Historically important contemporary manuscript with the recollections of a Portuguese diplomat during his stay at the court of king Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715). The manuscript contains the memoirs of José da Cunha Brochado (1651-1733) between 1696-1725. The present manuscript is written in two different hands. The writing on the title-page is likely by Cunha Brochado himself. Cunha Brochado was one of the most prominent figures in 18th-century Portuguese politics. He is relatively well-known, because multiple letters and manuscripts with his memoirs have survived. However, most of those documents can only be found in libraries and archives, specifically in the Bibliotheca Nacional de Portugal and the Arquivo Nacional Torre do Tombo. The present manuscript is the only document by Cunha Brochado that has been on the market in the past 100 years.
Cunha Brochado was sent to Versailles in 1695, as a secretary to the Portuguese ambassador. In 1699, he became the envoy extraordinary, the rank below the ambassador, until he left Versailles in 1704 to perform other diplomatic duties. In the present manuscript, he describes the events at the French court during this time, as well as his personal impression of the court, the audience and the other diplomats. He also provides a number of diplomatic letters and articles from other negotiations, including the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which he personally participated in, and some treaties concerning Brazil.
The edges and corners of the boards are scuffed, the front hinge has partially cracked at the head and foot of the spine, and the back hinge at the foot, resulting in some loss of material at the foot of the spine, the boack board has a few rubbed spots around the edges. The flyleaves have been replaced by a mid-19th century marbled paper, but the 18th-century marbled pastedowns have been kept. The title-page is slightly soiled. Otherwise in good condition. Cf. Castro Pereira Gomes, A. L. de, José da Cunha Brochado: de secrétario de embaixada a embaixador extraordinário. In: Tempo, vol. 22 (39), 2016, pp. 72-87.