Duarte Barbosa (c. 14801 May 1521) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

writer and officer from

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

(between 1500 and 1516). He was a Christian pastor and

scrivener A scrivener (or scribe) was a person who could read and write or who wrote letters to court and legal documents. Scriveners were people who made their living by writing or copying written material. This usually indicated secretarial and ad ...

in a ''

feitoria Factory was the common name during the medieval and early modern eras for an entrepôt – which was essentially an early form of free-trade zone or transshipment point. At a factory, local inhabitants could interact with foreign merchants, o ...

'' in Kochi, and an interpreter of the local language,

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

. Barbosa wrote the ''Book of Duarte Barbosa'' ( pt, Livro de Duarte Barbosa) c. 1516, making it one of the earliest examples of Portuguese

travel literature The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern period ...

. In 1519, Barbosa embarked on the first expedition to circumnavigate the world, led by his brother-in-law

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...

. Barbosa was killed in 1521, at a banquet held by

Rajah Humabon Rajah Humabon, later baptized as Don Carlos, (died April 27, 1521) was the Rajah of Cebu (an Indianized Philippine polity). Humabon was Rajah at the time of the arrival of Portuguese-born, Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, a few days after the

Battle of Mactan The Battle of Mactan ( ceb, Gubot sa Mactan; fil, Labanan sa Mactan; es, Batalla de Mactán) was a fierce clash fought in the archipelago of the Philippines on April 27, 1521. The warriors of Lapulapu, one of the Datus of Mactan, overpowered ...

Cebu Island Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...

Early life

Barbosa's father was Diogo Barbosa. Diogo was a servant of

Álvaro of Braganza Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warri ...

, and in 1501 he went to India in a joint venture with Álvaro, Bartholomeu Marchionni, and the 3rd Portuguese India Armada (captained by

João da Nova João da Nova ( gl, Xoán de Novoa, Joam de Nôvoa; es, Juan de Nova; ; born c. 1460 in Maceda, Ourense, Galicia; died July 16, 1509 in Kochi, India) was a Portuguese-Galician explorer of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans at the service of Portug ...

). While Diogo was away, Barbosa remained in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

with his uncle, Gonçalo Gil Barbosa, who worked as a

factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

. (Earlier, Gonçalo had travelled with the 1500 fleet of

Pedro Álvares Cabral Pedro Álvares Cabral ( or ; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; c. 1467 or 1468 – c. 1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in ...

Career

In 1502, Gonçalo was transferred to

Cannanore Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a Cities in India, city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city a ...

, and Barbosa went with him. There, Barbosa learned

, the local language. Barbosa served as the interpreter for Alfonso de Albuquerque's contact with the Rajah of Cannanore the next year (1503). In 1513, Barbosa signed a letter to King

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, a ...

as Clerk of Cannanore, claiming the position of master-clerk, and the year after that (1514), Afonso de Albuquerque used Barbosa's position as an interpreter to attempt to convert the King of Kochi.

''Book of Duarte Barbosa''

In 1515, Albuquerque sent Barbosa to

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

to oversee the construction of two ships that would serve on an expedition to the Red Sea under the new governor. Barbosa returned to Portugal and completed his manuscript, ''Book of Duarte Barbosa''. According to Italian writer

Giovanni Battista Ramusio Giovanni Battista Ramusio (; July 20, 1485 – July 10, 1557) was an Italian geographer and travel writer. Born in Treviso, Italy, at that time in the Republic of Venice, Ramusio was the son of Paolo Ramusio, a magistrate of the Venetian ci ...

