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Visconde de Soveral
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Title: Memoria ácerca dos Portuguezes na Abyssinia
Author: Visconde de Soveral
Release Date: January 12, 2010 [EBook #30945]
Language: Portuguese
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMORIA--PORTUGUEZES NA ABYSSINIA ***
Produced by Pedro Saborano (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Visconde de Soveral
Memoria ácerca dos Portuguezes na Abyssinia
Porto
Typographia do «Comercio do Porto»
1894
Memoria ácerca dos Portuguezes na Abyssinia
Visconde de Soveral
Memoria ácerca dos Portuguezes na Abyssinia
Porto
Typographia do «Comercio do Porto»
1894
Memoria ácerca dos Portuguezes na Abyssinia
A conquista de Ceuta por El-Rei Dom João I--em 24 de agosto de 1415--, foi,
como refere um historiador allemão, o primeiro élo da grande cadeia que os
marinheiros portuguezes estenderam á roda da Africa até encontrar o paraizo
da India.
De facto aquelle ousado emprehendimento não tardou em produzir outros de
maior alcance.
No anno de 1480, reinando El-Rei Dom Affonso V, Pero da Covilhã é o
primeiro portuguez que chega á Abyssinia por terra, seguindo depois pelo
mar Roxo, á costa oriental da Africa até Sofala.
Affonso de Albuquerque lança--em 1507--os alicerces á fortaleza de Ormuz
(no mar Persico), cuja fortaleza Portugal conservára até o anno de 1622,
quando Xá Abas, rei da Persia, a retomára com auxilio dos inglezes.
Existiam alli a esse tempo, cinco egrejas e um convento de Padres
Agostinhos.
A prodigiosa actividade de El-Rei Dom Manoel levou os portuguezes ao
descobrimento desde o Indo ao Ganges, de toda a Ethiopia e Persia, com
todos os mares, portos, enseadas e ilhas, a toda a China e á de Malaca.
Foi aquelle Soberano quem mandou á Abyssinia, na qualidade de seu
Embaixador, Dom Francisco Alvares, o qual passados alguns annos--em
1558--publicou a «Historia descriptiva da Ethiopia».
Damião de Goes e Faria e Souza, julgam a obra defeituosa; todavia parece
fóra de duvida ser o primeiro escripto detalhado ácerca da Abyssinia.
Miguel de Castanhoso publicou--em 1541--a sua interessante historia ácerca
da expedição dos portuguezes sob o mando do valoroso Affonso de
Albuquerque. Esta historia, apesar de contar 343 annos depois da sua
publicação, o governo italiano julgou acertado (no interesse da sua recente
expedição á Abyssinia) mandar traduzil-a sob o titulo: «Storia della
spedizione Portughese in Abyssinia nel seculo XVI, narrata da Michelo de
Castanhoso».
Os primitivos exploradores portuguezes eram invariavelmente seguidos de
fervorosos missionarios das ordens religiosas que n'essas epochas remotas
de preferencia se empregavam na propagação da fé--as de Santo Agostinho, S.
Francisco e S. Domingos. Foram os missionarios d'essas ordens os primeiros
que levaram a religião christã á Africa, Asia e America.
Apenas organisada a Companhia de Jesus--em 1540--, os padres d'aquella
ordem, especialmente os portuguezes, prestaram importantes servicos á fé, á
civilisação, á agricultura e ao commercio, em toda a vastidão do territorio
aonde o pendão das quinas tinha alcançado. A elles é igualmente devida a
descoberta da origem do Nilo. Os padres portuguezes Pedro Paes e Francisco
Lobo levaram a effeito essa arrojada empreza.
Segue-se a narrativa, publicada em 1665, do Patriarcha Dom João Bermudez, o
qual viera a Portugal na qualidade de Embaixador do Rei da Abyssinia junto
de El-Rei Dom Sebastião. O Patriarcha descreve com especialidade os
combates e as victorias de Dom Christovão da Gama na Abyssinia.
