Fernão Mendes Pinto
'Fernão Mendes Pinto' (
pron. IPA ,
Old Portuguese: ''Fernam Mendez Pinto'') (
1509? –
1583) was a
Portuguese explorer and
writer. His exploits are known through the posthumous publication of his memoir ''Pilgrimage'' (
Portuguese: ''Peregrinação'') in 1614, an
autobiographical work whose validity is nearly impossible to assess. In the course of his travels in the
Middle and
Far East, Pinto visited
Ethiopia, the
Arabian Sea,
China (where he claimed to have been a forced laborer on the
Great Wall),
India and
Japan. He claimed to have been among the first group of Europeans to visit Japan and initiate the
Nanban trade period. He also claimed to have introduced the
gun there in 1543. It is known that he funded the first
Christian church in Japan, after befriending a
Catholic missionary and founding member of the
Society of Jesus later known as
St Francis Xavier. At one time Pinto himself was a Jesuit, though he later left the order.
''Pilgrimage'' shows Pinto as sharply critical of Portuguese
colonialism in the Far East, recording moral and religious objections to what he perceived to be a hypocritical and greedy enterprise disguised as a religious mission. This view would later become common, but was unusual at the time
[1]. The vivid tales of his wanderings over twenty years – he wrote, for example, that he was "thirteen times made captive and seventeen times sold" – were so unusual that they were mostly not believed. They gave rise to the saying "Fernão, Mentes? Minto!", a Portuguese
pun on his name meaning "Fernão, do you lie? Yes, I lie!"
[2].
Early life
Fernão Mendes Pinto was born in
Montemor-o-Velho in
1509 to a poor country family. It is known he had at least two brothers and at least two sisters. His brother Álvaro was present at
Malacca in 1551 and other letters reveal that one of the brothers suffered
martyrdom in Malacca. It is also known that he had a wealthy cousin,
Francisco García de Vargas who was present at Cochin in 1557. He departed for
Lisbon, capital of the Kingdom, in
1521, where he served
George, Duke of Coimbra (natural son of
King John II of Portugal). Two years later, he sailed for
Setúbal, to work for a nobleman called
Francisco de Faria, but during the voyage the ship was attacked by
French pirates who abandoned the crew and passengers on the beach near
Alentejo.
Voyages
Pinto's travels can be divided into three phases; his initial voyages from Portugal to India, in which he attempted to join Portuguese outposts on the Western coast of India, and was diverted several times, travelling through many nations around the
Red Sea, from the coast of
Africa to the
Persian Gulf. After eventually reaching India, he then voyaged to the eastern coast of India and to Portuguese possessions around
Malacca, bringing him to
Sumatra,
Siam,
China, and
Japan. Finally, Pinto returned to
Europe.
First voyage to India
Fernão's first voyage to India began on
March 11 1537 when he set sail from Lisbon. Little happened on the voyage besides a brief stop in the Portuguese colony of
Mozambique. On
September 5 1537 he arrived in
Diu, a fortified island and town northwest of
Bombay, which had been taken into Portuguese possession two years earlier. According to his account the fortress was under the siege by Muslims led by
Suleiman the Magnificent, who was determined to overthrow the Portuguese rule in India and to maintain the Muslim monopoly on eastern trade.
Enticed by the tales of riches that could be obtained by attacking Muslim shipping, he joined a reconnaissance mission to the Red Sea, with a brief stop in
Ethiopia to deliver a message to the Portuguese soldiers who were guarding
Eleni of Ethiopia, the mother of "
Prester John" (Emperor
Dawit II of Ethiopia) in a mountain fortress. After leaving the Ethiopian port of
Massawa, the Portuguese ships engaged three
Turkish galleys, but were defeated. They were taken as prisoners to
Mocha, a port in southwest
Arabia, and put on an auction block. Pinto was sold to a
Greek Muslim whom he claims was a cruel master, and threatened to commit
suicide which convinced his master to sell him to a
Jewish merchant for about thirty
ducats' worth of
dates.
His new master takes him on the
caravan route to
Hormuz, then the leading market town in the
Persian Gulf, where Pinto was offered to the Captain of the Fortress of Hormuz and the King's special magistrate for Indian affairs, who had recently been sent by the Governor of
Portuguese India on a mission for the crown. Fernão was freed at a cost of three hundred ducats paid by the crown.
