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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XX- 



he had desired that the affairs of India should be recorded, but 

 that hitherto he had been unable to find a person fitted for the 

 task ; that, if Barros liked to undertake it, his labour would not 

 be in vain. Accordingly the young man set about preparing 

 for the work ; but in little over a year's time 1 Dom Manuel died, 

 and the scheme had to be abandoned temporarily. 



The new king, D. Joao III., appointed Barros to the 

 captaincy of Mina 2 , for which place he sailed in 1522, remain- 

 ing there for over two years 3 . On his return to Portugal, in 

 May 1525, the king bestowed upon him the office of treasurer 

 of the Casa da India, Mina e Ceuta 4 , a post which he held until 

 December 1528, continuing to reside in Lisbon until the out- 

 break of plague in that city in 1530 drove him to his country- 

 house near Pombal. In 1532 he returned to Lisbon, and was 

 appointed factor of the Casa da India e Mina, an office 

 involving very heavy duties, in spite of which, however, Barros 

 found time to continue his literary pursuits, producing various 

 works, one of the most interesting being a Portuguese grammar 

 (printed 1540), intended for the use of four Paravars who had 

 been brought to Portugal, selected from those converted on 

 the Fishery Coast in 1538. 



In 1552 was published in Lisbon the first Decade of Barros's 

 long projected work, with^the title Asia de Joam de Barros, dos 

 fectos que os Portugueses fizeram no descobrimento & conquista 

 dos mares & terras do Oriente ; the second Decade appearing 

 the following year 5 . The death of King D. Joao III. in 1557 

 probably delayed the appearance of the third Decade, which 

 was not published until 1563. It is on this work that the fame 

 of Barros rests, and deservedly so ; for though he never went 

 further East than to Mina, he took great pains to insure 



1 13 December 1521. 



2 Erroneously called Elmina (on the Gold Coast of Africa). 



3 Of his doings there he seems to have left no record. 



4 The " India and Colonial Office." 



6 The first seven books of Fernao Lopez de Castanheda's Historia do 

 Descobrimento e Conquista da India were published at Coimbra between 

 1551 and 1554 (the eighth book appearing after his death in 1564). 

 Castanheda had the advantage of Barros in having been in India, and 

 his work is generally accurate and of much value, though his literary 

 style is not to be compared with that of Barros. 



