Goa has a long history stretching back to the 3rd century BC, when it formed part of the Mauryan Empire. Goa was later ruled by the Satavahanas of Kolhapur (in Maharashtra) around two thousand years ago. It eventually passed to the Chalukyas of Badami, who controlled it between 580 to 750. Over the next few centuries Goa was successively ruled by the Silharas, the Kadambas and the Chalukyans of Kalyani, rulers of Deccan India. In 1312, Goa came under the governance of the Delhi Sultanate. However the kingdom s grip on the region was weak, and by 1370 they were forced to surrender it to Harihara I of Vijayanagar. The Vijayanagar monarchs held on to the territory for the next hundred years until 1469, when it was appropriated by the Bahmani sultans of Gulbarga. After the dynasty crumbled, the area came under the hands of the Adil Shahis of Bijapur who made Velha Goa their auxiliary capital. In 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first European to set foot in India through a sea route, landing in Kozhikode in Kerala, followed by an arrival in what is now known as Old Goa. The Portuguese arrived with the intention of setting up a colony and seizing complete control of the spice trade from other European powers after traditional land routes to India were closed by the Ottoman Turks. Later, in 1510, Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque defeated the ruling Bijapur kings on behalf of a local sovereign, Timayya, leading to the establishment of a permanent settlement in Velha Goa (or Old Goa). The Portuguese intended it to be a colony and a naval base, distinct from the fortified enclaves established elsewhere along India s coasts. With the imposition of the Inquisition (1560–1812), many of the local residents were forcibly converted to Christianity by missionaries. To escape the Inquisition and harassment, thousands (mainly Hindus) fled the state, settling down in the neighbouring towns of Mangalore and Karwar in Karnataka. With the arrival of the other European powers in India in the 16th century, most Portuguese possessions were surrounded by the British and the Dutch. Portuguese possessions in India were a few enclaves along India s west coast, with Goa being the largest of these holdings. An interesting development of the 17th century in Goa is the Conspiracy Of The Pintos in 1787 which was inspired by the French Revolution. This was the first ethnic rebellion against Portuguese rule in Goa. It soon became their most important possession in India, and was granted the same civic privileges as Lisbon. The Portuguese encouraged its citizens to marry local women, and to settle in Goa as farmers, retail traders or artisans. These married men soon became a privileged caste, and Goa acquired a sizable Eurasian population. Subsequently, a senate was created, which maintained direct communications with the king. In 1843 the capital was moved to Panjim from Velha Goa. By mid-18th century the area under occupation had expanded to most of Goa s present day state limits. After India gained independence from the British in 1947, Portugal refused to accede to India s request to relinquish their control of its exclave. Arbitration by the World Court and the United Nations General Assembly in the 1950s ruled in favour of self determination. Finally, on 1961-12-12, the Indian army moved in, taking the colony by force. After a brief skirmish lasting for twenty-six hours, Goa, along with Daman and Diu (enclaves lying to the north of Maharashtra), was made into a federally administered Union Territory. The UN dratted a resolution condemning the invasion which was vetoed by the Soviet Union. Though most nations recognised the annexation, Portugal acknowledged it only after its Carnation Revolution in 1974. On 1987-05-30, the Union territory was split, and Goa was elevated as India s twenty-fifth state.