His second voyage to India was soon after becoming free when he signed on a Portuguese cargo ship that was bound for
Goa, the Portuguese colony and
naval base that had been established to seize complete control of the
spice trade from other European powers after traditional land routes to India had been closed by the Ottoman Turks. Against his will Pinto was transferred while on route to a naval fleet bound for
Dabul to try to capture or destroy the
Ottoman Turkish vessel anchored there. After a number of engagements in the
Arabian Sea, with varying success, Pinto ultimately reached Goa.
Malacca and the Far East
From
1539 on it appears Pinto was based in
Malacca under the newly appointed Captain of Malacca,
Pero de Faria, who sent Pinto to establish diplomatic contacts with the unknown states in the region.
Most of his early time in Malacca included missions to the petty kingdoms of
Sumatra, which was allied with the Portuguese against the Muslims of
Achin in northern Sumatra. During these voyages he made private trades, hoping to make profits himself, but remained loyal to the King's interests, in contrast to many of his colleagues, who would engage in private trade to the extent that it would be a detriment to the interests of the crown.
Patani voyage
Following his mission to Sumatra, he was sent to
Patani, on the eastern shore of the
Malay peninsula. In a joint venture with countrymen based in Patani, Pinto travelled with a shipload of merchandise to the coast of
Siam (modern-day
Thailand), but they were attacked by a Muslim pirate, who stole their profits. Sailing in search of the pirate, they essentially become pirates themselves, under the command of
António de Faria. Faria's exploits lead him to become a popular figure in Portuguese literature.
Pinto continued in this role for months, operating in the
Gulf of Tonkin near
Indochina, in the waters of the
South China seas, and raging northward along the coast of China and Korea, where he claims to have raided the
Emperor of China's tomb.
The 'South China Sea', showing surrounding countries and neighbouring seas and oceans
After a shipwreck left them in the hands of the Chinese, the survivors of the ordeal were sentenced to one year of hard labor on the
Great Wall of China, but Fernão did not complete his sentence, becoming a prisoner of war after a
Tatar invasion. Pinto and his comrades bought their freedom by teaching the Tatars how to storm a fortress, and in the company of a Tatar ambassador, they traveled toward
Cochinchina, the southernmost part of modern-day
Cambodia and
Vietnam.
While on the journey, they encounter a major religious figure Pinto describes as "
pope-like," — possibly the
Dalai Lama — who had never heard of
Europe. Frustrated with the slow pace of travel, and still in the vicinity of the deserted islands off the coast of
Canton, Pinto and two companions boarded a Chinese pirate
junk, which was cast by a storm onto
Japanese island of
Tanegashima, just south of
Kyūshū; this is the source of Pinto's claim to be the first westerner to enter Japan.
Voyages to Japan
A few years later (
1542), Pinto made his first voyage to Japan, accompanied by other Portuguese, supposedly introducing the
arquebus, a kind of
firearm, to that country.
Map of Japan
They landed in Japan in
1542 or
1543 and gained the favor of a feudal lord, to whom they claim to have given the first firearm to have entered Japan, the Portuguese
arquebus. The weapon was rapidly reproduced and had a major impact on the ongoing Japanese civil wars. Pinto returned to the coast of China after being released at
Ningpo, and made contact with Portuguese merchants who were highly interested in a trade mission to Japan. Their expedition was shipwrecked on the coast of the
Ryukyu Islands, however, where they were arrested for piracy but were released because of the compassion of the women of the island.
In
1549, Pinto left the port of
Kagoshima but he took with him a Japanese fugitive known as
Anjiro, and introduced him to
Saint Francis Xavier. Xavier joined Fernão's voyage to Japan, and famously went on to spread Catholicism to that country. In
1551, Pinto met Xavier again, and worked for him during the
evangelization period of the region.
In 1554, Fernão decided to return home to Portugal with the fortune he had gained during his voyages, but prior to returning home he underwent conversion to the Society of Jesus and donated a large sum of his wealth to the Society itself, becoming a brother of the Society. Pinto then departed with Xavier as a shipmate when Xavier left his work in Japan to a successor.
Final voyage to Japan
A letter from
Otomo Yoshishige supports the history of these events: when the
daimyo of Bungo requested that Pinto return to Japan, and offering his conversion. The letter arrived at the same time as Xavier's body was being displayed in Goa. Fernão was to accompany the mission, which to a small degree was a successful diplomatic mission, establishing an embassy, but he failed to convert Otomo because of an ongoing civil war — Otomo could not afford to alienate his supporters by converting to a foreign religion during the conflict. Twenty-two years later, however, Otomo eventually did convert to Christianity, at the same time as Fernão was completing his autobiography.
