Fernando da Costa Leal
Encyclopedia
Fernando da Costa Leal was a Portuguese army officer, writer, poet and botanist.
, Portuguese India
.
He joined the Artillery Regiment of Goa on 27 April 1862 and then registered for an artillery course at the Escola Militar (Military School) of Nova Goa. In 1868 he volunteered to join an expedition against the Bonga of Zambésia in Mozambique and was promoted to second lieutenant. After which he was transferred to the garrison in Angola and there appointed as aide-de-camp to the Governor-General of Moçambique. His uncle, Fernando da Costa Leal (1825–1869), was appointed shortly after as Governor-General of Moçambique so that the two Fernandos travelled together to Ilha de Moçambique.
On 26 June 1869 the young Fernando da Costa Leal was appointed by his uncle to secretary of the Diplomatic Commission under the chairmanship of Carlos Pedro Barahona e Costa (1833–1876), to go to the ZAR
to determine borders and negotiate trade agreements.
The Commission sailed to Durban
, travelled through the Orange Free State
and arrived in Potchefstroom on 7 December 1869.
From here they visited places such as Pretoria
and Rustenburg. On 17 May 1870 da Costa Leal resigned this post and accompanied German naturalist and explorer, Carl Mauch (1837–1875), on a journey from Potchefstroom to Lourenço Marques to explore potential routes between the ZAR and Delagoa Bay. It was on this trip that Leal compiled a report of his impressions of his stay in the ZAR and the journey from Potchefstroom via Pretoria, Botšhabelo, New Scotland, the southern part of Swaziland
, the Lebombo Mountains
and Catembe to Lourenço Marques (lasting from 18 May to 8 August 1870). In 1871 da Costa Leal was placed in charge of construction of the planned route between Moçambique and the ZAR up to the Lebombo Mountains. Towards the end of April 1871 the Portuguese reported that the surveys had been completed and that construction of the road had begun.
Shortly after da Costa Leal left Moçambique for Lisbon, where in 1874 he was transferred to the Royal army. Since the Portuguese authorities would not accede to what were regarded as excessive demands, a rebellion broke out amongst the soldiers in Goa.
Reinforcements were hurriedly dispatched from Portugal to quell the uprising, da Costa Leal being amongst the forces. Here he was rapidly promoted - on 20 April 1881 to lieutenant, on 17 March 1886 to captain and on 13 August 1891 to major. On 20 April 1892 he was appointed Administrator of State Property at Assolna, the same office that his father, Sebastião Augusto da Costa Leal, had held from 1855 to 1883.
Fernando da Costa Leal was proud of being a Goan. On one occasion, he was eating at a restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal, unskinning a banana in Goa style (with his fingers). His Portuguese waiter started smiling and tried to teach him how to unskin the banana "the right way" (i.e., with a fork and a knife). Leal became angry, stood up and slapped the waiter on his face with his left hand and said: "You are teaching me, a Goan, how to unskin a banana?"
Fernando da Costa Leal was married to the daughter of Dom Jose de Noronha, Count of Maem. Another daughter of the same Count was married to Dr. Francisco Antonio Wolfango da Silva, a noted Goan physician, writer and scholar and former Director of the "Escola Medico-Cirurgica de Goa" (Goa Medical School).
He died at Goa.
Da Costa Leal also wrote works with historic and cultural backgrounds. Besides his report on the trip from ZAR to Lourenço Marques in 1870, he also wrote about his life in Goa, namely Relatório ácèrca da Administração Geral dos Campos Nacionaes de Assolnã, Velim, Ambelim, Talvordá, Nuém e Ragibaga Relativo a 1897 (Nova Goa, 1898), one of very few sources providing details of the Portuguese administration and life in Goa from that period.
Biography
Da Costa Leal was born in MargãoMargao
Margao and commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It is the administrative headquarters of South Goa district and of the Salcete taluka.- Etymology :...
, Portuguese India
Portuguese India
The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...
.
He joined the Artillery Regiment of Goa on 27 April 1862 and then registered for an artillery course at the Escola Militar (Military School) of Nova Goa. In 1868 he volunteered to join an expedition against the Bonga of Zambésia in Mozambique and was promoted to second lieutenant. After which he was transferred to the garrison in Angola and there appointed as aide-de-camp to the Governor-General of Moçambique. His uncle, Fernando da Costa Leal (1825–1869), was appointed shortly after as Governor-General of Moçambique so that the two Fernandos travelled together to Ilha de Moçambique.
On 26 June 1869 the young Fernando da Costa Leal was appointed by his uncle to secretary of the Diplomatic Commission under the chairmanship of Carlos Pedro Barahona e Costa (1833–1876), to go to the ZAR
ZAR
ZAR may refer to:* South African rand, ISO 4217 currency code* South African Republic, * Zairean Airlines, Democratic Republic of the Congo ICAO code...
to determine borders and negotiate trade agreements.
