Francisco Corninelli (1466-?)

Born July 1466 in Florence, he was the son of Pargi Corbinelli and brother of Alessandro Corbinelli. According to the sources, in 1502 he was a broker, an associate of Girolamo Sernigi and João Francisco Affaitadi, while in 1503 he was associated with Sernigi and Leonardo Nardi. Once in the Orient, he participated in the attack on Calicut, which was led by Afonso de Albuquerque. He returned to India in 1509 as captain of Dom Fernando Coutinho´s fleet. Between 1509 and 1515, he was the Administrator of Goa. The governor also appointed him to the positions of Treasurer of the Mint, Overseer of Construction Works, and Auditor of the Treasury in Goa. In 1516, he returned to the Kingdom where he remained only briefly, because in 1517 he was appointed Administrator of Goa once again, being granted land in the island of Goa. This property was transmissible to his heirs. He fulfilled the role of administrator until 1521, and is not mentioned in the Portuguese sources after that. As of 31 January, 1526, he had already died, since on that date King João III issued a letter attesting satisfaction of indebtedness, releasing the heirs of "Francisco Cornivel," as he was referred to in the Portuguese sources.

Bibliography:
SPALLANZANI, Marco, Mercatin fiorentini nell'Asia portoghese 1500-1525, Florença, Studio per Edizioni Scelte, s.d. RAU, Virgínia, "Um florentino ao serviço da expansão ultramarina portuguesa Francisco Corbinelli", in Memórias, vol. IV, Lisboa, Centro de Estudos de Marinha, 1974, pp. 107-141. Translated by: Maria João Pimentel