The Portuguese arrived in Colombo - on the island of Sri Lanka - in the early 16th century. One of their first activities was to build a fortification to protect their military and merchants. Gasparo Balbi visited the Colombo fort in XXX, 15XX and…
Balbi's first hand account of his travels to southeast Asia in search of gemstones. This includes a particularly in depth description of his time in Pegu (Myanmar)
Ceasare de'Federici was a jeweler/merchant/traveler who spent much of his life in southeast Asia in search of gemstones to be sent to his home in the Republic of Venice.