Abstract
The Portuguese merchant Duarte Lopes provided one of the earliest European descriptions of Central Africa. In 1578, he became the ambassador of Congo’s King Alvaro II to the pope and to Philip II of Spain. He argued for the Congo’s need for missionaries and for the advantages of free trade. His papers were published by Fillipo Pigafetta (1533–1604) in 1591, and remained one of the chief sources for information concerning central Africa up to the middle of the nineteenth century.
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© 2007 Ania Loomba and Jonathan Burton
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Loomba, A., Burton, J. (2007). Duarte Lopes (fl. 1578–89). In: Loomba, A., Burton, J. (eds) Race in Early Modern England. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230607330_53
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230607330_53
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-4039-6167-9
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-60733-0
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