During Pinto's final voyage to Japan (1554-1556) with Xavier's successor, he served as the Viceroy of Portuguese India's ambassador to the
daimyo of
Bungo on the island of Kyūshū.
At the end of the voyage, Fernão lent money to Xavier to create the first church in Japan. For an unknown reason, he abandoned the Jesuits in
1557 on his return trip.
Martaban
Fernão returned to Malacca and reported to the captain who sent him on a mission to
Martaban which is today part of Lower
Myanmar. He arrived in the midst of a siege and took refuge in the Portuguese camp of mercenaries who had betrayed the Viceroy of Martaban. At the end of the siege, Fernão was likewise betrayed by a mercenary. He was made a captive of the
Burmese and placed under the charge of the king's treasurer who took him to the kingdom of
Calaminham which is identified now as
Luang Prabang. Fernão fled on his return trip while the Burmese besieged
Sandoway to Goa
Java
Once Pinto returned to Goa, he again met Pero de Faria, now the former Captain of Malacca. Pero sent him on a voyage to Java to buy
pepper, which could then be sold in China, and while buying goods in the Javan port of
Bantam, Pinto was joined by forty Portuguese merchants who were alarmed by violence that erupted in the area after the Emperor was slain by his page boy over a point of honor.
Ruins of Aytthaya the Siam capital
The Japanese
Wako shipwreck them in the
Gulf of Siam where they end up tossed onto the coast of
Java. There they resorted to
cannibalism in order to survive, and those that did survive (including Fernão) then sold themselves as slaves in return for passage out of the swamp.
They were then sold to a
Celebes merchant and resold to the King of
Kalapa, (modern-day
Jakarta). After hearing their stories, he generously sent them on a ship — to
Sunda from which they had previously departed.
Using borrowed money Fernão buys passage to
Siam, now known as
Thailand. Pinto then describes how not long after his arrival the King of Siam requested Portuguese residents to enlist to quell a revolt in the Northern boundaries. The King was subsequently poisoned by the Queen, who also murdered the young heir to the throne, and placed her lover in the boy's place. The new King was then murdered, and unrest ensued provoking the King of Burma to lay siege to
Ayuthia the capital of Siam.
The description of these events in Burmese history, whether or not they were actually witnessed firsthand by Pinto, represents the most detailed account of these events that can be found in all of recorded Western history.
Return voyage
Fernão returned to Portugal on
22 September,
1558 on an uneventful voyage. He was already famous in Western Europe as the author of a letter that had been published by the Society of Jesus in 1555. From 1562-1566 Fernão spent four and a half years in court hoping to receive a reward or compensation for his years of service to the Crown.
The book
''Peregrinação'', Fernão Mendes Pinto's famous book
In
1558 he returned to Portugal where he married Maria Correia Barreto with whom he had at least two daughters; the exact number is unknown. He bought a farm in the region of
Pragal (near
Almada) in
1562 and in
1569 he started to write the account of his voyages in the
Orient.
Fernão Mendes Pinto died on
July 8,
1583 on his farm of Pragal. His book would be published in
1614, thirty-one years after his death, by a friar named
Belchior Faria. The full title of the book was
"Pilgrimage of Fernam Mendez Pinto in which is told the many and very strange things he saw and heard in the kingdom of China, in the one of Tartary, in the one of Sornau, usually called Siam, in the one of Calaminhan, in the one of Pegù, in the one of Martauão, and in many other kingdoms and lordships of the Oriental parts, and that in our Occident there are few or no accounts. And also the account of many particular affairs that occurred both to him and many other people. And in the end of it briefly regards some things, & the death of the Holy Priest Francis Xavier, sole light and brightness of those parts of the Orient, & universal ruller of the Society of Jesus in those parts."
(in Old Portuguese: "''Peregrinaçam de Fernam Mendez Pinto em que da conta de muytas e muyto estranhas cousas que vio & ouvio no reyno da China, no da Tartaria, no de Sornau, que vulgarmente se chama de Sião, no de Calaminhan, no do Pegù, no de Martauão, & em outros muytos reynos & senhorios das partes Orientais, de que nestas nossas do Occidente ha muyto pouca ou nenhua noticia. E tambem da conta de muytos casos particulares que acontecerão assi a elle como a outras muytas pessoas. E no fim della trata brevemente de alguas cousas, & da morte do Santo Padre Francisco Xavier, unica luz & resplandor daquellas partes do Oriente, & reitor nellas universal da Companhia de Iesus.''")
