North Goa district

North Goa district is one of the two districts that constitutes the state of Goa, India. The district has an area of , and is bounded by Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra state to the north and by Belgavi district of Karnataka to the east, by South Goa district to the south, and by the Arabian Sea to the west. Historical background At the advent of the Portuguese in AD 1510, all of today's northern territories (Ilhas, Bardez, Pernem, Bicholim, Antruz, and Sattari) were part of the Bijapur Sultanate. Ilhas and Bardez were annexed by Portugal after their successful conquest and the region is now called Velhas Conquistas (Old Conquests). After the fall of the Deccan sultanates and rise of the Marathas in the late 1600s, the remaining region eventually fell under the control of the Maratha Kingdom of Sawantwadi until AD 1783. These territories were seen as safe haven for the Hindus, Muslims and new-Christians who fled the Portuguese Inquisition taking place in Goa. These territories were acquired by Portuguese as part of Novas Conquistas (New Conquest) in the late 18th centuries. They remained with the Portuguese until 1961 when they were annexed by India. Goa and two other former Portuguese enclaves became the union territory of Goa, Daman, and Diu, and Goa was organized into a single district in 1965. On 30 May 1987, Goa attained statehood (while Daman and Diu remained a union territory), and Goa was reorganized into two districts, North Goa and South Goa.