HISTORICAL DICTIONARY A–Z - Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present - page 278

the enclave have been rebuffed. The first
stage of the 1936 military uprising that led to
the S PANISH CIVIL WAR took place in Melilla
under the leadership of General F RANCISCO
F RANCO . Melilla's population of about 60,000
includes many of the most ardent champi-
ons of Spanish nationalism and die-hard
supporters of the former Franco regime,
whose ardor has only been intensified by the
steady pressure of African migrants during
the early 21st century trying to use the
enclave as a doorway to Europe.

Mendes Leal, like many Iberian writers,
made frequent excursions into political
journalism, as well as actively participating
in politics. Various essays, published as
pamphlets, and a surprisingly straightfor-
ward account of the Crimean War, História
da guerra do oriente (History of the Eastern
War, 1855), are generally considered among
his best work.

Mendes Pinto, Fernão (1514-1583)
Portuguese traveler and writer
Born in Montemar-o-Velho in modest cir-
cumstances, Mendes Pinto seems to have
lived by his wits in his youth and then set
out in 1537 to seek his fortune in the vast
commercial empire that Portugal was build-
ing in Asia. After residing for some time in
G OA and other Indian outposts, he spent
several decades traveling (by his own
account) in virtually every part of the Far
East. From Malaya to Cambodia, from pres-
ent-day Indonesia to China, he observed
the people and customs, made and lost sev-
eral fortunes, and finally decided to return
home. He was diverted from this intention
by securing the remains of F RANCIS X AVIER ,
the pioneering Jesuit missionary and an old
acquaintance of his. The future saint's
remains had been brought to Goa from the
place of his death, an island off the coast of
China. Mendes Pinto, moved by contrition
for his past misdeeds, joined the Society of
Jesus himself in a subordinate capacity and
traveled to J APAN with a Portuguese priest
who was bound there to assume direction
of the order's activities. Four years later he
experienced another change of heart and
set out again for Portugal, where he arrived
with enough left of his wealth to marry and
settle down on an estate. He spent the rest

Mendes Leal, José da Silva
(1818-1886)
Portuguese dramatist
A prolific and widely applauded playwright
in his day, Mendes Leal's reputation has
faded as critics pointed to his numerous
borrowings and imitations. During the
1830s he attracted attention with a series
of vehement historical romances in the
manner of Alexandre Dumas the elder.
These were followed by similar produc-
tions in the 1840s, which managed to win
the praise of his far abler contemporary
A LMEIDA G ARRETT . Having borrowed from
the father, Mendes Leal evidently thought
it appropriate to imitate the son, as he
brought forth a number of “social dramas”
in the style of Dumas the younger during
the 1850s. His preference for French fash-
ions in the literary sense continued to be
strong, even during the 1860s when he
ventured once again into historical drama
and comedy. The author's poetical effu-
sions were heavily indebted to Victor
Hugo, and both Cânticos (1858) and Poesias
(1859) earned a success that may have
owed more to the merits of his model than
his own.