A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama 1497-1499
History
A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama 1497-1499
Africa -- Description and travel; Gama, Vasco da, 1469-1524; India -- Description and travel; Voyages and travels
Two have been published. The first of these, by M. Ferdinand Denis,
will be found in the third volume of Charton’s _Voyageurs Anciens et
Modernes_, Paris, 1855. It is based upon the first Portuguese edition,
and ends with the arrival of the two vessels at the Rio Grande. The
notes by Professor Kopke are embodied in those of the translator, who
has added an introduction, giving a short but excellent biography of
Vasco da Gama, and a bibliography. The map of the original is retained,
and there are twenty illustrations, including two portraits of Vasco
da Gama, the one stated to be from Count Farrobo’s painting, as
published in the _Panorama_, the other from a Paris MS. of Barretto de
Rezende.[23]
For the second French translation[24] we are indebted to M. Arthur
Morelet. It is from the second Portuguese edition, and not a word of
either text or notes has been omitted. The translator has confined
himself to supplying a short introduction. The map is retained, but a
free rendering of Count Farrobo’s painting[25] has been substituted for
the poor portrait of Vasco da Gama in the original, and the portrait of
King Manuel has been omitted as being “flat, without relief and vigour,
and wanting even in that unaffected simplicity which marks the works
of that period.”[26]
_The English Translation._
In 1869 the Hakluyt Society published Lord Stanley of Alderley’s
translation of the _Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama_, from the
_Lendas_ of Gaspar Correa, with numerous foot-notes indicating those
instances in which Correa differs from Barros, Goes, Castanheda and
other historians, as well as from the poetical version of this voyage
presented in the _Lusiadas_ of Camões.
It was intended at the same time to bring out an English version of
the _Roteiro_, but no definite arrangements were made, and thus the
matter was left in abeyance until the present Editor revived the idea,
and suggested that the volume proposed might prove acceptable as an
interesting though humble contribution to the literature of the Fourth
Centenary of Vasco da Gama’s arrival in India, which Portugal is about
to celebrate.
The translation of the _Roteiro_ itself is literal and complete. The
notes of the Portuguese editors have, however, been abridged, and only
the substance of what they say in their introductions has been retained.
On the other hand, the Editor has added translations of the letters
of King Manuel and Sernigi, and of three Portuguese accounts of the
voyage. He has, moreover, added Appendices, among which the one
dealing with early maps will, he hopes, prove of some interest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account