administrative centre at Velha Goa. Having been acquired in 1510 AD or within the next few years, they formed the oldest parts and the core of Portuguese Goa and remain the central theme in the history, geography, and culture of present-day Goa. The Novas Conquistas or New Conquests are the outer periphery of Goa, surrounding Velha Conquistas and bordering the erstwhile British India. Novas Conquistas of present-day Goa shares borders with the Konkan division under Maharashtra's supremacy; also with Belgaum and North Canara districts of Carnataca.
The three concelhos of the territory are Bardes, Ilhas de Goa (Tiswadi) and Salcette (present-day Salcette and Mormugaotalukas). When writing postal addresses, Velhas Conquistas is abbreviated to "VC".
In layman's terms and contemporary contexts Velhas Conquistas is taken to mean the westernmost and central portions of Goa. The Old Conquests are also the most socio-economically developed areas of Goa.
Old Goa 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.
Canacona is an administrative region in the district of South Goa, Goa state, India.
Salcete is a subdivision of the district of South Goa, in the state of Goa, situated by the west coast of India. The Sal River and its backwaters dominate the landscape of Salcete. Historically, the sixty-six settlements south of the Zuari River formed the original Salcette territory. Salcete forms a part of the bigger Konkan region that stretches along the western shoreline of peninsular India.
Bicholim, 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 Conquistas, territories added to Goa comparatively later than the first three of the Velhas Conquistas. The town is located about 30 km (19 mi) from the state capital of Panaji. It is in the mining heartland of Goa.
North Goa district is one of the two districts that constitutes the state of Goa, India. The district has an area of 1,736 square kilometres, and is bounded by Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra state to the north and by Belgavi district of Karnataka to the east, by South Goa district to the south, and by the Arabian Sea to the west.
Albergaria-a-Velha is a town and a municipality in the Aveiro District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 25,252, in an area of 158.83 km2. It had 19,687 eligible voters in 2006.
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 Portuguese rule in Goa in 1787. The leaders of the plot were three prominent priests from the village of Candolim in the concelho of Bardez, Goa. They belonged to the Pinto clan, hence the name of the rebellion.
The Novas Conquistas or "New Conquests" are a group of seven concelhos (municipalities) of Goa and Damaon, officially known as Portuguese India. They were added into Goa in the 18th century AD, a comparatively later date than the original three concelhos that make up the Velhas Conquistas or "Old Conquests".
Idanha-a-Nova is a town and surrounding municipality in the district of Castelo Branco, in east-central Portugal. A border municipality with Spain, the population of the municipality in 2011 was 9,716, in an area of 1416.34 km2, making it one of the largest and least densely populated municipalities in Portugal as well as the first Portuguese municipality by population ageing. King Alfonso II (1211-1223) confirmed its charter in 1219 renaming the village with the current place names (Idanha-a-Nova) to distinguish it from the old Idanha, 18 kilometers away. The municipal holiday is the Monday 15 days after Easter. The incumbent mayor is Armindo Moreira Palma Jacinto, representing the Socialist Party.
Hinduism is the majority religion of people living in Goa. According to the 2011 census, in a population of 1,458,545 people, 66.08% were Hindu.
Goans is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, who form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Indo-Portuguese, and Austro-Asiatic ethnic and/or linguistic ancestries. They speak different dialects of the Konkani language, collectively known as Goan Konkani. "Goanese" is an incorrect term for Goans.
The indigenous population of the erstwhile Portuguese colony of Goa, Daman and Diu underwent Christianisation following the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510, which was followed by the Goa Inquisition from 1560 onwards. The converts in the Velhas Conquistas to Roman Catholicism were then granted full Portuguese citizenship. Almost all present-day Goan Catholics are descendants of these native converts; they constitute the largest Indian Christian community of Goa state and account for 25 percent of the population.
The Christian population of Goa is almost entirely Goan Catholics, whose ancestors converted to Christianity during the Portuguese rule in India. Christianisation followed the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510, which was followed by the Goa Inquisition from 1560 onwards. The Hindu population is mostly descended from immigrants from other states of India, who have been arriving in Goa since the last century There is a higher proportion of Christians in Velhas Conquistas than in Novas Conquistas.
Indalencio Pascoal Froilano de Mello was a Goan microbiologist, medical scientist, professor, author and an independent MP in the Portuguese parliament.
The Goan Muslims are a minority community who follow Islam in the Indian coastal state of Goa, some are also present in the union territory of Damaon, Diu & Silvassa. They are native to Goa, unlike recent Muslim migrants from mainland India and are commonly referred to as Moir by Goans in Goan Konkani. Moir is derived from the Portuguese word Mouro. The Portuguese called them Mouros because they were in contact with the Moors, people of predominantly Muslim Maghreb country, who had conquered and colonised the Iberian peninsula for centuries.
The Igreja de Nossa Senhora das Neves is a historical Catholic church in Rachol village, Salcete sub-district, on the southern banks of the Zuari river, in the South Goa district of Goa state, India. The church was built in the 1560's during the Goa Inquisition. It is situated in close proximity to the renowned Rachol Seminary. There is a church of the same name in the neighbouring village of Raia.
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 east and south, with the Arabian Sea in the west. It is India's smallest state by area and fourth-smallest by population. Goa has the highest GDP per capita among all Indian states, two and a half times as high as the GDP per capita of the country as a whole. The Eleventh Finance Commission of India named Goa the best-placed state because of its infrastructure, and India's National Commission on Population rated it as having the best quality of life in India. It is the second-highest ranking among Indian states in the human development index.
The Rachol Fort is a historical Portuguese era fort located in the village of Rachol, Salcette concelho, in the state of Goa on the west coast of India.
The Maratha–Portuguese War of 1683–1684 refers to the Mahratta invasion of the Portuguese-controlled portions of Goa and also the Bombay area of the north Konkan. The conflict between the Mahratta Confederacy and Portuguese India, continued on various fronts in between 1683–1684.
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