Relação do Descobrimento da Ilha de São Tomé

This work is the first history of São Tomé, covering more than 250 years of events as seen through the eyes of its author, Manuel do Rosário Pinto.

The text, dating from around 1734, was not published during the author's lifetime. Excluding the ‘catalogue’ of monarchs, governors and bishops, it is, in a way, an autobiography and a combat book, seeking to justify the facts in which he was actively involved. Surprisingly, however, the whole work reveals a regard for sources, transcribing or summarising a good number of documents, some of them now lost.

In addition to a critical introduction, this edition features the paleographic transcription of Manuel do Rosário Pinto's book and a version in modern Portuguese, framed by a substantial body of notes. A documentary appendix and a detailed analytical index complete this volume.