Probing Into The Population And Race Relations In Portuguese Goa From The 16^th Century To Mid 18^th Century

Portuguese colonial rule in Goa experienced a transition from prosperity to decline from the 16 th century to the mid-18 th century,during which population as a significant influential factor interacted with all aspects of Portuguese colonial rule,thus promoting the historical development of Portuguese Goa.Specifically,it can be discussed on three aspects: population size,population structure and race relations.From the aspect of population size,Goa's population had been on the rise and reached the top before the early 17 th century,yet then on the decrease.In terms of population structure,it can be divided according to race origin,social class and religious belief.These three standards have something in common,which reflected the complexity of population components in Goa.Race relationship has close relationship with population size and structure and is deeply affected by them.All these exert great influence on the colonial rule politically,economically and religiously.The latter in return affects the development of population.On the whole,in the 16 th century,the mutual promotion between population growth and trade prosperity plus the mitigatory relation between race,religion and class relation consolidated the stability of Portuguese rule and accelerated the arrival of “Golden Goa”.From the17 th century to the mid-18 th,the decline of population and trade plus the aggravating contradiction of race,religion and class led to the unrest of colonial rule and expedited the decline of Goa under the attack of external force.