Garcia de Orta’s Colloquies on the Simples and Drugs of India
In Goa the physician Garcia de Orta published a book of dialogues describing Asian medicinal plants, spices and drugs from his own observation — one of the founding works of tropical medicine and pharmacology.
- Date
- 10 April 1563exact dateDate in the Julian calendar
- Place
- Goatoday: Old Goa, India · South Asia
- Participants
- Garcia de Orta, Luís de Camões
- Threads
- History of Portugal since the Battle of Aljubarrota
- Also known as
- Colóquios dos simples e drogas da Índia; Коллоквиумы о простых лекарствах
Orta, the son of Spanish Jews forcibly converted in Portugal in 1497, had lectured at the university of Lisbon and served as royal physician before sailing to India in 1534. In Goa he built up a large practice, kept a garden of medicinal plants and learned from Indian and Muslim physicians. His Colloquies — 57 conversations with an imaginary colleague, Doctor Ruano — describe cinnamon, pepper, cloves, betel, cannabis, opium and many other substances, correct errors of ancient authorities and give a classic clinical description of Asiatic cholera. The book includes a poem by Orta’s friend Luís de Camões.
A Latin epitome by Carolus Clusius (1567) made the work known throughout Europe. After Orta’s death in 1568 the Inquisition in Goa turned on his family: his sister was burned at the stake in 1569, and in 1580 Orta himself was posthumously condemned for Judaism and his remains were exhumed and burned.
Connections
Related events
- Expulsion and forced conversion of the Jews of Portugal5 December 1496 – October 1497 · Western and Central EuropeOrta’s family were New Christians, Jews forcibly baptised in 1497
- Portuguese conquest of Goa25 November 1510 · South AsiaOrta worked in Goa, the capital of Portuguese India since 1530
- Publication of The Lusiads1572 · Western and Central Europethe Colloquies include a poem by Camões, Orta’s friend
Same place
- Indian annexation of Goa18–19 December 1961 · South Asia
Adjacent events in the thread
- Portuguese settle in Macau1557 · East Asia
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 25 years of this event
Western and Central Europe
Eastern Europe
- Annexation of the Astrakhan Khanate26 August 1556
- Capture of Kazan23 August – 2 October 1552
- Coronation of Ivan IV as tsar16 January 1547
Africa
- Battle of Alcácer Quibir4 August 1578
- Ethiopian–Adal WarMarch 1529 – 21 February 1543
East Asia
Southeast Asia and Oceania
North America
- Hernando de Soto’s expedition into the interior of North America30 May 1539 – September 1543
Latin America
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Colloquies on the Simples and Drugs of India
- Wikipedia (English): Garcia de Orta
- Wikipedia (Russian): Де Орта, Гарсия
- Orta G. de. Colloquies on the Simples & Drugs of India / Transl. by C. Markham. — London: H. Sotheran, 1913.
- Wikidata: Q5150429