Construction of the Church of St. Anne began in 1577 by Monsignor Francisco de Rego (1681-1689). It was completed in 1695; by his successor; Rev. Fr. Antonio Francisco da Cunha.

Under King Manuel I; the Portuguese set up a government in India in 1505; six years after the discovery of a sea route to Calicut in southwest India by Vasco da Gama. The Portuguese originally based their administration in Kochi; or Cochin; in Kerala; but in 1510 moved to Goa. Until 1752; the 鈥楽tate of India' included all Portuguese possessions in the Indian Ocean; from southern Africa to Southeast Asia; governed by either a Viceroy or a Governor. In 1752 Mozambique got its own government; and in 1844 the Portuguese Government of India stopped administering the territories of Macau; Solor and Timor; restricting themselves to the Malabar coast.

At the time of British India's independence in 1947; Portuguese India included a number of enclaves on India's western coast; including Goa proper; as well as the coastal enclaves of Daman and Diu. Portugal lost the last two enclaves in 1954; and the remainder in 1961; when they were occupied by India (although Portugal only recognized the annexation in 1975; after the Carnation Revolution and the fall of the Estado Novo regime).