Memory of the World
Vasco da Gama’s journal: manuscript Ms. 804 and research access
Explore Vasco da Gama’s 1497–1499 voyage journal, its surviving 1500–1550 manuscript copy held in Porto, and UNESCO Memory of the World registration in 2013.
- Location
- Porto, Porto
- Document dates
- 1500–1550 (manuscript copy)
- UNESCO
- Memory of the World · since 2013
The Journal of Vasco da Gama’s first voyage to India, 1497–1499, is held by Porto Municipal Public Library under Ms. 804. UNESCO registered it as Memory of the World in 2013. It is the only known contemporary copy of a lost original account. Its value as testimony does not make the voyage dates the dates of the surviving manuscript.
Voyage in 1497–1499, copy in 1500–1550
The 2012 nomination identifies one volume of 45 leaves, dated 1500–1550. The manuscript has no explicit writing date; palaeographic analysis places it in the first half of the sixteenth century. It should not be described as Vasco da Gama’s own signed diary written aboard ship.
The text is anonymous. The nomination mentions its frequent attribution to Álvaro Velho, but this remains an attribution. Distinguish the account’s author, the surviving copy’s scribe and the expedition commander: they are different roles, rather than a single established identity.
What the journal contains
Beyond the voyage narrative, the codex includes descriptions of eastern kingdoms, prices of spices and other goods, and a vocabulary of the language of Calicut. It supports research into navigation and trade, as well as how the expedition observed, named and interpreted the societies it encountered.
Read it as a source arising from a Portuguese experience. Its descriptions do not encompass the entire histories of the ports or peoples mentioned. Compare the vocabulary, prices and narrative with other sources from the same context.
From Coimbra to Porto
The manuscript came from the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra and was transferred to Porto’s library in 1834 by Alexandre Herculano. The nomination also records the old shelfmark Ms. 145. This helps interpret earlier scholarship; use Ms. 804 for a present request.
Diogo Kopke published a complete transcription in 1838. Manuscript, printed edition and digital reproduction are distinct forms of access. State which you used when citing a passage.
Preparing a consultation
The municipal library page provides a current contact point. Ask about Ms. 804, digital images and reproduction. The nomination describes a digital copy and exceptional original access, but old repository links do not guarantee current availability.
Record the shelfmark, title, folio and edition consulted. Compare with Caminha’s letter to understand how two voyage accounts followed different paths of transmission.
Frequently asked questions
- Was this manuscript written during the voyage?
- The account concerns the 1497–1499 voyage, but the surviving manuscript copies a lost original. The nomination dates the copy to 1500–1550 through palaeographic analysis.
- Who wrote the journal?
- The text is anonymous. Álvaro Velho is a frequently cited attribution in the nomination, rather than an authorship established by a signature in the manuscript.
- How can I request access?
- Give the shelfmark Ms. 804 and the title Roteiro da primeira viagem de Vasco da Gama à Índia when contacting Porto Municipal Public Library. Confirm the current digital link and conditions for access or reproduction.