Gaspar Correia (1492[1] – c. 1563 inGoa) was a Portuguese historian who wroteLendas da Índia (Legends of India), one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia.[2][3]
Little is known of the author or his family origins and birthplace. It is assumed that he was born in 1492.[1] He lived mostly inPortuguese India, reportedly arriving around 1512-14 to serve as a soldier and then chosen asscrivener toAfonso de Albuquerque, for which he was very proud. He returned to Portugal in 1529 for some time but later returned to India. His workLendas da Índia, though written in a rude 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 circulated only among authorised persons. One author claims, without citing any source, that the manuscript was published in 12 volumes in 1556 but, if it existed, no trace remains.[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]
