MAFFEI (Giovanni Pietro).
Historiarum Indicarum libri XVI selectarum item, ex India epistolarum, eodem interprete, Libri IIII.
Maffei compiled this history of the Jesuit mission in the Indies over a period of twelve years. “It is a classic work on the subject, and enjoyed great success when it appeared” (Borba de Moraes). It also provided an opportunity to answer claims of exaggeration and falsehood directed towards the Letter Books, which this work was designed to synthesise.The second part consists of a selection of 43 letters under the title “Selectarum Epistolarum ex India libri quatuor” many of which relate to Japan. Included are early letters by the leading figures in the history of the mission in Japan: St. Francis Xavier, Frois, Vilela, di Silva, Gago, Almeida and others. These letters are important documents in the early phase of Portuguese/Western involvement in Japan, providing the first reliable reports about its political, cultural and geographical situation. Sabin, 43770; Carayon, 645; Borba de Moraes, p508.
