La importancia de Camões para la reconstrucción de los inicios del proceso colonial portugués

Abstract

The Lusiads, by Luís Vaz de Camões, is a key literary source for the historical reconstruction of the initial decades of Portuguese colonial expansion in the Indian Ocean. Compared to the accounts of commentators of the period, for example Fernão Lopes de Castanheda and João de Barros, this epic poem provides additional insight into the colonial conquests. It is of particular value for an understanding of the psychological makeup of the conquistadores and their officers, as well as for an insight into their technical force in both the naval and military sphere.