Manoel De Faria Y Sousa, a Portuguese and Spanish historian and poet, born in Portugal, March 18, 1590, died in Madrid, June 3, 1649. He was a son of Amador Perez de Erro, and assumed the name of his mother, who belonged to the ancient Portuguese Faria family. He was incited to poetical composition by his admiration for Albania, as he called Catharina Machado, who became his wife. After his marriage he settled in Madrid, and from 1630 to 1634 he was special envoy to Rome. On his return he was placed for some time under arrest, the pagan allusions and inferences in his Comentarios sobre la Lusiada (2 vols., Madrid, 1639) having given offence to the inquisition, though he regarded himself as a devout Roman Catholic. His subsequent effusions, collected under the title of Fuente de Aganipe (4 vols., Madrid, 1644-'6), are in Spanish, excepting 200 sonnets and a few other pieces in Portuguese. His Discursos morales y poliiticos, published under the title of Noches claras, consist of dialogues, divided into seven nights.

His principal historical works are: Epitome de las historias portuguesas (Madrid, 1628; enlarged ed., Brussels, 1730); Asia Portuguesa (3 vols., Lisbon, 1666-'75); Euro-pea Portuguesa (3 vols., Lisbon, 1667-'78); and Africa Portuguesa (1681). He was among the first trustworthy writers on China, and his Imperio de China, edited by Father Semmedo (Madrid, 1842), has been translated into French and Italian. Lope de Vega called him the prince of critics.