The genesis of the present publication can be traced to a remarkable series of International Seminars initiated in Goa in 1978. Since then, the series has continued at regular intervals of between two to three years. In 1998 the host institution for the Ninth International Seminar on Indo-Portuguese History was the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, through its history of science programme.
This publication comprises the papers presented at this forum which had concentrated on the transformations in science, technology and material culture generated in India through processes of interaction, exchange and assimilation consequent to the meeting of cultures inaugurated by the opening of the Cape route by Vasco da Gama in 1498.
The subjects of the publication fall within the domains of missionary activity through which fresh intellectual perspectives were opened, as well as Luso-Indian contacts in areas such as architecture, medicine, botany, physical geography, cartography, fortification, marine archaeology, astronomy, navigation and instrumentation, eastern pilotage, calendrical systems, ship building, linguistic developments and gastronomy. The theme of piracy has been visited afresh. The pacific theatre has been explored while the journey of plants has been traced multilaterally from the Latin American, African as well as the Asian angles.
The Portuguese maps of singular beauty add yet another novel aspect to the publication. As reference material it is bound to constitute a valuable component in the work of researchers from disciplines such as history, architecture, geography, underwater archaeology, naval architecture, history of science, astronomy, medicine and agriculture.
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