António Francisco Cardim
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

António Francisco Cardim (1596 – April 30, 1659) was a
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
Jesuit priest,
missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
, and historian who recorded the events of the
fathers A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fath ...
and
brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
of the Jesuit missions in China, Japan, and other places in the
Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...
.


Early life and education

Cardim was born in 1596 in
Viana do Alentejo Viana do Alentejo () is a municipality in the District of Évora in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,743, in an area of 393.67 km2. The present Mayor is Bernardino Bengalinha Pinto, elected by the Socialist Party. The municipal holiday ...
, the son of Jorge Cardim Frocs and Catherina de Andrade. He entered the
University of Évora The University of Évora (''Universidade de Évora'') is a public university in Évora, Portugal. It is the second oldest university in the country, established in 1559 by the cardinal Henry, and receiving University status in April of the same ...
, where he was admitted into the
Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
on February 24, 1611, at 15 years of age. As a sign of his devotion to
Saint Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December ...
, Cardim added the name "Francisco" to his own last name. After requesting to be sent to the Far East as a missionary, Cardim sailed to Portuguese India in 1618 in the company of Bishop Diogo Correia Valente (1568-1633). He completed his studies in
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
at
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 ...
, where he was ordained as a Jesuit priest on February 1, 1621.


Career

In 1623, after entering the
Chinese empire The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...
at
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, Cardim settled in
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
. From 1626 until 1629, he lived in the Ayutthaya Kingdom, where he learned enough of the Thai language to write a catechism and a small treatise on the Christian faith. Together with Pedro Morejón and Romão Nishi, Cardim founded the Jesuit mission in Ayutthaya in 1626. They built a church there, in which they administered the sacraments to hundreds of residents of that city. In 1629, he returned to Macau to inform the local authorities about problems at the mission in Ayutthaya. In February 1631, Cardim was sent to
Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...
along with Miguel Matsuda and Pedro Kasui (two Japanese missionaries who were later martyred in Japan), where they were received with honor by King
Trịnh Tráng Trịnh Tráng (Hán tự: 鄭梉, 6 August 1577 – 28 May 1657), posthumous name: Nghị Vương (誼王), temple name: Văn Tổ (文祖). He is the second lord of Trịnh ruled Tonkin from 1623 to 1657. He is one of the famous Trịnh lords wh ...
. Learning of the existence of the Kingdom of
Lan Xang existed as a unified kingdom from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The meaning of the kingdom's name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the ea ...
, Cardim wanted to go to explore the possibility of establishing a mission there. However, the
King of Ayutthaya The monarchy of Thailand (whose monarch is referred to as the king of Thailand; th, พระมหากษัตริย์ไทย, or historically, king of Siam; th, พระมหากษัตริย์สยาม) refers to the c ...
would not allow Cardim to enter Lan Xang from Ayutthaya. Cardim later tried to enter through Tonkin, but fell seriously ill and was forced to return to Macau. In Macau, Cardim served as rector of St. Paul's College from August 1632 to May 1636. Elected prosecutor of the region in 1638, he went to live in Rome. He remained there for several years and participated in the Eighth General Congregation of the Society of Jesus (1645-1646) which elected Vincenzo Carafa as the 7th Superior General of the Society of Jesus. Back in his native Portugal, Cardim received strong support from King John IV for the missions. Cardim translated some of his works from Latin into Portuguese and Italian, and composed several important monographs on the missions of the Society of Jesus. Notable among these is ''Fasciculus e Japponicis floribus'', which was first published in 1646. The book contains detailed accounts of at least 54 of the Christians martyred in Japan from 1597 through 1640. The book also contains, in addition to eighty-eight engravings, a detailed map of Japan. In 1640, four Portuguese ambassadors who had gone from Macau to
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...
were called upon to renounce their faith, and when they refused they were executed without further trial. Thirteen of their followers were sent back to Macau with this warning: "While the sun warms the earth let no Christian be so bold as to enter into Japan. Let this be known to all men. Though it were the King of Spain in person or the God of the Christians or
Shakya Shakya ( Pāḷi: ; sa, शाक्य, translit=Śākya) was an ancient eastern sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised ...
himself, whosoever will disobey this prohibition will pay for it with his head." Cardim documented this episode in ''Mors felicissima quatuor legatorum Lusitanorum quo Japponiae Imperator occidit in odium Christianae religionis'', which was first published in 1646.


Later life and death

On April 15, 1649, he boarded ''São Lourenço'', a
galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...
which was subsequently wrecked off the coast of
Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese colony. Portuguese Mozambique originally ...
, where he passed the following winter. He finally arrived back in Goa at the end of May 1650. He wrote a report on his travels, entitled ''Batalhas da Companhia de Jesus na sua gloriosa provincia do Japão'', which he dedicated to King John IV. On June 15, 1652, during the crossing from Goa to Macau, his ship was intercepted off
Dutch Malacca Dutch Malacca (1641–1825) was the longest period that Malacca was under foreign control. The Dutch ruled for almost 183 years with intermittent British occupation during the Napoleonic Wars (1795–1815). This era saw relative peace with litt ...
by
Dutch privateers Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
and he was subsequently held prisoner for two years and seven months. After his ransom was paid, he finally arrived at Macau, exhausted by the long and arduous adventure. Cardim died in Macau on April 30, 1659, at 63 years of age.


Works

* * * * *


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardim, Antonio Francisco 1596 births 1659 deaths People from Viana do Alentejo 17th-century Portuguese Jesuits Portuguese Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in China History of Christianity in Japan Roman Catholic missionaries in Thailand Jesuit missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in India University of Évora alumni