----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Anthony D'Andrea < Chicago "Goa was subjected to the longest effective colonial occupation in the world from 1510 to 1962 and it was also the only one in which liberation from the Portuguese colonialism did not give way to independence, although India may not share the same opinion"." Well, Macau (another Portuguese colony) never became independent either and was transfered to China in 1999. There are many other non-independent post-colonialcases, such as Hong Kong and several Caribbean islands (though these were not Portuguese colonies). I discussed this in my previous email briefly comparing Goa to Hong Kong, and noted the primacy of economic (and geographic) factors in constraining the relationship between colony and metropolis. There is an underlying theme in this thread, it seems to me, which centers on the possible *exceptionalism* of Goa, in relation to India and to Portuguese colonialism. If we dig deep enough though, we'll find out that most (if not all) cases in history are somewhat exceptional, with some variations here and there. This notion (of exceptionalism) is in part result of empirical circumstances (geography, economy, demography) but also derives from collective efforts to forge a national identity. I disagree that Goa is a "Portuguese invention". Certainly, colonial pasts have an impact on the contours of a nation, but Goa is much richer and more complex that the historical relationship between Portugal and India... Viva Goa, __._,_.___ Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use . __,_._,___