The Commission sailed to Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, travelled through the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
and arrived in Potchefstroom on 7 December 1869.
From here they visited places such as Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
and Rustenburg. On 17 May 1870 da Costa Leal resigned this post and accompanied German naturalist and explorer, Carl Mauch (1837–1875), on a journey from Potchefstroom to Lourenço Marques to explore potential routes between the ZAR and Delagoa Bay. It was on this trip that Leal compiled a report of his impressions of his stay in the ZAR and the journey from Potchefstroom via Pretoria, Botšhabelo, New Scotland, the southern part of Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, the Lebombo Mountains
Lebombo Mountains
The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains, are an 800km long, narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa stretching from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in the north. Part of the mountains are found in South Africa,...
and Catembe to Lourenço Marques (lasting from 18 May to 8 August 1870). In 1871 da Costa Leal was placed in charge of construction of the planned route between Moçambique and the ZAR up to the Lebombo Mountains. Towards the end of April 1871 the Portuguese reported that the surveys had been completed and that construction of the road had begun.
Shortly after da Costa Leal left Moçambique for Lisbon, where in 1874 he was transferred to the Royal army. Since the Portuguese authorities would not accede to what were regarded as excessive demands, a rebellion broke out amongst the soldiers in Goa.
Reinforcements were hurriedly dispatched from Portugal to quell the uprising, da Costa Leal being amongst the forces. Here he was rapidly promoted - on 20 April 1881 to lieutenant, on 17 March 1886 to captain and on 13 August 1891 to major. On 20 April 1892 he was appointed Administrator of State Property at Assolna, the same office that his father, Sebastião Augusto da Costa Leal, had held from 1855 to 1883.
Fernando da Costa Leal was proud of being a Goan. On one occasion, he was eating at a restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal, unskinning a banana in Goa style (with his fingers). His Portuguese waiter started smiling and tried to teach him how to unskin the banana "the right way" (i.e., with a fork and a knife). Leal became angry, stood up and slapped the waiter on his face with his left hand and said: "You are teaching me, a Goan, how to unskin a banana?"
Fernando da Costa Leal was married to the daughter of Dom Jose de Noronha, Count of Maem. Another daughter of the same Count was married to Dr. Francisco Antonio Wolfango da Silva, a noted Goan physician, writer and scholar and former Director of the "Escola Medico-Cirurgica de Goa" (Goa Medical School).
He died at Goa.
Literary work
As administrator he displayed great sympathy to Indian culture. He was liberal in his attitude and a proponent of reform. Da Costa Leal spent the final years of his life in Panjim and died there on 4 April 1910 and was buried there. Da Costa Leal was a well-known poet, author and translator. His literary works include amongst others:- (Elephants and monsters - an episode from the Indian Mutiny of 1857) – Lisbon, 1876 (A letter to mademoiselle Marie Denis regarding Parisian immortality) – Lisbon, 1877; published in French under the pseudonym Rouget de la Presqu’ile
- En Reflexos e penumbras (On Reflections and Penumbrae) – Lisbon, 1879; a volume of verse including original poems as well as excellent translations of Victor Hugo (1802–1885).
Da Costa Leal also wrote works with historic and cultural backgrounds. Besides his report on the trip from ZAR to Lourenço Marques in 1870, he also wrote about his life in Goa, namely Relatório ácèrca da Administração Geral dos Campos Nacionaes de Assolnã, Velim, Ambelim, Talvordá, Nuém e Ragibaga Relativo a 1897 (Nova Goa, 1898), one of very few sources providing details of the Portuguese administration and life in Goa from that period.
Other works
- Palmadas na Pança de John Bull (1884)
- "Relatorio acerca da Administracao Geral dos Campos Nacionaes de Assolna, Velim, Ambelim, Talvorda, Nuem e Ragibaga relativo a 1897"
- Relatorio da viagem feita do interior da Republica do Transvaal para o porto de Lourenco Marques by "Fernando da Costa Leal, Alferes e secretario da Comissao Diplomatica ao Transvaal, em 1870"
Legacy
Several places or species were named after De costa Leal, including the Bottle tree species Pachypodium lealii. (Hogan. 2010)Sources
- Anthropologist R. Newman
- C.Michael Hogan ed. 2010. Pachypodium lealii. Encyclopedia of Life
- 19th Century Portuguese Travellers in the Transvaal - O.J.O. Ferreira
- O.J.O. Ferreira,Da Costa Leal in die Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek. Pretoria: Protea Boekhuis, 2008.