Santos, Joao Dos

Santos, Joao Dos, A Portuguese missionary, was born at Evora, in the latter part of the 16th century. Belonging to the Order of St. Dominic, he obtained permission in 1596 to carry the Gospel to Eastern Africa. He traveled through Caffraria, the coast of Natal, Sofala, Mozambique, and penetrated some distance into the interior. After spending eleven years in spreading the Christian faith and founding new colonies, he returned to Europe, and published Ethiopia Oriental e Varia Historia de Cousas Notaveis do Oriente. Notwithstanding the credulity which Santos shows, his work was for a long time an authority upon geographical points, and he was the first to describe the manners of those countries of which he wrote. In 1617 he was sent to India and attached to the mission at Goa. He died there in 1622. His Commentarios da Regiao dos Rios de Cuama have never been published. See Hoefer Nouv. Biog. Générale, s.v.