The Ducal House of Goa was a short, but very important, ancient noble house of Portugal. The title "Duke of Goa" was the first Portuguese ducal title given outside the royal family, and the first Portuguese noble title to be granted to a territory overseas, Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

. The title was bestowed upon Afonso de Albuquerque

Afonso de Albuquerque

Afonso de Albuquerque[p][n] was a Portuguese fidalgo, or nobleman, an admiral whose military and administrative activities as second governor of Portuguese India conquered and established the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean...

 by the the Portuguese King Manoel I

Manuel I of Portugal

Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...

 in 1515 as a reward for his outstanding performance for the Portuguese Empire

Portuguese Empire

The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...

. The title and house would soon become extinct with Afonso's son, Brás de Albuquerque, who would die without male heir.