The Voyages and Adventures of Fernand Mendez Pinto. Done into Engl. by H. C. - Primary Source Edition

Very little is known about Pinto's life except what is related in his only work, Peregrinacao (translated as The Travels of Mendes Pinto). At his death the manuscript for the book passed to Pinto's daughters, but was not published until 1614. Pinto left his native Montemoro-Velho for Lisbon, embarking a few years later for the Orient, where he spent almost three decades. He claimed to have been a friend of St. Francis Xavier and, for more than 10 years, a pirate, merchant, and diplomat. While in Asia, he became a Jesuit lay brother for about two years, although he was possibly a Marrano.

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