Couto, Diogo do

(1542-1616)

   Soldier and historical chronicler of the Asian empire, Do Couto left Portugal at age 15 and shipped out to Portuguese India as a soldier. In 1570, in the company of the soldier-poet Luís de Camões, he returned to Lisbon. He returned to India the following year and later was given the assignment of historical chronicler, with the mission of completing João De Barros's Da Asia. Fascinated by the exotic nature of Asia and its peoples, Do Couto was a worthy successor of De Barros, completing 12 "decades" of the History De Barros, of which the 11th "decade" is lost. Another work, Diálogo do Soldado Prático, provides a detailed commentary on the vices of Portugal's empire and rule in Asia in his day, as well as on the decadence of that empire. His trenchant views on the situation in Portuguese Asia include a call for justice, fair administration, and a restoration of the grandeur of the pre-Portuguese Indian empires.