Norteiro means "northerner" in the European Portuguese language and its Indo-Portuguese creoles; the term referred to the people inhabiting the territory of the Northern Province (Província do Norte), centred in and around the present-day Bassein (Vasai), headquartered at Fort San Sebastian of Bassein which was styled "the Court of the North" (A Corte do Norte).

Basseinites spoke a distinct Norteiro creole of Indo-Portuguese, it was described in detail and compared with other varieties by Rodolf Dalgado.

Under the Peshva, Mahrattas seized and occupied most of the settlements, including the territorial administrative centre headquartered at Fort Bassein.

Both the Damanese and the Kristi communities are often wrongly called Norteiro people,[citation needed] derived from the native Marathi people.[how?]

However, the Dioese, Damaonese and Kristi Norteiros share a single trait, as compared to the Bombay East Indians who are culturally different from them.