1564
Account of the São Bento shipwreck is published
Manuel de Mesquita Perestrelo's account of the São Bento wreck and survivors’ journey was printed in Coimbra in 1564.
Manuel de Mesquita Perestrelo’s account of the São Bento wreck and the survivors’ northward journey was printed in Coimbra in 1564 by João de Barreira. Bibliographic records give the work a longer Portuguese title describing the voyage, the wreck and the overland journey to Portuguese-controlled settlements in the east. The account was later incorporated into the wider tradition of Portuguese shipwreck narratives.
Significance
The publication circulated one of the earliest printed accounts centred on a shipwreck and survivor journey on the south-eastern African coast.
Why it matters
The publication circulated one of the earliest printed accounts of a Portuguese shipwreck and overland journey on the south-eastern African coast.
Disputed interpretations
Bibliographic descriptions differ in how they define the work’s scope and whether it should be called the oldest printed book devoted exclusively to events on South African soil.
Perspective notes
The publication preserves a Portuguese survivor’s account of the wreck, journey and encounters along the coast. Its descriptions reflect the author’s experience and the conventions of sixteenth-century travel and shipwreck writing.
Terminology notes
The work appears in bibliographic records under variant Portuguese titles, including forms of *Naufragio da nao Sam Bento*. The event uses the shorter São Bento account for clarity.