Page "Fernão Lopes (soldier)" Paragraph 4

Lopes stayed in India until the death of Albuquerque in 1515, when he set sail for Portugal, allegedly as a stowaway on a Portuguese vessel bound for Lisbon.

The ship stopped at Saint Helena for food and water.

Saint Helena had been discovered by the Portuguese João da Nova on 21 May 1502, and with its abundance of fresh water and fat, it became a regular port of call for Portuguese ships en route between the East Indies and Europe via the Cape of Good Hope.

Unwilling to face life in Portugal, Lopes asked to be left behind on the island.

He was landed in company with three or four African slaves ( history does not record their fate ).

They were left to fend for themselves with a few supplies from the ship's stores: a barrel of biscuits, some dried meat and fish, a tinderbox and a saucepan.