Rue Dirieta, Goa

Rue Dirieta, Goa

van Linschoten, Jan Huygen

Portugal--History

It comes as little surprise that Balbi spent a good deal of time in the Portuguese colony, including the activities that took place daily on the Rua dirieta, the city's main commercial thoroughfare. This dutch engraving captures the hustle and bustle characteristic of the street in the early morning hours - the main time for commerce due to the stifling afternoon heat However, only in the caption do we find an allusion to the source of Goa's prosperity: gemstones. Goa enjoyed the reputation as one of, if not the, most important centers for the trade of gemstones in the early modern period.

1596

Engraving

Balbi_RueDireta

Princeton University: Firestone Library Special Collections

Dutch