Abstract
HISTORIANS OF medicine have largely undervalued, or failed to appreciate entirely, the importance of Portuguese global exploration and colonial settlement, especially relating to botanical prospecting, the treatment of tropical diseases, and the acquisition and dissemination of non-European medical substances. The Portuguese maritime empire came into being long before that of any European rival state, and was far more diverse geographically, culturally, and biologically. Thus, Portuguese exposure to a broad spectrum of Indigenous healing ideas lasted far longer than that of any other seafaring imperial nation and was key to assimilating and circulating valuable regional medical information, not just back to