Dialog of a Veteran Soldier

"Timothy Coates is to be praised for having prepared a long-awaited and impeccable English translation of one of the key texts to understanding the social world of the Portuguese empire in Asia in the early seventeenth century. Myriad 'veteran soldiers' existed and even penned similar writings. But Diogo do Couto's fictional dialogue rests unrivaled. The present edition is the best gift that all those interested in the social history of the Estado da Índia could receive on the occasion of the four-hundredth anniversary of Couto's death."—Jorge Flores, professor of early modern global history, European University Institute, Florence

"This careful, erudite, and stylish translation of Diogo do Couto's O Soldado Prático is of signal importance. Known for his chronicles of India, essays, eulogies, and poetry, Couto lived for fifty-five years in Asia as a soldier, a royal officer, an archivist, and a respected citizen who publicly received the viceroys. His pivotal role as both the voice of the Portuguese elite in Goa and agent of the King turns Couto's critical assessment of the problems of the Estado da Índia into compulsory reading for any student of the Portuguese empire."—Francisco Bethencourt, Charles Boxer Professor, King's College London