A Voyage to Abyssinia

The narrative centers on Father Lobo's mission to convert Abyssinians to Catholicism, under the protection of Emperor Segued, and describes the perils he faced along the way, including encounters with hostile forces and the cultural practices he observed during his travels. At the start of the book, Father Lobo recounts his early experiences after embarking on a mission from Goa, facing numerous trials and tribulations, including shipwrecks and conflicts with English and Dutch ships. After arriving in Abyssinia, he shares the challenges posed by treacherous landscapes and hostile natives, along with personal anecdotes that illustrate the customs and character of the Abyssinian people. The opening chapters set the stage for an adventurous and informative journey filled with reflections on spirituality, culture, and the nature of humanity.

The original of the Abyssins, like that of all other nations, is obscure and uncertain. The tradition generally received derives them from Cham, the son of Noah, and they pretend, however improbably, that from his time till now the legal succession of their kings hath never been interrupted, and that the supreme power hath always continued in the same family. An authentic genealogy traced up so high could not but be extremely curious; and with good reason might the Emperors of Abyssinia boast themselves the most illustrious and ancient family in the world. But there are no real grounds for imagining that Providence has vouchsafed them so distinguishing a protection, and from the wars with which this empire hath been shaken in these latter ages we may justly believe that, like all others, it has suffered its revolutions, and that the history of the Abyssins is corrupted with fables. This empire is known by the name of the kingdom of Prester-John. For the Portuguese having heard such wonderful relations of an ancient and famous Christian state called by that name, in the Indies, imagined it could be none but this of AEthiopia. Many things concurred to make them of this opinion: there