Os padres da Companhia, Patriarcha Affonso Mendes, Melchior da Silva,
Francisco Lobo e Nicolau Godinho, escreveram igualmente sobre a Abyssinia.
Este padre publicou em Roma, (em latim), tres obras importantes; uma
refutando o que sobre a Abyssinia escrevera o padre Dom Luis Urreta,
hespanhol, e frade Dominicano. A segunda ácerca da vida do padre Gonçalves
da Silveira, martyrisado na Africa oriental, em 15 de março de 1561; e a
terceira:--«De Abassiorum Rebus de que Aithiopiæ Patriarchus Joanne Nonio
Barreto & Andrea. Oviedo, 1615».
Que os escriptos dos missionarios portuguezes eram tidos em grande apreço
nos seculos XVI e XVII, temos muitas provas; entre outras uma carta
geographica (da qual possuimos um exemplar), publicada em Veneza no tempo
da Republica, intitulada:--«Abyssinia, dove sono le Fonti del Nilo,
discrita secondo le relationi de P. P. Mendes, Almeida, Paes, Lobo e
Lodulfo».
A historia da Abyssinia do Padre Balthazar Telles, publicada em 1660,
merece particular attenção:--«Historia general da Ethiopia a alta ou Preste
João, e do que n'ella observaram os padres da Companhia de Jesus, composta
na mesma Ethiopia pelo padre Manoel d'Almeida, natural de Vizeu, Provincial
e Visitador que foi na India, abreviada com novas relações e methodo pelo
padre Balthazar Telles, natural de Lisboa, Provincial da Provincia
Lusitana».
Entre varias curiosidades, menciona o padre Manoel d'Almeida, as ruinas de
Acçuma ou Axuma como amostras da belleza original d'aquelles edificios; e
outrosim confirma a tradicção dos artistas empregados em essas
construcções, terem sido mandados vir do Egypto, por ser desconhecida na
Abyssinia a arte de lavrar a pedra.
O notavel historiador João de Barros, corrobora a magnificencia das ruinas
de Acçuma, côrte que diz fôra da Rainha de Sabá e de varios Imperadores da
Ethiopia.
Descreve aquellas ruinas, e faz menção do que sobre ellas affirma o douto
Cardeal Baronio, nos seus annaes ecclesiasticos. Diz figurarem alli varias
ruinas, obeliscos, etc., especialmente de uma egreja que mostra ter sido de
cinco naves, medindo duzentos e vinte palmos de compimento e cem de
largura. Distam estas ruinas tres leguas de Eremonia, e de Maçuá trinta e
cinco, em altura de 14 graus e meio.
João de Barros descreve outras ruinas similares, denominadas «Zimbabe»,
situadas a 170 leguas de Sofala, na Africa oriental.
O padre Balthazar apoia a sua narrativa em cartas pertencentes á missão da
Ethiopia, então archivadas no cartorio do Collegio, em Coimbra, algumas de
1556.
Não é fóra de proposito mencionar os escriptos do padre jesuita Damião
Vieira, o qual missionára na India quarenta annos. Entre seus trabalhos
citam-se excellentes memorias relativas á historia da India, como tambem um
volumoso manuscripto sobre a descoberta da India, que pertencera ao marquez
de Fontes, antigo Embaixador em Roma. Affirma-se que esse manuscripto
contém detalhes e particularidades relativas á descoberta da India que não
existem na obra de João de Barros.
É tambem digna de attenção a carta publicada na Collecção de Ramusio, sob o
titulo: «Lettere del padre maestro Francisco Xavier de Cangoxina, Cittá del
Giapan, inderezzata a un Collegio de Scholari di detta Compagnia en
Coimbra, Portogallo»; datada de 5 de outubro de 1549.
Merecem tambem estudo os escriptos do padre Procurador em Roma, Dom Alvaro
Semedo, da provincia do Japão e da China, publicados em 1642.
