An Arab's Journey to Colonial Spanish America: The Travels of Elias Al-Musili in the Seventeenth Century

Reverend Antun Rabbat, a respected Jesuit scholar of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, discovered these extraordinary writings in a Jacobite diocese in Aleppo, Syria. Rabbat immediately transcribed into Arabic those portions relating to the remarkable experiences of Reverend Elias-al-Musili, a priest of the Chaldean Church, the first person ever to come to the Americas from Baghdad. Surrounded by a world seemingly filled with exotic miracles, al-Musili shares his perceptions of native peoples, their customs, beliefs, and treatment by Spanish conquistadors. Because of the uniqueness and significance of his journey, al-Musili was supported by the pope himself and authorized by the queen regent of Spain. He provides insightful descriptions of high-level officials and clerics in the New World. And he tells of uncommon visits to royalty in Catholic Europe prior to embarking on a voyage that would turn into a twelve-year adventure (1668-1680). Also featured are rare notes culled from a manuscript in a monastery of the Chaldean Christian rite in Baghdad. Aesthetically appealing and historically important, this unique account remains an invaluable document for scholars of early modern history and of the church in Latin America."