Excerpt from The Missionary Life and Labours of Francis Xavier Taken From His Own Correspondence: With a Sketch of the General Results Roman Catholic Missions Among the Heathen The history of modern Roman Catholic Missions to heat en countries forms an important subject of inquiry with all who take an interest in the progress of Christianity. One of the most remarkable periods in this history is that which extends from the middle of the sixteenth to the middle of the seventeenth centuries. It was then that Jesuit Missionaries and some of the ablest men appeared in the field. The great influence and wealth of Portugal were at that time exerted to give effect to the work of evangelizing India, Japan, China, and America. It is difficult to calculate the number of Missionaries which the Church of Rome maintained during that period in all parts of the known world. Long after the work had declined, by the expulsion of the Portuguese from their Eastern supremacy, Niecamp, who wrote a History of the Danish Mission in South India, states, that when the first two Protestant Missionaries were sent out (in 1706), the number of Romish Missionaries then in the East was estimated at two thousand. Yet our information of Roman Catholic Missions is very meagre and unsatisfactory. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.