CAMÕES EM MACAU. UM MITO HISTORIOGRÁFICO
This article critically analyzes the relationship between Luís de Camões and the Far East, focusing specifically on the episodes of the poet’s shipwreck and his alleged stay in Macao during the mid-16th century. The author argues that these events, although widely disseminated in historiographical t...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Articles |
| Published: |
Instituto Cultural de Macau
July 2003
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40007/3895 |
| _version_ | 1877196271381381120 |
|---|---|
| author | Rui Manuel Loureiro |
| author_autocomplete | Rui Manuel Loureiro |
| author_browse | Rui Manuel Loureiro |
| author_facet | Rui Manuel Loureiro Rui Manuel Loureiro |
| author_sort | Rui Manuel Loureiro |
| container_title | Review of Culture |
| container_title_str | Review of Culture |
| container_volume | 7 |
| container_volume_str | 7 |
| description | This article critically analyzes the relationship between Luís de Camões and the Far East, focusing specifically on the episodes of the poet’s shipwreck and his alleged stay in Macao during the mid-16th century. The author argues that these events, although widely disseminated in historiographical tradition and popular culture, lack solid documentary basis, instead constituting “historiographical myths” constructed from exegetical interpretations of Camões’s literary work.
Through a rigorous review of biographical and literary sources, Rui Manuel Loureiro examines the references to China in *Os Lusíadas*, demonstrating that the geographical information contained therein was common knowledge in Portuguese circles in Goa and does not prove a direct visit to the Chinese coast. The study deconstructs three central pillars of the poet’s oriental biography: his appointment to the post of Ombudsman of the Deceased, the miraculous rescue of the epic manuscript during a shipwreck at the mouth of the Mekong, and his residence in the mythical “Grotto of Camões” in Macao. It concludes that the scarcity of contemporary records led later historians to fill biographical gaps with imaginative narratives, underscoring the need to distinguish between documented historical reality and the mythical construction surrounding the figure of the national epic poet. |
| first_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:51Z |
| format | Articles |
| genre | Articles |
| genre_facet | Articles |
| hierarchy_browse | Review of Culture{{{_ID_}}}zotero-coll-76L3BRGH |
| hierarchy_parent_id | zotero-coll-76L3BRGH |
| hierarchy_parent_title | Review of Culture |
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| hierarchy_top_title | News |
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| issn | 1682-1106 |
| last_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:51Z |
| latest_content_date | 2026-09-11T02:56:51Z |
| publishDate | July 2003 |
| publishDateRange | 2003 |
| publishDateSort | 2003 |
| publishPlace | Macau |
| publisher | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
| publisherStr | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
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| spelling | CAMÕES EM MACAU. UM MITO HISTORIOGRÁFICO This article critically analyzes the relationship between Luís de Camões and the Far East, focusing specifically on the episodes of the poet’s shipwreck and his alleged stay in Macao during the mid-16th century. The author argues that these events, although widely disseminated in historiographical tradition and popular culture, lack solid documentary basis, instead constituting “historiographical myths” constructed from exegetical interpretations of Camões’s literary work. Through a rigorous review of biographical and literary sources, Rui Manuel Loureiro examines the references to China in *Os Lusíadas*, demonstrating that the geographical information contained therein was common knowledge in Portuguese circles in Goa and does not prove a direct visit to the Chinese coast. The study deconstructs three central pillars of the poet’s oriental biography: his appointment to the post of Ombudsman of the Deceased, the miraculous rescue of the epic manuscript during a shipwreck at the mouth of the Mekong, and his residence in the mythical “Grotto of Camões” in Macao. It concludes that the scarcity of contemporary records led later historians to fill biographical gaps with imaginative narratives, underscoring the need to distinguish between documented historical reality and the mythical construction surrounding the figure of the national epic poet. Instituto Cultural de Macau Macau Review of Culture Articles July 2003 Rui Manuel Loureiro |
| spellingShingle | CAMÕES EM MACAU. UM MITO HISTORIOGRÁFICO Rui Manuel Loureiro |
| title | CAMÕES EM MACAU. UM MITO HISTORIOGRÁFICO |
| title_autocomplete | CAMÕES EM MACAU. UM MITO HISTORIOGRÁFICO |
| title_full | CAMÕES EM MACAU. UM MITO HISTORIOGRÁFICO |
| title_fullStr | CAMÕES EM MACAU. UM MITO HISTORIOGRÁFICO |
| title_full_unstemmed | CAMÕES EM MACAU. UM MITO HISTORIOGRÁFICO |
| title_short | CAMÕES EM MACAU. UM MITO HISTORIOGRÁFICO |
| title_sort | camões em macau. um mito historiográfico |
| url | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40007/3895 |
| zotero_collection_key | 76L3BRGH |