A Journey to Safavid Persia and Portuguese India. The Anonymous Account of a Seventeenth-Century Spanish Soldier

Abstract

The Relaciones published in this volume was written by Gutierre de Monroy, who sailed from Cádiz to India in 1613 and was a member of the embassy that left Goa to the court of Shāh ‘Abbās I (r. 1588-1629) in 1617, with the ambassador García de Silva y Figueroa. The mission of this embassy to Safavid Iran was to negotiate the return of the territories conquered by the Safavids from the Portuguese in the Persian Gulf and the perennial question of military alliance with Shāh ‘Abbās against the Ottomans. However, the manuscript covers a wider range of topics beyond just Safavid Iran. In addition to the mission to the court of Shāh ‘Abbās, the text offers abundant information regarding Indian customs neighboring the Portuguese Estado da Índia. The Relaciones presents objective facts and anecdotes as well as insightful observations of a seventeenth-century military professional who meticulously recorded his impressions during his extensive travels to India and Safavid Persia. The authorship motivation behind the Relaciones remains unknown. Perhaps he undertook the journey to receive a courtly reward or to simply document his travels and legitimize his actions. Nevertheless, the text provides a wealth of information and contributes to the extensive European collection of Asian travelogues. In this case, it is an early seventeenth-century Spanish soldier’s account of his travels in India and Safavid Persia at a turbulent time for the Portuguese and Spanish presence in Asia.