Charles Gabriel Dellon (17 December 1649,

Agde Agde (; ) is a commune in the Hérault department in Southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi. Location Agde is located on the Hérault river, from the Mediterranean Sea, and from Paris. The Canal du Midi con ...

– c. 1710), also known as Gabriel Dellon, was a 17th-century French physician and writer, mostly known for his work ''Relation de l'Inquisition de Goa'' published in 1687.''Relation de l'Inquisition de Goa''
/ref> Dellon traveled widely during his life. Aged 17, he embarked in

Port-Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's eco ...

(

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastli ...

) as second surgeon on board the ship ''La Force''. He landed in

Daman Daman may refer to: place Places *Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, a union territory in India **Daman and Diu, former union territory of India, now part of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu **Daman district, India ***Daman, India ...

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

, in 1673 and had serious problems with the

Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition (Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of its king, John III. ...

. Back in France, he completed his studies and entered the service of

Prince de Conti The title of Prince of Conti (French: ''prince de Conti'') was a French noble title, assumed by a cadet branch of the princely house of Bourbon-Condé. History The title derives its name from Conty, a small town in northern France, c. 35 km ...

. He later married the daughter of a wealthy butcher and settled in Paris, where he died around 1710. The work for which he is known, ''Relation de l'lnquisition de Goa'', published for the first time in 1687 in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

and in 1688 in Paris, was a great success, immediately translated into German, English and Dutch and reedited several times during the 18th century. In this book, Dellon narrates his trial and incarceration by the Portuguese

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, Daman and later in Brazil and Lisbon, totaling 18 months. He was accused of denying the validity of baptism and having blasphemed against the adoration of a crucifix, and in addition to having criticized the Inquisition. He was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

, saw all his property confiscated, and was sentenced to five years of

galleys A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

. This story had an enormous influence on later writers, such as

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

, who drew inspiration in his ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

''. Dellon also wrot
''Relation d'un voyage des Indes orientales''
an
''Traité des maladies particulières aux pays orientaux''

References

Sources

''L'Inquisition de Goa. La relation de Charles Dellon (1687)''. Étude, édition & notes de Charles Amiel & Anne Lima, , 1997.

External links

L'inquisition de Goa. La relation de Charles Dellon (1687)
o
Persée

Charles Dellon's ''Relation de l'Inquisition de Goa'' as a Site of Conflict Between a Theocentric and an Anthropocentric World
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dellon, Charles 17th-century French physicians French explorers 17th-century French writers 17th-century French male writers Inquisition 1649 births People from Agde 1710 deaths