Herculano's historical work of second importance is his Historia da Origem e Estabelecimento da Inquisacão em Portugal, the one here translated. The first edition was published at Lisbon in 1852; the seventh in 1907. It has always been published in the form of three duodecimo volumes, each divided into "books" which are numbered consecutively from I to X. In the original, each "book" is preceded by a brief synopsis of its contents. It seems best to issue the translation as a single volume, and to call the sub-divisions chapters. The editions used for the translation are the second and the seventh.
Whether this work is impartial history is a matter with which the translator has nothing to do; if such a question exists or should ever arise, it is one for historians to judge and to deal with. Dr. Henry Charles Lea, whose History of the Inquisition in Spain made him the leading authority on that subject, quoted Herculano's book as authoritative, and spoke of it as a classical work on the subject. Judging from the brief outline of Herculano's life he must have been in a position to appreciate the value of historical documents. It seems highly improbable, however, that such a work would have gone unchallenged if it were seriously misleading or defective. Should questions ever arise, the documents cited and quoted throughout in support of the author's statements are still open to students of history. The translator, however, assumes no responsibility for either the facts or the opinions of the author. The sole aim has been to make a faithful translation of the book, taking only such liberties as seem necessary to make clear the author's meaning.
Many references to sums of money make it desirable to have an idea of the values of the coins mentioned. The author clears up the matter in the footnote at page 626 (Original, Vol. III, p. 319) by comparing the price of wheat in 1545 with the price about 1850. He shows that the value of silver at the time he wrote was as six to one, and of gold somewhat less. meaning that the silver cruzado of 1545 was worth six cruzados 1850, and that the gold escudo of 1545 was worth somewhat less than six escudos of 1850. In 1850, therefore the values of the Portuguese coins mentioned would been about as follows:
|
|
Nominal value in 1545 |
Nominal value in 1850 |
An approximate idea of the value of the Portuguese milreis (or 1$000) in American dollars and cents may be had by dropping the last figure on the right, and placing the decimal point two figures to the left. Thus $500 reis
