Gaspar Frutuoso

Gaspar Frutuoso
Born	c. 1522 Ponta Delgada (Azores), Kingdom of Portugal
Died	24 August 1591 (aged 68–69) Ribeira Grande (Azores), Kingdom of Portugal
Occupation	Priest
Language	Portuguese
Nationality	Portuguese
Ethnicity	Azorean
Citizenship	Portuguese
Alma mater	University of Coimbra
Period	1696–1717
Genre	History, Geography, Ethnography
Subject	Azores, Theology, Philosophy
Notable works	Saudades da Terra ''Saudades do Céu
Relatives	Frutuoso Dias (father) Isabel Fernandes (mother)

Gaspar Frutuoso (c.1522; Ponta Delgada – c.1591; Ribeira Grande) was a Portuguese priest, historian and humanist from the island of São Miguel, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. His major contribution to Portuguese history was his detailed descriptions of the history and geography of the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and references to Cape Verde, which he published in his six-part tome Saudades da Terra, as well as Saudades do Céu. He is normally cited in settlement history of the islands of the Azores.

Gaspar Frutuoso was born in 1522, on the island of São Miguel, son of Frutuoso Dias, a merchant and rural property-owner, and his wife Isabel Fernandes. Little is known of his childhood, apart from references to him working his father's lands during this period.

The first trustworthy record about Frutuoso was his admission to the University of Salamanca (in 1548) where he later obtained an Arts certification. At the age of 31 (in 1554), he was ordained during a visit to São Miguel; his records from 1554 to 1555 show him registered as presbitero bachiller. He continued his studies in Salamanca under the noted theologian Domingo de Soto, the royal confessor of King Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (and Charles I of Spain) and envoy to the Council of Trent, where he obtained a theology baccalaureate. During his time in Salamanca he became friends with Father Miguel Torres, a member of the Society of Jesus, which would later serve him as he was promoting charitable activities in the Azores.

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