Fernão Mendes Pinto

Fernão Mendes Pinto (Date of Birth, unknown c.1509 – 8 July 1583) was a Portuguese explorer and writer. His voyages are recorded in Pilgrimage (Portuguese: Peregrinação) (1614), his autobiographical memoir. The historical accuracy of the work was, for many years debated due to the many events which seemed far fetched and unreasonable to western cultures. Some aspects of the work can be verified, particularly through Pinto's service to the Portuguese Crown and by his association with Jesuit missionaries.