Francisco Barreto

Francisco Barreto (occasionally Francisco de Barreto, 1520 – 9 July 1573) was a Portuguese soldier and explorer. An officer in Morocco during his early life, Barreto sailed to Portuguese India and was eventually appointed viceroy of the colony. After his return to Lisbon, he was tasked with an expedition to southeast Africa in search of legendary gold mines. Barreto died in what is now Mozambique, having never reached the mines.

Early life Born in Faro in 1520, Barreto was the second son of Rui Barreto, an influential nobleman, and Branca de Vilhena. He received military training in Morocco, and eventually served in Azemmour, near Casablanca.

Career in Portuguese India

Barreto was appointed captain of a large fleet by John III and embarked for Portuguese India on 16 November 1547. He served as captain of Bassein from 1549 to 1552. He gradually gained influence at the viceregal court, securing several prominent nominations.

Governor Barreto took up the position of viceroy in Goa, headquarters of the colony, in June 1555, following the death of viceroy Pedro Mascarenhas. On the occasion of his investiture, a play by Luís de Camões, Auto de Filodemo, was put on. Barreto later ordered Camões exiled to Macau (also a Portuguese colony) for his satirical Disparates da Índia, which criticized Portuguese life in India.

During his tenure as governor, the intended Catholic Patriarch for Ethiopia arrived, accompanied by an embassy led by Fernando de Sousa de Castello Branco, on 15 March 1556. Because he had more accurate information on matters in that country, Barreto held back most of this party, although allowing Bishop André de Oviedo to continue with some companions. This small group, carried in four small ships, landed at Arqiqo in March 1557, shortly before the Ottoman Empire occupied that port.

According to Robert Kerr in A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Mascarenhas, in a bid to gain a Portuguese ally in the region, had supported a usurper against one Adel Khan, King of Visapur.

Barreto set sail from Lisbon on 16 April 1569, with three ships, 2,000 men, and the title of Conqueror of the Mines, bestowed upon him by the king.

The Portuguese fought several battles against the Mongas, emerging victorious due to their guns. According to Kerr, when their king sent ambassadors to Barreto in hopes of securing peace, the soldier tricked them into thinking that the camels used by the Portuguese, creatures foreign to southeastern Africa, subsisted on flesh, leading the Mongas to provide the Portuguese with beef for the camels. having never reached the mines, and was buried at the Igreja de São Lourenço in Lisbon alongside his wife, Brites de Ataíde.

Homem continues the search Barreto's deputy, Vasco Fernandes Homem, succeeded him as governor and returned with the remaining company to the coast. After Monclaros had left for Lisbon, the expedition to Manica was resumed via the Sofala route. The mines, when finally reached, did not resemble the legends, with the natives only producing very small amounts of gold. After further failure looking for different mines in a neighbouring kingdom, Homem abandoned the search for gold.