Bento de Góis
| Bento de Góis | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1562 Vila Franca do Campo, Azores, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | April 11, 1607 (aged 44–45) Suzhou, Gansu, China |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Occupation | Jesuit missionary, explorer |
| Known for | First European to travel overland from India to China. |
Bento de Góis (1562 in Vila Franca do Campo, Azores, Portugal – 11 April 1607 in Suzhou, Gansu, China), was a Portuguese Jesuit Brother, Missionary and explorer. His name is commonly given in English as Bento de Goes or Bento de Goës; in the past, it has also been Anglicized as Benedict Goës.
He is mainly remembered as the first known European to travel overland from India to China, via Afghanistan and the Pamirs. Inspired by controversies among the Jesuits as to whether the Cathay of Marco Polo's stories is the same country as China, his expedition conclusively proved that the two countries are one and the same, and, according to Henry Yule, made "Cathay... finally disappear from view, leaving China only in the mouths and minds of men".
Góis went to Portuguese India as a soldier in the Portuguese army. In Goa he entered the Society of Jesus as a lay brother (in 1584), offering himself to work for the Mughal Mission. As such, in 1595, he accompanied Jerome Xavier and Manuel Pinheiro to Lahore. For the third time Emperor Akbar had requested that Jesuits be sent to his court. Goes returned to Goa in 1601. According to Matteo Ricci, these experiences allowed Góis to become fluent in Persian language, and a good knowledge of "Saracen" (i.e., Muslim) customs.
Góis is best remembered for his long exploratory journey through Central Asia, under the garb of an Armenian merchant, in search of the Kingdom of Cathay. Generated by accounts made by Marco Polo, and later by the claims of Ruy Gonzales de Clavijo, reports had been circulating in Europe for over three centuries of the existence of a Christian kingdom in the midst of Muslim nations. After the Jesuit missionaries, led by Matteo Ricci, had spent over 15 years in south China and finally reached Beijing in 1598, they came to strongly suspect that China is Cathay; this belief was strengthened by the fact that all "Saracen" (i.e., Central Asian Muslim) travelers whom Ricci and his companions met in China told them that they are in Cathay.
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