It is thought that the printed version of the book does not correspond exactly to the author’s manuscripts — some sentences appear to have been erased and others were "corrected". The disappearance of references to the Society of Jesus, one of the most active
religious orders in the Orient, is notable, as there are clear indications of Fernão Mendes Pinto's relations with the society.
Notable views held in the book
Although Fernão Mendes Pinto did not have an education similar to his contemporary authors and did not reveal knowledge of either
classical culture or of the aesthetics of the
Renaissance, his experiential knowledge and intelligence enabled him to create a fascinating and lasting work.
The absence of a formal education, his physical distance from the dominant culture, and his humble roots were his advantages. His work has no signs of prejudice regarding the "new" cultures discovered by the Portuguese and thus it is a living testimony of their habits, attitudes and ways of life.
Historicity
The tale of his adventures was written after the fact, according to Pinto's memories of the events, and for that reason it may be open to doubt as a completely accurate historical source. However, it documents extremely well the impact of the
Asian civilizations on the
Europeans and constitutes a perfectly realistic analysis of Portuguese action in the Orient, far more realistic than the one made by
Luís de Camões in
The Lusiads.
The most controversial of his claims is that of having been the first European to land in Japan and the introduction of the arquebus. Despite the impossibility of proving these specific assertions, there is little doubt that Pinto was among the first Europeans in Japan, and therefore his account may be considered more reliable than other books describing this period that were written long afterwards.
Another controversial claim, that he fought in Java against the Muslims, has been analyzed by various historians. The Dutch historian
P. A. Tiele, who wrote in
1880, did not believe Pinto was present during the campaign, but rather that he wrote his information from secondhand sources. Even so, Tiele admits Pinto's account cannot be disregarded because of the lack of alternative information about Javanese history during the time period; despite the doubts over Pinto's accuracy, his viewpoint may represent the only authoritative source in existence.
Maurice Collis, a modern expert on Asian affairs who lived in the area for twenty years, holds the opinion that Fernão's accounts, while not entirely true, remain essentially true with respect to the basic events. Because of this Collis considers Pinto's work the most complete European account of 16th century Asian history.
Legacy and following
Japanese
arquebus of the Edo era (''teppo'')
Among Pinto's legacies is his claim to introducing the
arquebus on the island of
Tanegashima that would be known throughout Japan as the "Tanega-shima".
Based on Portuguese models,
Japanese swordsmiths managed to mass-produce arquebuses. By 1553, there were more guns per capita in Japan than in any other country
[1].
In 1600, the Japanese guns were the best of the world
.
The "Tanega-shima" drastically changed Japanese warfare until the
Tokugawa era when they were outlawed. Another legacy of his is the funding the first Christian church in Japan which would mark the beginning of
Christianity in Japan. His greatest legacy is not his voyages but his detailed description of
Asian culture, and
history of the 1500s. It is more descriptive than any other European reports, and from a much earlier date.
Mendes Pinto, a crater on
Mercury, was named after him in
1978.
[3]. An intermediate school in
Almada, Portugal built in
1965 was named in his honour.
See also
★
Exploration of Asia
References
Book
★ Breve História da Literatura Portuguesa, Texto Editora, Lisboa, 1999
★ A. J. Barreiros, História da Literatura Portuguesa, Editora Pax, 11th ed.
★ A. J. Saraiva, O. Lopes, História da Literatura Portuguesa, Porto Editora, 12tg ed.
★ Verbo – Enciclopédia Luso-Brasileira de Cultura, 15th ed., Editorial Verbo, Lisboa
★ Lexicoteca – Moderna Enciclopédia Universal, vol. 15, Círculo de Leitores, 1987
★ The Travels of Mendes Pinto, ISBN 0226669513
★
The Grand Peregrination, Collis, Maurice, , , Faber and Faber, 1949, ISBN 0856358509
Online
Hispania Rebecca Catz
Inline
1. ''How to Get Rich: A Talk by Jared Diamond [6.7.99]
External links
★
from the Catholic Encyclopedia
★
Hispania - American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, Inc.
★
"The voyages and adventures of Ferdinand Mendez Pinto.1692." English Translation by Henry Cogan, of
Nichibunken database
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
