João de Barros
| João de Barros | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1496 Viseu, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | 20 October 1570 (aged 73–74) Santiago de Litém, Pombal, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Occupation | Historian, factor at "Casa da Índia" |
| Notable works | Decades of Asia, Chronicle of Emperor Clarimund |
João de Barros (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w̃ dɨ ˈbaʁuʃ]) (1496 – 20 October 1570), called the Portuguese Livy, is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his Décadas da Ásia ("Decades of Asia"), a history of the Portuguese in India, Asia, and southeast Africa.
Educated in the palace of Manuel I of Portugal, he composed, at the age of twenty, a romance of chivalry, the Chronicle of the Emperor Clarimundo, in which he is said to have had the assistance of Prince John (afterwards King John III).
Upon ascending the throne, King John III awarded Barros the captaincy of the fortress of St George of Elmina, to which he proceeded in 1524. In 1525, he obtained the post of treasurer of the India House, which he held until 1528.
To escape from an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1530 Barros moved from Lisbon to his country house near Pombal, where he finished a moral dialogue, Rho pica Pneuma, which was cheered by Juan Luís Vives. On his return to Lisbon in 1532 the king appointed Barros factor of the "Casa da Índia e da Mina" (House of India and Mina)— a position of great responsibility and importance at a time when Lisbon was the European center for the trade of the East. Barros proved a good administrator, displaying great industry and an honesty rare at the time, with the result that he made little profit compared to his predecessors, who had amassed fortunes.
At this time, John III, wishing to attract settlers to Brazil, divided it into captaincies and attributed to Barros that of Maranhão. Barros with two partners, prepared an armada of ten vessels, carrying nine hundred men each, which set sail in 1539.
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