Gaspar Correia (1492[1] – c. 1563 inGoa) was a Portuguese historian best known forLendas da Índia (Legends of India), one of the earliest and most significant works on Portuguese rule in Asia.[2][3]
Little is known about Gasper Correia's personal life including his family origins and birthplace. It is generally assumed that he was born in 1492.[1] He spent most of his life inPortuguese India, reportedly arriving around 1512-14 to serve as a soldier and then chosen asscrivener toAfonso de Albuquerque—a role he held with great pride. He returned to Portugal in 1529 for some time but later returned to India. His major workLendas da Índia, though written in a rough style,[4][5] is considered an indispensable contemporary reference, having profited from his thirty-five years' work in India, and from privileged sources unknown toFernão Lopes de Castanheda orJoão de Barros. He wrote the first European account on AsiaticCholera.[6] One theory suggests that he was murdered inPortuguese Malacca, by order of GovernorEstêvão da Gama, the son ofVasco da Gama.
The 3,500-pageLendas da Índia manuscript was brought from India to Portugal byMiguel da Gama shortly after Correia's death and copies were circulated only among authorised persons. One author claims, without citing a source, that the manuscript was published in 12 volumes in 1556, though no copies have ever been found.[7] His family retained the manuscript of the original, which was printed in 1858 (first part) and 1864 (second part) by theRoyal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon.
CORREIA, Gaspar.Lendas da Índia (introduction and review by M. Lopes de Almeida). Porto: 1975.
BELL, Aubrey Fitz Gerald, "Gaspar Corrêa", Hispanic notes & monographs; essays, studies, and brief biographies issued by the Hispanic Society of America. Portuguese series v, Volume 5 of Hispanic society of America, Oxford University Press, H. Milford, 1924.
BANHA de ANDRADE, António Alberto,Gaspar Correia, o 1.º historiador português do Oriente. (Gaspar Correia, the First Portuguese Historian of the Far East) Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Centro de Estudos de História e Cartografia Antiga, Lisbon, 1985.
CORREA, Gaspar.The Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama, and His Viceroyalty. From the Lendas da Indiaof Gaspar Correa, accompanied by original documents (translated from the Portuguese, with notes and an introduction by the Hon. Henry E. J. Stanley). Printed for the Hakluyt Society, London: 1869.[3]
CORREA, Gaspar.Lendas da India. Lisboa: Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa, 1858-1866. 8 volumes.[4]
