Norteiro people

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Norteiro is the Portuguese language term for people belonging to former Portuguese exclave in the western littoral of South Asia, which included islands such as the islands of Bom Bahia (modern Mumbai), the Island of Salsette, Dharavi Island, New Bombay, Chaul-Revdanda, Baçaim, Daman and Diu, located across the Gulf of Cambay.

The name Norteiro means "Northerner". The term refers to the city of Baçaim, which was styled the "Court of the North" and stood second only to the city of Goa (modern Old Goa) among Portuguese possessions in South Asia. The term has since fallen into obscurity, since the people now call themselves either East Indian, Koli or Damanese.

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1 Culture
2 Conquest
3 Occupation
4 See also

[edit] Culture

Except for Diu, which lies in the historical "Sorath" or Saurashtra, the remaining settlements were all within the North Konkan region of Maharashtra, and were populated predominantly by native Marathi people. These were forcefully converted to Christianity. They spoke Marathi language, but with a lot of loan words from Portuguese, Arabic and other languages.

Although, they adopted Christianity, they were never assimilated into mainstream Portuguese culture. They also retained most of their pre-Christian practises to a large extent. They didn't intermarry with the white Portuguese, largely due to the prevalent caste system and instead inter-married with the Marathi people, who either way belonged to the same caste.

[edit] Conquest

When the Maratha Empire invaded the Konkan, they seized most of these settlements, including the capital, Bacaim. However, the Marathas didn't discriminate among the two religious groups and many Norteiros switched loyalties to the Marathas. When the English later took over these lands from the Portuguese (Bombay) and the Marathas, they called the Norteiros "Bombay Portuguese".

[edit] Occupation

After the involvement of England in Goan affairs as a result of the French Revolutionary Wars & the Napoleonic Wars, England occupied Goa for several years, ostensibly to protect it from a French takeover. The Goans were encouraged to migrate to Bombay and find employment. Because the influx of Goans, called "Goan Portuguese" by the English, the "Bombay Portuguese" decided to rename themselves with a name emphasizing their status as subjects of their English rulers, to distinguish them from the Goans, who were Portuguese citizens (since Pombal enfranchised Goa). These Norteiros called themselves "East Indians" in honor of the East India Company which ruled them until recently on behalf of England.

Other communities, such as that of Chaul, Damao and Dio continued to identify themselves as Norteiros.

Both, the Damanese and the Kristi communities are called Norteiro people by Portuguese, derived from the native Marathi people.