Dialog of a Veteran Soldier: Discussing the Frauds and Realities of Portuguese India

ISBN-13: 9781933227726 / Angielski / Miękka / 2016 / 236 str.

Diogo Do Couto; Timothy J. Coates

Opis

Fraud, scandal, theft of royal funds, official graft, and cover-ups: these are the subjects of the 1612 expose written by Diogo do Couto in his Dialog of a Veteran Soldier. Couto revealed too much and as a result, this work had to wait more than 175 years until its first publication in 1790. This classic of overseas Portuguese history is a well-known source cited by historians of Portuguese Asia, yet it has remained beyond the reach of a larger audience until this translation--its first into any other language. Couto was never rewarded with any of the prized positions that viceroys and governors (according to him) showered on their underlings. This Dialog is his bitter response. In it, we can see the workings of official and informal administration of Portuguese Asia as well as the numerous remedies Couto suggests to correct these abuses.

Spis treści

• List of Maps and Illustrations
• Foreword by M. N. Pearson
• INTRODUCTION: PORTUGUESE ASIA AND DIOGO DO COUTO
• Comments on the Translation
• Glossary of Foreign and Archaic English Terms
• Maps Showing Places Mentioned in the Text
• Viceroys and Governors of Portuguese Asia, 1505 - 1612
• DIALOG OF A VETERAN SOLDIER
• Letter to the Count of Salinas and Ribadeo
• THE FIRST PART
• Scene 1: The Importance of Secrecy
• Scene 2: How Appointments in Portuguese India Are Managed in Portugal; the Many Irregularities in the Process
• Scene 3: The Worst Enemies of the King's Treasury Are His Ministers; How the King's Orders and Standing Instructions Are Not Followed; and Other Subjects
• Scene 4: Regarding the Types of Fraud in India and the Damages They Cause
• Scene 5: The Second Type of Fraud, Which Is Against Men, and the Destruction It Causes
• Scene 6: The Third Type of Fraud, Which Is Against God, and Many Other Wicked Things the Governors Do
• Scene 7: The Fourth Type of Fraud, Which Is Against All, and the Nature of Old Debts
• Scene 8: The Treasury Inspectors; Their Unnecessary Visits to the Northern Forts; and the Irregularities They Commit with the King's Accounts
• Scene 9: Old Payments for Soldiers; How the King Is Robbed by Them; and How to Avoid Them
• Scene 10: Regarding the Accounts in Goa and Other Subjects
• THE SECOND PART
• Scene 1: Irregularities in Making Appointments
• Scene 2: The Importance of Truth, Valor, and Gold in Retaining Portuguese Asia
• Scene 3: Confusion in Making Appointments
• Scene 4: The Red Sea Fleets; How to Select a Viceroy; the Three Traits of a Good Leader; and the Importance of Clemency
• Scene 5: The Importance of Generosity
• Scene 6: The Importance of Prudent Speech
• THE THIRD PART
• Scene 1: Supplies for Portuguese Asia; Attending to Those Absent; Vice-regal Correspondence and Orders
• Scene 2: Fraudulent Actions of the Viceroys; the Importance of Attending to Little Things; the Cowardice of Soldiers Nowadays; and the Needs of Portuguese Asia
• Scene 3: To Conquer Sri Lanka or Aceh? The Importance of Conquering the Silver Mines of Mutapa
• Scene 4: The Wealth and Riches of Africa versus India
• Appendix: Draft Letter from Matias de Albuquerque
• Further Reading
• Index