Luis Vaz de Camoes, without doubt, remains to this day the Portuguese language's foremost poet and has mentored many with his work through the centuries and wherever the Portuguese Empire or its Sailors reached, or its language spoken - from Brazil and Africa, through Portugal itself to India and the Far East. During his lifetime the Portuguese Empire, grew rapidly and this was, perhaps, a Golden Age for Portugal in many areas. His lyrical poetry showed such mastery that, for many, his talents are the equal of Shakespeare, Homer or Dante. With lines as encompassing and truthful as "em varias flamas variamente ardia" ("I burnt myself at many flames") it is hard to argue against. Probably born in 1524 it is unknown as to where. There is a statue dedicated to him in Constanzia which together with Lisbon, Coimbra or Alenquer also rival as his birthplace. What is known is that he was an only child from a fading family of the old Aristocracy. His father went to India to pursue his fortune and died in Goa. His mother later remarried and for Camoes early life was financially comfortable. He was educated within the Catholic church and then attended the University of Coimbra giving him access to a wide range of classical and contemporary literature. Aside from his native Portuguese he read in Latin and Italian and wrote poetry in Spanish. What can be acknowledged from his work was that Camoes was a man of great learning and widely read. He was able to use that knowledge and influence to write beautiful and lasting poetry. Camoes was a romantic, and it was rumoured, fell in love with a lady in waiting to the Queen and also Princess Maria. Possibly due to indiscretions surrounding these love affairs, he was exiled from Lisbon and enlisted in the overseas militia where he lost the sight in his right eye and eventually returned to Lisbon. He now led a bohemian lifestyle and a fracas resulted in him injuring a member of the royal stables. He was imprisoned but his mother successfully pleaded for his release which involved paying a large fine and serving three years in militia in the Orient after which he took up a post in Macau. During this time he was shipwrecked and some romantics claim that he swam ashore whilst holding aloft the manuscript of his unfinished epic; Os Lusiadas, the poetical tale of how Vasco da Gama discovered India. When finally back in Lisbon, in 1570, he finished and then published two years later, 'Os Lusiadas', the masterpiece for which his poetic talent has deservedly been recognised. In July of that year he was granted a royal pension, probably in recompense for both his service in India and his having written Os Lusiadas. Luis Vaz de Camoes died in 1580 on 10th June, coincidentally Portugal's national day, and is buried in the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon.

16th century poet Luís Vaz de Camões is widely considered as Portugal's greatest classical poet. Most likely born in Lisbon around 1524, Luís Vaz de Camões received a formal education, possibly from the University of Coimbra. While his family was poor, his heritage was noble and thus Luís Vaz de Camões was able to gain admittance to the court of John III where his career as a poet began. In the 1550s he traveled to the east, passing through the same regions that Vasco da Gama had sailed. It is about this time that he likely began writing his magnum opus, "The Lusiads". First published in 1572, this epic poem, which is frequently compared to Virgil's "Aeneid", relates the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama's discovery of the maritime route to India by way of Cape of Good Hope. Composed of over 1100 stanzas in ten books, "The Lusiads" is to this day widely regarded as the most important literary work of the Portuguese language. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper and follows the translation of William Julius Mickle.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The books in the Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series demonstrate the University Press of Florida’s long history of publishing Latin American and Caribbean studies titles that connect in and through Florida, highlighting the connections between the Sunshine State and its neighboring islands. Books in this series show how early explorers found and settled Florida and the Caribbean. They tell the tales of early pioneers, both foreign and domestic. They examine topics critical to the area such as travel, migration, economic opportunity, and tourism. They look at the growth of Florida and the Caribbean and the attendant pressures on the environment, culture, urban development, and the movement of peoples, both forced and voluntary. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series gathers the rich data available in these architectural, archaeological, cultural, and historical works, as well as the travelogues and naturalists’ sketches of the area in prior to the twentieth century, making it accessible for scholars and the general public alike. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series is made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, under the Humanities Open Books program.

Delving into the Portuguese imperial experience, 'Moorings' enriches our understanding of historical and literary imagination during a significant period of Western expansion.