Mission and Relevance of Missionary Activities in Early Colonial Brazil in Vicente of Salvador's História do Brasil
Abstract
While Jesuit missions and missionary activities in Early Colonial Brazil were thoroughly studied both in Czech Republic and beyond, Franciscan missionaries from the period up to 1630 destruction of Olinda center are often forgotten or left over to the historians of Franciscan Order. Striking lack of primary Franciscan sources from period concerned is partially responsible for this state - vast majority of surviving Franciscan primary sources are from much later 18th century.
Completely preserved and not thoroughly studied História do Brasil by Vicente of Salvador, Franciscan custodian and historiographer from 1630, is therefore unique source of information on Franciscan order in Brazil and its missionary activities in this Portuguese colony. Although missions and not even Vicente's order itself are not in the epicenter of the chronicle, it contains both practical information on the Franciscan activities on Brazilian soil and maybe even more importantly specific point of view on the meaning of missions to the indigenous population.
Unlike his Jesuit contemporaries and Franciscan colleagues from later period, Vicente of Salvador is not providing particularly successful narrative of missionary activities and remains rather skeptical about the potential itself of Christianizing ""gentiles"". Instead, he seems indigenous Brazilians as widely incapable of becoming Christians and favors strength and even defends enslavement as alternative to ""peaceful"" mission.
These positions, unusual among other contemporary sources from Jesuit order and later Franciscan chroniclers and much closer to the view of colonists, is making his account ever more fascinating and worth attention.