How did Portuguese settlement and intermarriage create a Eurasian population in Goa?

The creation of a Eurasian population in Goa was a deliberate colonial strategy initiated by Afonso de Albuquerque following his conquest of the territory in 1510.12

Facing a shortage of manpower to defend and maintain the new colony, Albuquerque encouraged his men to marry indigenous women and settle in Goa as farmers, retail traders, or artisans. These men and their descendants formed a privileged caste, and through this policy of intermarriage, combined with the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, a distinctive Eurasian population emerged.23

Over four and a half centuries of Portuguese rule, this group became firmly Roman Catholic and developed a unique cultural, religious, and linguistic identity. This demographic shift left lasting traces, including the widespread adoption of Portuguese personal names and surnames among many Goans, as well as the establishment of a Luso-Indian community along India's western coast.234