LE GOBIEN, Charles

Histoire des isles Marianes, nouvellement converties à la religion Chrestienne ; & la mort glorieuse des premiers missionnaires qui y ont prêché la foy. Paris, Nicolas Pépie, 1700. In-12 (159 x 88 mm) of 12 ff.n.ch., 433 pp. 6 ff.n.ch., 2 folding engraved maps. Brown calf, spine ribbed and decorated, spotted edges (period binding). Hill, 1000; Brunet, 28230. First edition. It contains the history of the Christian missions in the Mariana Islands or Ladrones in the northwestern Pacific, whose main island is Guam. Several letters of the first missionaries (Medina, Clain, Sanvitores, etc.) are reproduced in the text. The Jesuit mission was established there by Diego Luis de Sanvitores. Father Le Gobien never visited the Mariana Islands but based his account mainly on the reports and letters of missionaries sent to him from Rome, Spain, the Netherlands, etc. A letter from P. Clain (pp. 395ff.) on the discovery of the Caroline Islands is reproduced. Charles Le Gobien (1652-1708) French Jesuit writer and founder of Lettres édifiantes et curieuses, a collection of reports from Jesuit missionaries in China. It is a major source of information for the history of Catholic missions and life in China at that time. Le Gobien, born in Saint-Malo in Brittany, entered the Society of Jesus on November 25, 1671. As a professor of philosophy and especially as procurator of the Franco-Chinese mission, he sought in a series of articles to arouse interest in the work of Christianization of Eastern Asia. Copy complete with the 2 engraved maps illustrating the Mariana Islands and Guam. Small restorations to the upper and lower spine boxes. Provenance : M. L. de Becdelièvre (signature on the dedication leaf).