Goa has a tropical climate with heavy monsoon rains during the summer months. There is an abundance of red laterite soil, rich in iron and manganese. Iron ore, Manganese and bauxite mining was the backbone of the Goan economy prior to Independence in 1961. The mines are mainly open cast mines and still run by the families or groups that were originally granted property rights by the Portuguese government.

Shipbuilding was an industry that went hand in hand with mining; barges were built to take the ore to the major port of Marmagoa.  Goa has a huge network of estuaries and tributaries that eventually run into the Indian Ocean; the road network was not efficiently developed the rivers and canals were a favored means of transportation.

Fishing has been a traditional occupation in Goa for centuries. The canoe shown in the picture called a “vodhe” is a traditional fishing boat used by individual fisherman who fish on the various rivers. The bigger fishing boats go out to sea. During the Portuguese rule there wasn’t a whole lot of white collar employment for the local people as the Portuguese were not interested in investing in quality educational institutions, they were there to trade and spread Christianity. The Civil Service was run by the Portuguese and a few elite Goans. Many of the upper class and middle class Goan’s sent their children to Bombay, India or overseas for a higher education. Most of the population was concentrated in rural areas where fishing and agriculture were the main occupations. Another traditional occupation that Goa is famous for is the making of “feni”  the brew of choice that is made from coconut and cashew plants.

 For more information on the Goan economy during the colonial period, a good source is the book “GOA, THROUGH THE AGES” Ed. by Teotonio R. de Souza. This volume part of a series of five deals with the economic history and contains essays on trade, transport, communication, migration, natural resources, etc.

 

 

 

 

Photographs courtesy of Fredric Noronha.

Website: http://www.goa-world.net/fotofolio

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