Elaine Sanceau MBE, OSE, ComIH (1896 – 1978) was a British historian of French origin who spent much of her life in Portugal and wrote extensively on Portuguese history, notably about the 16th century.

Continuing her research, her first major study was published in 1939 as Indies Adventure: the Amazing Career of Afonso De Albuquerque, Captain-general and Governor of India (1509-1515).

This book has been recently described by a reviewer as achieving in prose what the noted Portuguese poet Luís de Camões achieved in poetry when writing Os Lusíadas, which celebrated the discovery of a sea route to India by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.

In October 1953, she was awarded a scholarship to visit the old Portuguese fortresses of Ceuta, Asilah and Tangier on the northwest coast of Africa.

[1][2][4][3][5] Sanceau was elected as a member of the Institute of Coimbra, the International Academy of Portuguese Culture, and the Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos (Centre for Overseas Studies).