[CATHOLIC INQUISITION - PORTUGAL - INDIA] DELLON, [Charles Gabriel]

The History of the Inquisition, as it is exercised at Goa. Written in French, by the Ingenious Monsieur Dellon, who laboured five years under those severities. With an Account of his Deliverance. Translated into English.

London: for James Knapton, 1688. First Edition in English. Small 4to (21cm). Later marbled paper-covered boards with gilt morocco spine label; vi,70pp. Mild external aging and wear; text quite fresh, a few leaves trimmed close at top edge but with no loss of printed area; easily Very Good. A most attractive copy.

A celebrated account of suffering under the Portuguese Inquisition. Dellon, a French medical doctor and naturalist, settled at Daman, on the western coast of India, around 1673, where he began a private medical practice. Within a year he was taken prisoner by the Inquisition, accused among other crimes of blaspheming against the adoration of the crucifix. He was transported to Goa, where he was held for two years under harsh conditions before being shipped to Lisbon, where he was finally released in 1675. This account of Dellon's sufferings first appeared in Leiden, 1687; in Paris a year later, then rapidly went into English, German, and Dutch translations. Howgego: "Although long regarded purelyi as a work of propaganda, recent research has testified to its accuracy." HOWGEGO I:304. WING D941.

Price: $1,500.00

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