The Itinerário of Jerónimo Lobo

Download or read book The Itinerário of Jerónimo Lobo written by Jerónimo Lobo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 1984 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jerónimo Lobo was the last survivor of the small band of Jesuit Fathers who tried, with a measure of success, to reconcile Ethiopia to the Church of Rome. These are the memoirs of his tumultuous years from 1622-1640, which cover his voyage to India, his experiences in Ethiopia, and his journey back to Portugal. In 1621 he was ordered as a missionary to India and, after surviving an attack on the fleet by British and Dutch ships off Portuguese Mozambique, he arrived at Goa in December 1622. He left India for Ethiopia in 1624 and tried reaching his destination from the Somali coast but failed and had to return to India eventually making his way to Bailul in the Red Sea and across the Danakil desert. He spent nine years in Ethiopia and was exiled when the Emperor restored the authority of the Ethiopian Church. He was turned over to the Turks at Massawa. He eventually returned to India and then back to Europe in an effort to advocate military intervention for Ethiopian Catholics. His ship was wrecked off South Africa and he made his way to Angola on a makeshift boat. He then took passage on a slave ship to the Spanish Main which was captured by the Dutch leaving Lobo marooned on an island. He eventually returned to Europe but his plea for armed assistance did not succeed.