Duarte Pacheco Pereira

Duarte Pacheco Pereira, (flourished 16th century), Portuguese seafarer and compiler of sailing directions. The Portuguese poet Luís de Camões called him Aquiles Lusitano (the Portuguese Achilles) because of his military exploits in India.

Reared at the Portuguese court, Pacheco Pereira was an educated man, serving as a squire to King John II. He became a pilot and shipmaster and traveled to India in 1503. The following year he distinguished himself in the defense of the Portuguese trading station at Cochin, India, against attacks by the ruler of Calicut.

Returning to Portugal in 1505, Pacheco Pereira received many honours. He collected his logbooks and charts and wrote a valuable account of Portuguese exploration (published in a modern edition in 1937). He was appointed governor of São Jorge da Mina but fell into disgrace when enemies reported that he had embezzled official funds. He was exonerated, but he died shortly thereafter in poverty.