With new sea-routes to Africa, Asia and Americas, the dawn of the 16th century changed Europe and the rest of the world. The changes were political, economic as well as social with the emergence of a new elite. The period saw the "absolute monarch" replace regional dukes and princes. For the first time a whole new middle class was formed based on commerce rather than military nobility. The changes in Europe at the start of the 16th century was presented on Goanet in an eight-part series entitled "Europe and the Inquisition." The changes in Goa were also presented on Goanet in a multi-part series. One kind person (god bless him) put the entire article on the web in the link below, which I came across by accident. http://glenndabreo.com/?p=83
While 'the good' of Goa's colonization has been often described, 'the bad' and 'the ugly' are often ignored. Each of the ten changes described in the article could be a chapter by itself for someone looking for the socio-economic changes in Goa in the 1500s and the early impact of colonization on the land and its people. Please feel free to forward this link to those who may be interested in this topic. There are many un-answered questions about the period in Goa (16th -17th century) chief of which is the demographics of the population when the Portuguese acquired Tiswadi and 25 years later, the neighboring talukas . Unless one knows the precise demographics of the people IMMEDIATELY AFTER these became Portuguese territory, (after 75-100 years of Muslim rule) much of the discussion on the specifics of the colonial impact on the populace is conjecture; related to ones' educated guess or bias. As always feedback and comments to my article are welcome; especially when accompanied by hard facts and data. Regards, GL _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ tambdimati: the Goa review is a community blog of original _/ art, writing, music, news and commentary from and about the _/ smallest state in the subcontinent. check out the newest _/ member of the Goanet family daily at _/ http://www.tambdimati.com. _/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/