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Abstract
In the sixteenth century the Portuguese dominated the scene between Europe, the coasts of Africa,. Brazil, India, the Southeast Asian shores, China and Japan, It was a time in which many countries and many cultures had their first contact with Europeans, with new philosophies, different modes of life and different customs.
It is not the intention of this article to deal with the many motives, political, religious, economic and others which led the Portuguese on their journeys of discovery in search of the route to the Spice Island. The material published on these subjects, through the centuries, in many languages and representing diverse viewpoints are found in abundance. But what we rather intend here is to concentrate on the human aspects of the story, focussing our attention' on the political setting only when relevant and thereby endeavouring to establish whether Joao de Barros’ statement is still of relevance for the present day.