Na companhia dos livros : manuscritos e impressos nas missões jesuítas da Ásia oriental 1540-1620 / Rui Manuel Loureiro.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-330) and index.

Na Companhia dos Livros: Manuscritos e impressos nas missões jesuítas da Ásia Oriental 1540-1620. The Jesuits, more than any other early modern organization, were in close contact with books and with manuscripts, which were paramount to all aspects of their activities. The connections of the Society of Jesus with European and Asian written cultures were very intense, in terms of consumption and production of written texts, and are extremely well documented in European 16th and 17th century sources, thus providing a perfect subject for research. The chronological frame chosen for the present work (1540-1620) coincides with the historical moment when the Society of Jesus was testing a new method of cultural adaptation in China as well as in Japan, one that was particularly dependent on textual practices. The present research project, then, tried to identify: European books read by the Jesuits; books written by the Jesuits; European and Asian books translated by the Jesuits; books printed in China and in Japan by the Jesuits, in European and in Asian languages.

"This book examines the connected histories of Spain, China and Japan as they emerged and developed following the foundation of Manila as capital of the Spanish Philippines in 1571. Cross-cultural encounters not only shaped Manila's development as a "Eurasian" port city, but also had profound political, economic, and social ramifications for the three pre-modern states involved. This becomes obvious when looking into the diverse nature of long-distance trade, including trans-Pacific silver-for-silks bargaining, direct Sino-Japanese exchange, and provisions trade. In order not to overlook the role of human beings involved in proto-global struggles for power and foreign trade control, this volume combines a systematic comparison with a focus on different actors and their agency. The author offers an example of empirical global history based on multilingual primary source research and a critical evaluation of different historiographical traditions. Integrating Manila into world history helps in revising many long held misconceptions by replacing them with a more balanced, multi-faceted view"--Back cover.

I. The setting -- Introduction -- 1. The comparative framework -- II. Cross-cultural encounters in the Philippines -- 2. The foundations of a global stage -- 3. The trilogy of triangular trade -- III. Zooming out: local, central, and global connections -- 4. Triangular foreign relations -- 5. Local and central dualism -- 6. Local-central tensions -- IV. Zooming in: early modern Manila and regional globalisation -- 7. Manila as port city -- 8. Actors and agency -- Conclusion.

Local access dig.pdf. [Tremml-Manila.pdf]

The visitor : André Palmeiro and the Jesuits in Asia / Liam Matthew Brockey.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

In an age when few people ventured beyond their place of birth, André Palmeiro left Portugal on a journey to the far side of the world. Bearing the title “Father Visitor,” he was entrusted with the daunting task of inspecting Jesuit missions spanning from Mozambique to Japan. A global history in the guise of a biography, The Visitor tells the story of a theologian whose extraordinary travels bore witness to the fruitful contact―and violent collision―of East and West in the early modern era.

In India, Palmeiro was thrust into a controversy over the missionary tactics of Roberto Nobili, who insisted on dressing the part of an indigenous ascetic. Palmeiro walked across Southern India to inspect Nobili’s mission, recording fascinating observations along the way. As the highest-ranking Jesuit in India, he also coordinated missions to the Mughal Emperors and the Ethiopian Christians, as well as the first European explorations of the East African interior and the highlands of Tibet.

Orders from Rome sent Palmeiro farther afield in 1626, to Macau, where he oversaw Jesuit affairs in East Asia. He played a crucial role in creating missions in Vietnam and seized the opportunity to visit the Chinese mission, trekking thousands of miles to Beijing as one of China’s first Western tourists. When the Tokugawa Shogunate brutally cracked down on Christians in Japan―where neither he nor any Westerner had power to intervene―Palmeiro died from anxiety over the possibility that the last Jesuits still alive would apostatize under torture.