Department of Goa Archives Government of Goa

History and Founding

The archives of Goa trace their origins to 25 February 1595, when the famous historian Diogo do Couto established the institution under the name Torre do Tombo do Estado da India, making it the oldest archives in Asia. The oldest record in the collection dates to 1498. The archives were originally located in Old Goa but were later shifted to Panaji (Panjim) following a series of plagues. In 2019, the former Directorate of Archives and Archaeology was bifurcated into two separate departments; the Department of Archives became an independent entity. In October 2022, this bifurcation was formalised with the two departments operating separately under the Government of Goa.

Collections and Holdings

The Department of Goa Archives holds one of the most historically significant archival collections in Asia, encompassing the documentary heritage of the Portuguese State of India from approximately 1498 to 1961. Holdings include source material relating to the history of Portuguese expansion in Asia and Africa, covering geographic areas from Mozambique and Angola to Japan and the Philippines. The archives contain judicial records, tribunal military territorial files, Modi Marathi documents, land records, inventory files, notarial records, and civil registration documents such as birth, death, baptism, and marriage certificates. The departmental library holds approximately 30,000 books in Portuguese and other European languages and 11,500 books in English, Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Konkani, and other languages.

Notable Materials

Among the most significant holdings are records of the Portuguese viceroys and governors, documents pertaining to Indo-Portuguese maritime history, and rare Sanskrit manuscripts housed in the Vamanrao Shivram Kundaikar collection. Published finding aids include Roteiro dos Arquivos da India Portuguesa by Dr. Pandurang S. S. Pissurlekar and a guide to the collections by Dr. V. T. Gune.

Access and Usage

The department provides birth, death, baptism, marriage, and travel documents to the general public and research scholars. A research and publication unit supports academic enquiry, and the department also produces the periodical Purabhilekh-Puratatva. Computerisation and an electronic data processing (EDP) unit support modern access to the collections.