Indian state on the west coast, 250 miles (400 km) south of Bombay, bordered by Maharashtra and Karnataka states, and by the Arabian Sea. It's 1,429 square miles (3,702 square km), and in 1991 had a population of 1.1 millian. The capital is Panaji. It has 62 miles (100 km) of coastline, extends 40 miles (64 km) inland, and includes the offshore island of Goa. Its chief cities are Panaji, Old Goa, and Margão. Goa's eastern part is dominated by the Sahyadri Hills which give way to an area dissected by rivers. The climate is tropical, and the coastal plain consists of beaches fringed with coconut palms. The two largest rivers, Mandavi and Zuari, encircle the offshore island of Goa.
Goa is predominantly agricultural, growing rice, coconuts, mangoes, and cashews. Fishing is important. Iron ore and manganese are mined, processed, and exported on a large scale. Goa's distinctive architecture and fine beaches make it a popular tourist resort. About 40% of the inhabitants are Christian. Many Goanese have Portuguese names and are partly of Portuguese descent as a result of intermarriage between early Portuguese invaders and the original inhabitants.
Goa's early history is part legend, mentioned in the Hindu Mahabharata as Gomantak and in the Puranas as Govapuri. It was ruled by a succession of Hindu dynasties until 1472 when it fell to the Muslims. It was conquered in 1510 by Portuguese led by Afonso de Albuquerque. Franciscan and Jesuit missionaries, including Francis Xavier, arrived soon after. Old Goa soon became the capital of the Portuguese empire in the east, and the city reached a climax of trading prosperity and architectural splendour between 1575 and 1600. In later years, Dutch blockades of the city and raids by Maratha raiders caused its decline, and the seat of Portuguese India was moved to Panaji in 1759. Cholera and other epidemics caused Old Goa's population to continue to dwindle, and by 1835 it was sparsely inhabited. After India attained independence in 1947, the Indian government demanded that Portugal cede Goa to India. After years of border tensions and guerrilla warfare, Indian troops invaded and occupied Goa in December 1961. It was incorporated into India in 1962, and became a state in 1987.
Old Goa is now largely a city of ruins. The chief surviving buildings include the cathedral, founded by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1511, rebuilt in 1623, and still used for public worship; the convent of Saint Francis (1517), which is a converted mosque rebuilt by the Portuguese in 1661; the Chapel of Saint Catherine (1551); and the Basilica Bom Jesu (1594-1603), in which lies the mummified body of Saint Francis Xavier, the 16th-century Jesuit missionary.