's preface, Barbosa completed his manuscript in 1516 with detailed accounts of foreign cultures. Previously known only through the testimony of Ramusio, the original manuscript was discovered and published in the early nineteenth century in

Lisbon, Portugal Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

Circumnavigation with Magellan

Displeased by his position, Barbosa joined several Portuguese meeting in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

in southern Spain. Diogo had followed D.

into exile in

where Álvaro had become mayor, where Diego became governor of the castle of Seville. In 1516

moved to Seville and befriended Diogo, both having traveled to India. Soon Magellan married Barbosa's sister Beatriz, becoming Duarte Barbosa's brother in law, strengthening the links between the Barbosa and Magalhães families. On 10 August 1519 Duarte Barbosa sailed from Seville on Magellan's voyage of circumnavigation, along with his friend

João Serrão Juan Rodríguez Serrano, also known as João Rodrigues Serrão in the Portuguese version, ( Fregenal de la Sierra - Cebu, 1521) was a 16th-century Spanish navigator, born in Fregenal de la Sierra, Badajoz,''Auto das perguntas que se fizeram a do ...

. His curiosity led him to leave the expedition for the company of locals several times during the voyage, to Magellan's annoyance. Magellan even came to arrest him. On 2April1520, however, the help of Duarte Barbosa was crucial to facing down a riot in

Puerto San Julian Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places * El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines * Puerto Colombia, Colombia * Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela * Puerto Galera, O ...

(Argentina), and thereafter Barbosa become captain of the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. According to

Antonio Pigafetta Antonio Pigafetta (; – c. 1531) was an Venetian scholar and explorer. He joined the expedition to the Spice Islands led by explorer Ferdinand Magellan under the flag of the emperor Charles V and after Magellan's death in the Philippine Islands, ...

's account, after Magellan's death on 27April1521 at the

(Philippines), Barbosa was one of the few survivors of the battle and was made co-commander of the expedition along with João Serrão. Barbosa tried to recover Magellan's body without success. He tried to land

Enrique of Malacca Enrique of Malacca ( es, Enrique de Malaca; pt, Henrique de Malaca), was a Malay member of the Magellan expedition that completed the first circumnavigation of the world in 1519–1522. He was acquired as a slave by the Portuguese explorer ...

, but gave up. Despite the

manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that t ...

he was entitled to according to Magellan's

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

made before departure, Duarte Barbosa or João Serrão

Pigafetta ''Pigafetta'' is a genus of two palm species in the family Arecaceae. They are native to the Maluku Islands, Sulawesi, and New Guinea where they grow near rivers and in forest clearings up to 900 m in elevation. It is named for Antonio Pigaf ...

and Transylvanus differ on who was responsible for the massacre that occurred at

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

in the

. Transylvanus states that it was

who mistreated Enrique de Malacca, Magellan's former slave, thereby causing Enrique to plot the massacre; Pigafetta, who did not attend the banquet that served as the trap, blames Duarte Barbosa. then threatened to enslave him to Magellan's widow. The fear of Enrique has since been considered an argument for him conspiring with

. On 1 May1521 all were invited by the rajah to a banquet ashore near

, the Philippines, to receive a gift for the king of Spain. There Barbosa and many others were killed. João Serrão was brought by natives who wanted to exchange him for weapons, but was left behind and was saved by the pilot João Carvalho. Enrique disappeared.

References

Bibliography

* Duarte Barbosa,

Mansel Longworth Dames Mansel Longworth Dames (1850–1922) was a scholar of oriental and Portuguese languages. Longworth Dames was born in Bath in 1850, the eldest son of George Longworth Dames and Caroline Amelia Brunswick. Longworth Dames passed the Indian Civil Se ...

, (1518
"The book of Duarte Barbosa: an account of the countries bordering on the Indian Ocean and their inhabitants"
Asian Educational Services, 1989, * *

External links

* * * *His travelogue is available online in Portuguese:Livro em que dá relação do que viu e ouviu no Oriente, from the Biblioteca Nacional Digital at https://web.archive.org/web/20090303053302/http://purl.pt/435 {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbosa, Duarte 15th-century births 1521 deaths Portuguese Renaissance writers Portuguese travel writers 16th-century explorers Portuguese explorers of the Pacific Interpreters Portuguese in Kerala 16th-century Portuguese people Magellan expedition People killed in action