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IRAN
AND THE WORLD IN THE SAFAVID AGE
Abstracts
Alonso Vanes, Father
Carlos, Independent
Scholar, Valladolid, The
Hormuz Convent and the Augustinians (1572-1621)
The
Augustinian convent on Hormuz, which was in existence for almost
50 years, is of great importance as the springboard of entry into
Persia during the entire time of its existence.
Founded in 1572, when the Augustinians had only just
arrived in the Indies, it was the port of entry and exit to and
from Persia for all travellers, religious and secular, who came to
that country. It was
furthermore a place of temporary residence for many other
travellers who came from Europe via Iraq en route to the Orient.
Among the first Augustinians who came to Persia via Hormuz
we should mention P. Simón de Moraes, the founder of the convent,
who, in 1582, travelled from Goa to Persia to bring a letter from
Philip II to the then reigning Shah of Persia.
Similar later missions were those of P. Antonio de Gouvea
and his companions, of Luis de Lacerda, and of García de Silva y
Figueroa, who were also accompanied by Augustinians. Both the
island and convent were lost in 1621 when the Portuguese were
ousted by a combined attack of the Persian army and an English
naval force. This paper will examine the role of the convent
during these 50 years, using the contents of the letters written
by the Augustinian missionaries at that time, which have been
published by Alonso Vanes in the journal Analecta Augustiniana,
and other sources.
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