Jan Huighen Van Linschoten (1563–1611)

The Dutch traveler Jan Huighen van Linschoten served for six years (1583-89) as bookkeeper to the archbishop of Portuguese Goa. His account of India was published in his Itinerario (1595-96), which was translated into German (1598), English (1598), Latin (1599), and French (1610). The Itinerario describes sea routes to the Indies and descriptions of the lands and peoples of Africa and India, including an early discussion of caste. Of particular interest is the discussion of women in the colonies, which conflates Indian and Portuguese women resident in India, providing an early representation of the European abroad as a hybrid or “mestizo.”

Ancient history · Archaeology · Archbishop · Caste · Genealogy · German · Linguistics · Political science · Portuguese · Representation (politics) · Classics · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Law · Philosophy