legands,ancient history and decline

legands
According to some Hindu legends, Parashurama flung his axe into the sea and commanded the Sea God to recede up to the point where his axe landed. The new piece of land thus recovered came to be known as Konkan meaning "piece of earth" or "corner of earth" (Kona(corner) + kana(piece)).
The legend of Lord Parshurama commanding Lord Varuna to make the seas recede to make the Konkan .
The Southern Konkan was called Govarashtra.
The Mahabharata refers to Goa as Goparashtra, "a nation of cowherds or of nomadic tribes". In other ancient Indian texts in Goa is also known as Gopakapuri, Gapakapattana, Gomanchala, Govapuri. Suta Samhita, an Indian classic, describes Goa as such: "To the north of Gokarn is a 'kshetra' with seven 'yojanas' in circumference: therein is situated Govapuri, which destroys all sins. The sight of Govapuri destroys the sin committed in a previous existence, as at sunrise darkness disappears. Even by making up his mind to bathe once in Govapuri one attains a high place (in the next world). Certainly there is no 'kshetra' equal to Govapuri.";
Settlement
According to the legends of the Gaud Saraswat Brahmin community, they were settled along the banks of the Saraswati river. When the river suddenly went dry, Parshurama created the new land on the coast and ordered them to migrate there. The Saraswat Brahmins settled in three islands in the estuary of the Zuari and Mandovi rivers. The Sarswats settled in three different groups which lent the name to the land based on the number of families settled there:Twelve(Barah) families in Bardesh(modern Bardez); Thirty(Tees) families in Tiswadi; and sixty six(Sashasta) families in Sashti(modern Salcette).[1] . These three islands formed the ancient Gomantak.
Ancient history
In the 3rd century BCE, Gomanta formed part of the Maurya Empire. It was later ruled by the Satavahana dynasty. Eventually, it became a part of the Chalukya empire, who controlled it from 580 to 750. Over the next few centuries it was ruled successively by the Silharas, the Kadambas and the Chalukyas of Kalyani. The Kadambas are credited with constructing the first settlement on the site of Old Goa in the middle of the 11th century.
Muslim rule
In 1350 CE, Goa was conquered by the Bahmani Sultanate. However in 1370, the Vijayanagar empire, a resurgent Hindu empire situated at modern day Hampi, reconquered the area. The Vijayanagar rulers held on to Goa for nearly 100 years, during which its harbours were important landing places for Arabian horses on their way to Hampi to strengthen the Vijaynagar cavalry. In 1469, however, Goa was reconquered, by the Bahmani Sultans of Gulbarga. When this dynasty broke up in 1492, Goa became a part of Adil Shah's Bijapur Sultanate, who made Goa Velha their second capital. The present Secretariat building in Panaji is a former Adil Shahi palace, later taken over by the Portuguese Viceroys as their official residence.
Portuguese conquest
In 1498, Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and landed at Calicut. In 1510 Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque attacked Goa at the behest of the local cheftian Thimayya. After losing the city briefly to its former ruler, the Muslim king of Bijapur, Albuquerque returned in force and captured the city, killing the Muslim inhabitants.[citation needed]


Church in Old Goa
Albuquerque and his successors left almost untouched the customs and constitutions of the thirty village communities on the island, only abolishing the rite of sati (widow-burning). A register of these customs (Foral de usos e costumes) was published in 1526; it is among the most valuable historical documents pertaining to Goan customs.[2]
Goa was the base for Albuquerque's conquest of Malacca (1511) and Hormuz (1515). Albuquerque intended it to be a colony and a naval base, as distinct from the fortified factories established in certain Indian seaports. Goa was made capital of the Portuguese Vice-Kingdom in Asia, and the other Portuguese possessions in India, Malacca and other bases in Indonesia, East Timor, the Persian Gulf, Macau in China and trade bases in Japan were under the suzerainty of its Viceroy. By mid-16th century, the area under occupation had expanded to most of present-day limits.
Goa was granted the same civic privileges as Lisbon. Its senate or municipal chamber maintained direct communications with the king and paid a special representative to attend to its interests at court. In 1563 the governor even proposed to make Goa the seat of a parliament representing all parts of the Portuguese east but this was rejected by the king.
The Portuguese set up a base in Goa in their quest to control the spice trade. Merchandise from all parts of the East was displayed in its bazaar, and separate streets were set aside for the sale of different classes of goods–Bahrain pearls and coral, Chinese porcelain and silk, Portuguese velvet and piece-goods, drugs and spices from the Malay Archipelago.
In 1542 St. Francis Xavier mentions the architectural splendour of the city; but it reached the climax of its prosperity between 1575 and 1625. Travellers marvelled at Goa Dourada, or Golden Goa, and there was a Portuguese proverb, "He who has seen Goa need not see Lisbon."
In the main street slaves were sold by auction. The houses of the rich were surrounded by gardens and palm groves; they were built of stone and painted red or white. Instead of glass, their balconied windows had thin polished oyster-shells set in lattice-work. The social life of Goa's rulers befitted the headquarters of the viceregal court, the army and navy, and the church; luxury and ostentation becoming a byword before the end of the 16th century.[citations needed]
Almost all manual labour was done by slaves; common soldiers assumed high-sounding titles, and it was even customary for the poor noblemen who congregated together in boarding-houses to subscribe for a few silken cloaks, a silken umbrella and a common man-servant, so that each could take his turn to promenade the streets, fashionably attired and with a proper escort.[citations needed]
Around 1583, missionary activity in Cuncolim led first to small skirmishes and finally to the murder of all the missionaries. The Portuguese authorities called the 16 chieftains of each ward (vado) of the Cuncolim village to the Assolna fort, ostensibly to form a peace pact with the villagers. At the fort, the chieftains were slain, except for two who jumped from the fort into the Arabian sea and presumably swam to Karwar. The villagers were left without their traditional leaders and the Portuguese began confiscating the land of the locals and set up the Goa Inquisition.
Decline
The appearance of the Dutch in Indian waters was followed by the gradual ruin of Goa. In 1603 and 1639 the city was blockaded by Dutch fleets, though never captured, and in 1635 it was ravaged by an epidemic. With the situation already volatile, Maratha troops entered parts of Bicholim in 1641 and began the minor Bicholim conflict, which ended in peace treaty between the Portuguese and Maratha Empire.[3]
Trade was gradually monopolised by the Jesuits. Jean de Thévenot in 1666, Baldaeus in 1672, Fryer in 1675 describe its ever-increasing poverty and decay. In 1683 the Mughal army prevented it from capture by the Marathas, and in 1739 the whole territory was attacked by the marathas again, but could not be won because of the unexpected arrival of a new viceroy with a fleet. This continued until 1759, when a peace with the Marathas was concluded.
In the same year the viceroy transferred his residence from the vicinity of Goa city to New Goa (in Portuguese Nova Goa), today's Panaji, which became the official seat of government in 1843, effecting a move which had been discussed as early as 1684. Old Goa city's population fell steeply during the 18th century as Europeans moved to the new city.
In 1757, King Joseph I of Portugal issued a decree penned by his prime minister, the Marquês de Pombal, granting the Portuguese citizenship and representation to all subjects in the Portuguese Indies. The enclaves of Goa, Damão, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli became collectively known as the Estado da Índia Portuguesa, and had representation in the Portuguese parliament.
In 1787, there was a rebellion started by some priests against Portuguese rule. It became famous as the Conspiracy of the Pintos.