ABSTRACT
Once the viceroy of India had agreed with the members of his council and the fathers of the Society in Goa that Father Patriarch Dom Joâo Nunes should stay there for the time being, as we said above, and that Father Bishop Andre de Oviedo should come, the father bishop prepared for the journey and the viceroy gave four fustas, the captain-general of which was called Manoel Trabaços de Figueredo. And, {[f. 330]} once everything was ready, he embarked on 16th February 15 57, bringing with him five fathers of the Society, who were Father Superior Manoel Fernandez and Fathers Gonçalo Gualdamez, Gonçalo Cardoso, Antonio Fernandez and Francisco Lopez, all Portuguese except Father Gualdamez, who was Spanish. After a successful voyage, they arrived <[f. 275/265 ]> at the port of Maçuâ on 17th March, but they did not disembark on the island itself, which is very close to the mainland, but some distance away, since they found on the island a Turkish pasha with 500 fighting men, who had come with the intention of conquering Ethiopia. For that reason, the father bishop hurried inland at once on the 19th, taking the fathers and some Portuguese from the fleet who wished to accompany them to serve God. The next day they met four of the Portuguese who were already in Ethiopia, who were called Francisco Jacome, Luis Custodio, Antonio Lopez de Oliveira and Antonio de Sampayo, who were waiting in case a fleet came from India. After that they travelled slowly and on the 25th reached Debaroâ, a large town which is the usual residence of the bahâr nagâx, who governs those lands almost as far as the sea. On hearing that the father bishop was coming, he came a long way out of the town to meet him, together with many men on foot and on horseback, and he paid him many courtesies. When they arrived at the town, the common people showed their enormous pleasure and joy and kissed the father bishop’s hand with great shows of devotion, and the bahâr nagâx gave him very good lodgings. Since the father bishop thought it would be good to advise the emperor of his arrival, he at once wrote him a letter which, as I have found it here in his own hand, I shall put here.
