From Lisbon to Goa, 1500-1750

These articles deal with the functioning, and malfunctioning, of the Carreira da India, the round voyages made between Portugal and its possessions in India that began after Vasco da Gama had opened up the route round the Cape of Good Hope in 1497-99. On such voyages was the Portuguese colonial empire built, and these studies illustrate the conditions under which they operated - the ships, the crews, their navigation and their cargoes. For instance, details are given of the medicines carried on board and the hospital established at the way-station of Moçambique in an attempt to combat the perennial scourge of disease. The principal hazard, however, remained that of loss through shipwreck or enemy action, events all too common in the history of the Carreira, which are brought to life most vividly in the Portuguese literary classic, the História Trágico-Marítima; the early printed editions of such tales form the subject of two of the articles and the backdrop to much of the volume.

Contents: Preface; The Carreira da India (Ships, men, cargoes, voyages); The principal ports of call in the 'Carreira da India' (16th-18th centuries); Moçambique Island and the 'Carreira da India'; Portugeuse Roteiros, 1500-1700; An introduction to the História Trágico-Marítima; An introduction to the História Trágico-Marítima (1957): some corrections and clarifications; On a Portuguese carrack's bill of lading in 1625; Admiral João Pereira Corte-Real and the construction of Portuguese East-Indiamen in the early 17th century; The naval and colonial papers of Dom António de Ataíde; The sailing-orders for the Portuguese East-Indiamen of 1640 and 1646; Index.