When was Fernão Lopes de Castanheda born and where did he grow up?
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda was born around the year 1500 in Santarém. He entered the world as a natural son of a royal officer who served as judge in Goa.
Questions about Fernão Lopes de Castanheda
Short answers, pulled from the story.
How long did Fernão Lopes de Castanheda stay in Portuguese India and the Moluccas islands?
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda remained in Portuguese India and the distant Moluccas islands for ten full years from 1528 until 1538. During this decade he collected information about the discovery and conquest of India by the Portuguese.
What dates mark the publication of the first volumes of Fernão Lopes de Castanheda's History of the discovery and conquest of India?
The first volume of his History of the discovery and conquest of India appeared in Coimbra on the 1st of January 1551. A second edition followed shortly after in 1554 while eight of the ten books were printed during Castanheda's lifetime.
Why did regent Queen D. Catarina stop the printing of Fernão Lopes de Castanheda's ninth and tenth volumes?
Regent Queen D. Catarina intervened to stop further printing because noblemen disliked the objectivity found within Castanheda's text. The ban specifically targeted the remaining ninth and tenth volumes that had not yet been published due to geographic and ethnographic details that offended powerful court figures.
When was Fernão Lopes de Castanheda's work translated into English and what title did it receive?
English readers gained access to the material in 1582 with the title The historie of the discouerie and conquest of the East Indias. This widespread distribution made Castanheda one of the most read historians of his era throughout sixteenth-century Europe.