The historians of subsequent centuries simply use, with more or less judgment, the materials provided for them by the historians mentioned above for the sixteenth century, and with one exception are of no value. The one exception is:
Manoel de Faria e Sousa, who in his Asia Portugueza, three volumes, Lisbon, 1666-75, made use of good MS. materials.
The purely secondary historians, who in spite of their reputation are better left unread, are: Giovanni Pietro Maffei, Historiarum Indicarum Libri XVI, Florence, 1588; Antonio de San Roman, Historia General de la India Oriental, Valladolid, 1603; Joseph François Lafitau, Histoire des Découvertes et des Conquêtes des Portugais dans le Nouveau Monde, Paris, 1733.
Os Portuguezes em Africa, Asia, America e Oceania, published in Lisbon in 1849, is a lively summary of the best authorities.
In modern times the scientific historical spirit has developed greatly in Portugal, under the influence of the great historian Alexandre Herculano de Carvalho e Araujo, and the publication of documents has taken the place of the publication of historical summaries. Among these ranks first the Colleccão de Monumentos ineditos para a Historia das Conquistas dos Portuguezes em Africa, Asia e America, a series of which any nation might be proud, and of which the Cartas de Albuquerque already described forms a part. It is published under the superintendence of the Academia Real das Sciencias of Lisbon, which also brought out, in 1868, Subsidios para a Historia da India Portugueza, containing three valuable early documents, edited by Rodrigo José de Lima Felner. Intelligent and thoroughly scientific articles have also appeared in the Portuguese periodicals, especially in the Annaes Maritimos in 1840-44, and in the Annaes das Sciencias e Letteras, in which was published Senhor Lopes de Mendonça's article on Dom Francisco de Almeida. Mention should also be made of two books published in India, Contributions to the Study of Indo-Portuguese Numismatics, by J. Gerson da Cunha, Bombay, 1880, an interesting pamphlet on a fascinating subject, and An Historical and Archæological Sketch of the City of Goa, by José Nicolau da Fonseca, Bombay, 1878, a most carefully compiled volume.
In conclusion I must express my gratitude to the editor of the series for much kindly advice and assistance, to Mr. E. J. Wade of the India Office Library, who has been my ever ready helper, and to Mr. T. Fisher Unwin for giving the plate of the portrait of Albuquerque, which appears as a frontispiece.
H.M.S.