Goa Through the Ages: An Economic History (Vol. II)

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Goa Through The Ages: An Economic History is part of a five- volume series planned by Goa University in its efforts to promote the cultural heritage of the territory and its people. The project is entrusted to historians with long experience of research in the history and culture of the land.

The present volume brings together a sifted and synthesised picture of Goa's economic past. It has incorporated the information and insights that have come in the recent past in sizable doses, largely as a result of the research promoted by the International Seminars on Indo-Portuguese History since 1978. Some aspects may have found less attention than the others. This itself should be a visible indicator of the gaps in our present knowledge calling for more research. Some aspects have received more space. One such aspect is (Trade). This perhaps rightly reflects its importance in Goa's economic history as a result of its littoral nature and strategic location. However, contrary to the overstress that has been observed in the past histories on the overseas connection, the emphasis has been shifted to the coastal and hinterland linkages of that trade. This approach has helped to question some stereotypes and past generalisations.

The present study is a combined effort of social scientists, including historians, anthropologists, demographers, and economists. It makes this study more comprehensive than the traditional jobs done by historians alone handling economic and other related issues.

Dr. Teotonio R. de Souza is Founder-Director of Xavier Centre of Historical Research, which is a recognised Post-graduate Institute for Research in History (Goa University) since April 1986. Author of Medieval Goa (Concept, 1979) and editor of Indo-Portuguese History: Old Issues, New Questions (Concept, 1985), he has also contributed over sixty research articles to various journals and anthologies in India and abroad. Besides contributing significantly to the revival of Indo-Portuguese history during the last decade, Dr. Teotonio de Souza has also been involved in efforts for re-writing the history of the Church in Asia from the perspectives of the Third World.

Following the re-introduction of popular democratic institutions in Goa after nearly four and half centuries of Portuguese colonial rule, the all-round efforts at recovery also posed a challenge to historians of Goa to make their contribution to the cultural identity of the people of the land. Such a cultural identity would necessarily require looking back and beyond the Portuguese phase and its impact on the Goan history and culture. Since a historian of the people can not help historizing as a member of the society and culture to which he belongs, it may not be surprising if much of the immediate post- liberation efforts of Goan historians may be classified as a historiographic expression of popular catharsis.

Exactly a decade of years ago I made my first attempt at meeting the challenge posed to the post-liberation historians of Goa and Medieval Goa was received well, even by the international fraternity of historians interested in the field. In concluding that study I had expressed my hope that "the forthcoming Goa University will be interested in promoting wider and deeper analysis into the socio- economic past of Goa". It took seven more years for the new University to come into existence. It was our good fortune to find a historian at its helm as its first Vice-Chancellor. It was my good fortune to be invited by the Goa University to collaborate in its Goa Through the Ages project, and thereby to see another stage of my hopes coming true. If history implies change, and if we look for an ideal change in terms of progress and maturity, I do hope that the efforts that have gone in the preparation of this volume will reflect some of this change. The very fact that a team of scholars is invited to work on this project and also the inter-disciplinary approach adopted are positive indicators. The contributors to this volume include besides historians, a demographer, a social anthropologist and a scholar in economics.

When the objectives of the scheme were laid down, there was no lack of awareness of the difficulties involved in the task. The availability of resource persons remains a major problem within the region, and the consequent hunt for contributors from outside the territory and even beyond the subcontinent presented a major threat to the two-year time-limit fixed for presenting the results of the" project. The executive editor of this volume has tried to withstand such a threat without incurring too seriously the wrath of the con tributors, and it is to them that much of the success of this volume will be due. Personal and official shortcomings and limitations of the editor will account to a larger extent the shortcomings of this work.

It is usual to read in the prefaces / introductions to histories of this nature that they are intended as statements of the existing knowledge and to initiate inquiry into areas which still await research in any depth. Goa Through the Ages has a similar dual purpose. The present volume concentrates on the economic aspects of Goa's past and brings together a sifted and synthesised picture in the form of "An Economic History". It has incorporated the information! and insights that have come in the recent past in sizable doses, largely as a result of the research promoted by the international! seminars on Indo-Portuguese history since 1978. Some aspects may have found more attention than the others, and this itself should be visible indicator of the gaps in our present knowledge calling for more research. One aspect that has received more space is trade. This perhaps rightly reflects its importance in Goa's economic history as a result of its littoral nature and strategic location. However, contrary to the overstress that was observed in the past histories on the overseas connections, the emphasis has been shifted to the coastal and hinterland linkages of that trade. This approach has helped] to question some stereotypes and past generalisations.

