A Voyage to Abyssinia | Page 6

which are printed at the end of the
dissertations to secure the credit of the foregoing narrative, are entirely
left out.
It is hoped that, after this confession, whoever shall compare this
attempt with the original, if he shall find no proofs of fraud or partiality,
will candidly overlook any failure of judgment.

PART I - THE VOYAGE TO ABYSSINIA

Chapter I

The author arrives after some difficulties at Goa. Is chosen for the
Mission of Aethiopia. The fate of those Jesuits who went by Zeila. The
author arrives at the coast of Melinda.
I embarked in March, 1622, in the same fleet with the Count Vidigueira,
on whom the king had conferred the viceroyship of the Indies, then
vacant by the resignation of Alfonso Noronha, whose unsuccessful
voyage in the foregoing year had been the occasion of the loss of
Ormus, which being by the miscarriage of that fleet deprived of the
succours necessary for its defence, was taken by the Persians and
English. The beginning of this voyage was very prosperous: we were
neither annoyed with the diseases of the climate nor distressed with bad
weather, till we doubled the Cape of Good Hope, which was about the
end of May. Here began our misfortunes; these coasts are remarkable
for the many shipwrecks the Portuguese have suffered. The sea is for
the most part rough, and the winds tempestuous; we had here our
rigging somewhat damaged by a storm of lightning, which when we
had repaired, we sailed forward to Mosambique, where we were to stay
some time. When we came near that coast, and began to rejoice at the
prospect of ease and refreshment, we were on the sudden alarmed with

the sight of a squadron of ships, of what nation we could not at first
distinguish, but soon discovered that they were three English and three
Dutch, and were preparing to attack us. I shall not trouble the reader
with the particulars of this fight, in which, though the English
commander ran himself aground, we lost three of our ships, and with
great difficulty escaped with the rest into the port of Mosambique.
This place was able to afford us little consolation in our uneasy
circumstances; the arrival of our company almost caused a scarcity of
provisions. The heat in the day is intolerable, and the dews in the night
so unwholesome that it is almost certain death to go out with one's head
uncovered. Nothing can be a stronger proof of the malignant quality of
the air than that the rust will immediately corrode both the iron and
brass if they are not carefully covered with straw. We stayed, however,
in this place from the latter end of July to the beginning of September,
when having provided ourselves with other vessels, we set out for
Cochim, and landed there after a very hazardous and difficult passage,
made so partly by the currents and storms which separated us from
each other, and partly by continual apprehensions of the English and
Dutch, who were cruising for us in the Indian seas. Here the viceroy
and his company were received with so much ceremony, as was rather
troublesome than pleasing to us who were fatigued with the labours of
the passage; and having stayed here some time, that the gentlemen who
attended the viceroy to Goa might fit out their vessels, we set sail, and
after having been detained some time at sea, by calms and contrary
winds, and somewhat harassed by the English and Dutch, who were
now increased to eleven ships of war, arrived at Goa, on Saturday, the
16th of December, and the viceroy made his entry with great
magnificence.
I lived here about a year, and completed my studies in divinity; in
which time some letters were received from the fathers in Aethiopia,
with an account that Sultan Segued, Emperor of Abyssinia, was
converted to the Church of Rome, that many of his subjects had
followed his example, and that there was a great want of missionaries
to improve these prosperous beginnings. Everybody was very desirous
of seconding the zeal of our fathers, and of sending them the assistance
they requested; to which we were the more encouraged, because the
emperor's letters informed our provincial that we might easily enter his

dominions by the way of Dancala, but unhappily, the secretary wrote
Zeila for Dancala, which cost two of our fathers their lives.
We were, however, notwithstanding the assurances given us by the
emperor, sufficiently apprised of the danger which we were exposed to
in this expedition, whether we went by sea or land. By sea, we foresaw
the hazard we run of falling into the hands of the Turks, amongst whom
we should lose, if not our lives, at least our liberty,