Álvaro Velho (15th-16th century, born in Barreiro, Portugal) was a Portuguese sailor or soldier who took part in the first Portuguese expedition by sea to India, led by

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

in 1497. Velho is one of the purported authors of the anonymous ''Journal of Vasco Da Gama's trip of 1497'' (the other being

João de Sá João de Sá, knight ( fl. 1497 – 1514) was a Portuguese explorer, who accompanied Vasco da Gama on the voyage of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. Biography Sá was a scrivener on the first Portuguese voyage to India ...

). This work survives in a single manuscript copy preserved at the Biblioteca Pública Municipal of Porto and first published in Porto in 1838 by

Diogo Kopke Diogo Kopke (1808–1844) was a Portuguese editor and publisher, mathematician, journalist and soldier of German descent. He was the first person to publish the only existing contemporary report of Vasco da Gama’s first trip to India. Backgroun ...

. In 1945, historian

Franz Hümmerich Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

identified the author of this manuscript with an Álvaro Velho who had spent eight years in

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

and provided information about the

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

region to Valentim Fernandes. However, more recent studies by Carmen Radulet have exposed weaknesses in this theory and attributed the ''Journal'' with more certainty to scrivener João de Sá.

References

Editions of the ''Journal'': * Diogo Kopke and Antonio da Costa Paiva (eds.), ''"Roteiro da viagem que em descobrimento da India pelo Cabo da Boa Esperança fez dom Vasco da Gama em 1497": Segundo um manuscripto da Bibliotheca publica portuense'', Porto: Typographia Commercial Portuense, 1838 (first edition of the manuscript, in Portuguese). Scan available a
Biblioteca Brasiliana Mindlin
* Ernest George Ravenstein (ed.), ''A journal of the first voyage of Vasco da Gama, 1497–1499'', London:Hakluyt Society, 1898 (first English translation). Scan available a
Archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velho, Alvaro Portuguese travel writers Maritime history of Portugal People from Barreiro, Portugal 15th-century Portuguese people 16th-century Portuguese people Portuguese explorers 15th-century explorers Explorers of Asia Portuguese male writers Portuguese Renaissance writers