Ângela Barreto Xavier is Senior Researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Lisbon in Portugal. Her previous books include Catholic Orientalism: Portuguese Empire, Indian Knowledge (16th–18th Centuries) (coauthored with Ines G. Zupanov).

• PrefaceGlossaryAbbreviationsMapsIntroduction1. Reform in the Kingdom, Reform in the Empire2. Designing Conversion3. New Temples and New Priests: The Establishment of Religious Orders in Goan Villages4. Tools of Christianisation: Shaping Memory, Understanding, and Will5. Initial Moves: Discontent, Resistance, Acquiescence6. The Martyrs of Cuncolim and Other Episodes of Resistance7. The Defence of the "Genuine Nobility": Conflicts of Memory, Identity, and PowerConclusionBibliographyIndex

"This book is the first detailed and sophisticated treatment of the transformations wrought in Goa during the first couple of centuries of Portuguese colonial rule, after the conquest in 1510 … Ângela Barreto Xavier is careful to delineate the political and economic context of the changes that occurred in Goa, but her real focus is social and cultural. The colonial state and religious authorities used a variety of strategies to convert subjects to Catholicism, and they in turn responded with their own cultural resources, which varied significantly from one part of Goa to another. The book is an important contribution to various fields, including religious history, early modern Indian history, and the history of the Iberian overseas empires." — Sanjay Subrahmanyam, author of Empires between Islam and Christianity, 1500–1800