Balthasar Barreira

Barreira, BALTHASAR, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary, b. at Lisbon, 1531; d. 1612, on the mission of Angola, southwest coast of Africa, the scene of his life’s labors. His literary works consist chiefly of “Relations” written to the superiors of the Society of Jesus, describing the condition of the province with regard to both its political and spiritual aspects. He has recounted in detail the victory of the Spaniards, led by Paul de Morales, over an army of native negroes in the year 1583. Accounts of the conversion of pagan tribes and the baptisms of native kings as well as treatises on the manners and customs of the people are the principal subjects of his writings.

JAMES M. COTTER