Duarte Barbosa
Topic: Medieval India through Travellers' Eyes · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Through the Eyes of Travellers"; Class 12, Ch 3 "An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara"
Meaning
Duarte Barbosa (died 1521) was a Portuguese writer and official. He came to India soon after the Portuguese arrived around 1500. He lived on the Malabar coast in the early 16th century. He was the best-known Portuguese writer on India in that period. His book describes trade and society in south India, including ports, goods, merchants and the daily lives of ordinary people.
Example
Barbosa described the houses of ordinary people in the Vijayanagara empire. He said they were thatched (roofed with dry grass or straw) and well built, and that they stood in long streets arranged by occupation. This is useful because most other sources describe only palaces and temples.
Don't confuse with
- Abdur Razzaq Samarqandi: also wrote about south India and Vijayanagara, but he was a Persian-speaking diplomat from Herat in the 15th century (1440s), not a 16th-century Portuguese writer.
Related concepts
- Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
- Niccolao Manucci
- Pelsaert
- Ralph Fitch
- Francois Bernier
- Travels in the Mughal Empire