The shift of perspective and emphasis, despite the apparent traditional stress on external trade, may be seen in the introductory chapters dealing extensively with natural resources and constraints of the territory. This environmental framework and the analysis of the re corded and projected demographic patterns provide a backdrop against which the economic developments can be better understood and their impact on the general history of the local people can be better assessed. Less recent and more distant geographical and cultural configurations through which the territory has passed can help to be more cautious about the assessment of the historical impact on Goa as it emerged during the Portuguese rule.

In this age of science and technology one wonders what is the relevance of history. History is the quintessence of man's unique experiences, and the treasure house of all his wisdom. It helps us to judge of things past and to improve upon things present so that we should know what to follow, what to appreciate, and what to avoid. A sense of immensity of time is essential for good citizenship, as his- tory is the flow of man's genius from the past through the present to the future. It is rightly said that a few pages of history would give more insight into human mind than all the metaphysical volumes ever published. Not to know the past is to remain forever a child. A man ignorant of history is like a man who has lost his memory. A nation that forgets the past will have no future. As the present is the outcome of the past, it is essential to know the forces that shape human progress. It is history that acts as a barometer that measures this progress.

One of the first tasks the newly established Goa University undertook was to launch upon a project to bring out a comprehensive history of Goa in five volumes entitled GOA THROUGH THE AGES. One of the main objectives of this University is to promote interest in the life, literature, language and culture of the people of this region. As history falls within the purview, and as the need persists for an objective, comprehensive and readable account covering all aspects of the life and conditions of the people of Goa, this project was not conceived a day sooner.

Although small in size Goa is a miniature world in its own right. Man has laboured here through centuries to build unique institutions. Its towns, villages, beaches, churches, temples and shrines are renowned world over. Its art, architecture, sculpture, music, drama, dance and painting are a class in themselves. Its society is a mosaic woven with the social and historic fabric of rare type. Different caste-groups, class-groups, and creed-groups have mixed and mingled together to evolve a warm, sociable and refined entity. History of Goa is indeed a subject of fascinating study. It touches the realm of ideas at more points than almost any other study. This relates to all periods of Goan past, whether ancient, medieval or modern. It relates to all aspects of life, whether political, social economic or cultural. Goa became a melting pot for shaping a synthetic culture which absorbed elements of varied types from the earliest times to the present day.

Before the advent of the Portuguese ever so many dynasties from the Satavahanas to Adil Shahis held sway over this region. Still earlier the original settlements in Goa and their cultural trends, the ad- vent of Aryans, non-Aryans and immigrants from the Deccant plateau, and the rise of early kingdoms, are all subjects of great interest. In fact the antiquity of Goa reaches pre-historic and proto-t historic periods which would surely offer a mine of information to archaeologists and anthropologists. It needs great skill and labour to piece together the scanty material to reconstruct the growth of man's mind during the period.

The character of Goan history either in the ancient or medieval period conformed to the traditional pattern existing in the rest of India, but it underwent a sea-change with the advent of the Portuguese. They were the first Europeans to establish their political authority in India, and they were the last to wind up their political show in the land. But their presence led to far-reaching results. A new order and system, new laws and administration, new pattern of economy and social change, new cultural trends and ways of living, new faiths and beliefs, all brought about a mighty transformation in the value system of Goan life. The Portuguese had come to India not merely for spices to their king in Portugal and for souls to their king in Heaven, but also for "enculturation" which they did more effectively than any other European power in India.

The story of a region with such a rich and unique background has not been told in full in an exhaustive, systematic and lucid way. Al- though several scholars have thrown intensive light on some aspect of its history or other, no serious attempt had so long been made to cover the entire gamut of the historical consciousness of the Goans. It is also not possible, as it is not within the competence of any single scholar to undertake such a massive survey. Such stupendous task falls on the shoulders of a body of scholars, whose collective wisdom, knowledge and skill alone would be able to perform the job.

**Contents and Sample Pages**