Sóbe de interesse o itinerario do padre Jeronymo Lobo, cujo manuscripto
original pertencera á Bibliotheca dos Condes da Ericeira, e fôra traduzido
em francez por mr. Le Grand, e publicado em Amsterdam em 1728.
As bibliothecas dos marquezes de Castel Melhor e dos Condes da Ericeira
eram afamadas pelos valiosos documentos que continham relativos ás
descobertas dos portuguezes. Muitos d'esses padrões de gloria nacional
ficaram sepultados nas ruinas do terramoto de 1755; alguns foram felizmente
parar a varias bibliothecas estrangeiras. Em Roma, Florença, Bologna e
Veneza, tive eu a fortuna de compulsar algumas reliquias do outr'ora
levantado Portugal.
Revertendo ao itinerario do padre Jeronymo Lobo, é mister confessar que
contém informação de alto interesse, inclusivè uma carta geographica da
Abyssinia, na qual estão designadas as egrejas dos padres Jesuitas e suas
residencias. Este notavel membro da Companhia foi perseguido, e até
encarcerado em Maçuá, de onde conseguiu evadir-se para Lisboa, de cujo
ponto passou a Roma em servico da missão da Abyssinia. Não fôra, porém, bem
acolhido pela Curia. Regressou a Goa, e alli occupou o cargo de Reitor
d'aquella Provincia; e passados varios annos regressou a Lisboa, fallecendo
de idade avançada na Casa Professa de S. Roque, a 29 de Janeiro de 1678.
O padre Lobo não perdeu o tempo na Abyssinia, nem mesmo escapou á agudeza
de seu espirito investigador apontar Maçuá como ponto estrategico e chave
da Abyssinia. Os italianos assim o reconheceram ha poucos annos, quando
occuparam aquella cidade.
Os abexins favoreceram e trataram bem os portuguezes emquanto careceram do
seu auxilio, nas dissensões internas; passado o perigo, a sua conducta
tornou-se insupportavel. O proprio Patriarcha Dom João Bermudez foi preso,
e se conseguira a liberdade, elle mesmo declara devel-a ao auxilio de tres
portuguezes, cujos nomes menciona:--Manoel de Soveral, Peropalha e Denis de
Lima. O Patriarcha conseguiu por fim abandonar o paiz em 1565.
É innegavel que os padres da Companhia praticaram importantes servicos á
religião e á civilisação; não é, porém, menos exacto que o seu empenho de
avassallar e de amontoar riquezas, foram causas de seu desprestigio no
seculo passado.
Na Abyssinia, a impopularidade contra a Companhia chegou aos frades
indigenas, os quaes se sentiram desconsiderados e humilhados por estranhos.
Quanto fica relatado ácerca da extraordinaria influencia e poderio dos
portuguezes nos mares Roxo e Persico, está comprovado em documentos
irrefragaveis, sobretudo os relativos aos annos de 1512 e 1514--1606 e
1690, os quaes encerram materia de subido interesse com referencia á
Abyssinia e á Persia.
Figuram entre aquelles documentos, as capitulações negociadas pelo general
do exercito de Ormuz e mar Roxo, Antonio Machado de Brito com Calil Baxa de
Bassora; como tambem os da missão do Dr. Gregorio Pereira Fidalgo, na
qualidade de Embaixador de El-Rei Dom Pedro II junto do Rei da Persia, para
felicital-o pela sua elevação ao throno, e para ratificar a Liga effeituada
por Francisco Pereira da Silva, capitão-mór da armada de alto bordo do
Estreito de Ormuz e mar Roxo.
O espirito esclarecido e eminentemente prático do insigne Affonso de
Albuquerque manifestam-se em toda a sua magnificencia n'aquellas paragens.
Damos por terminada a nossa investigação, a qual tivera por objecto reunir
dados historicos ácerca dos primeiros portuguezes que penetraram na
Abyssinia.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoria ácerca dos Portuguezes na
Abyssinia, by Visconde de Soveral
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