uerque, who, it may be remarked, always spelt his
name Alboquerque, which is the version adopted by the early
Portuguese writers, was {44} the second son of this marriage. This
sketch of the history of his ancestors shows to what great families
the future governor of Portuguese Asia was allied; the frequent tale
of unlawful love to be observed throughout it is a feature common to
the records of the most illustrious captains of his time. His elder
brother, Fernao de Albuquerque, married a daughter of Diogo da Silva,
and had two daughters, one of whom married Dom Martinho de Noronha,
and the other Jorge Barreto, both names which often occur in the
history of the Portuguese in the East. His next brother, Alvaro, took
Holy Orders and became Prior of Villa Verde, and his youngest
brother, Martim, was killed by his side at Arzila. His elder sister,
Constance, married Dom Fernao de Noronha, and his younger sister,
Isabel, married Pedro da Silva Relle.

Affonso de Albuquerque was born at Alhandra, a beautiful village
about eighteen miles from Lisbon, in 1453. He was brought up at the
court of King Affonso V, where he is said to have been a page. He was
certainly educated with the king's sons, and became in his early
years a friend of Prince John, afterwards John II. He was not only a
thorough master of his own language, which, as his despatches show,
he wrote with force and elegance, but he also studied Latin and
Mathematics. The latter science was an especial favourite of his and
very useful to him during his voyages, in assisting him to master the
technicalities of navigation, so that he could, in time of need, act
as a pilot. The court of Affonso V was {45} well calculated to stir
the knightly spirit of a lad. The king himself was known as _El Rey
Cavalleiro_ or the _Chivalrous King_; his one delight was in war, and
he was never tired of reading the romances of mediaeval chivalry and
trying to follow the example of its heroes. King Affonso V had also a
great taste for literature: he founded the famous library at Evora,
and his answer to the chronicler, Acenheiro, who asked how he should
write the chronicle of his reign, illustrated his disposition; for he
answered simply, 'Tell the truth.'

In 1471 Affonso de Albuquerque, then a young man of eighteen, served
in King Affonso's third expedition to Morocco, in which the
Portuguese took the cities of Tangier, Anafe, and Arzila. In the last
of these towns he remained for some y