Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Corpo Cronológico
(collection of manuscripts on
the Portuguese discoveries)
Inscribed 2007
What is it
A collection of more than 80,000 public manuscript
documents, mostly from the 15th and 16th centuries,
which chronicle the voyages of the Portuguese explorers
and the people and lands they discovered.
Why was it inscribed
The enormous breadth of this truly unique collection
offers a direct view into the Age of Discovery, recording
the first mutual impressions and interaction between
people from previously unknown lands, and the
development of influences between disparate civilizations
over the course of the 15th and 16th centuries.
The documents chart the growth of Portugal’s vast
empire, which ultimately spanned the globe, from
its beginnings in the voyages of exploration.
Where is it
Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, Lisbon, Portugal
The Portuguese were in the vanguard in the Age
of Discovery and it would be difficult to overstate
their contribution to the expansion of knowledge and
to changing human perception of the world. Although
the Corpo Cronológico is Portuguese in origin, the
information in the papers is almost uniquely of worldwide
interest in that the navigators and explorers recorded
details of other civilizations and new-found lands where
few other contemporary written records existed.
The sources in the Corpo Cronológico follow the routes
taken by the Portuguese ships across the Atlantic in search
of the Orient and around the coasts and kingdoms
of Africa.
Included in the African material are descriptions of the
voyages, accounts of meetings between the Africans and
the Portuguese, information on African kingdoms, the
search for the legendary Prester John and descriptions
of the gifts offered to local leaders.
Military affairs including the capture and building
of fortifications are reported and there is information
on trade, trafficking in slaves, ivory, gold, sugar, cotton
and textiles as well as details of English trade in the
area. The settlement and integration of incomers is
documented as are the mechanics of converting the
Africans to Christianity, while other papers record the
administration of the growing Portuguese interests in
the area.
The material dealing with Asia in the Corpo is more
extensive still, charting the growth and administration
of the far-flung Portuguese Empire, of matters
of diplomacy and peace and trade treaties. Militarily,
the documents deal with the conquest and occupation
� Instituto dos Arquivos Nacionais
128 Corpo Cronológico (collection of manuscripts on the Portuguese discoveries)
Documents from the collection �