The Land of the Great Image: Being Experiences of Friar Manrique in Arakan

This volume is based on the memoirs of the Augustinian friar Sebastien Manrique’s expedition to South and Southeast Asia from ad 159-16. The biographical account begins with the intricate details about the Portuguese colony of Goa, which Manrique calls ‘Golden Goa’. The author narrates Manrique’s visit to a Jesuit-run hospital in Goa, his pilgrimage to Bom Jesus Basilica, and the embalmed mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier, the revered Roman Catholic saint of Goa. The memoir describes the Jesuit missionary’s visit to the Mughal court under Akbar, Manrique’s meeting with Roberto de Nobili and other Augustinian friars, and his visit to Bengal, around Hooghly, where an Augustinian monastery was located. The later part of this book contains his visit to the Burmese court and the vivid description of it, the assassination of the Arakanese monarch Thiri-Thu Dhamma, and the murder of Manrique himself. This book is highly important for studying the period of the Mughals and Arakanese Mrauk-U Kingdom from the late sixteenth to the?early?seventeenth?century. About the Author Maurice Collis was an English officer and a profound writer. He served as an administrator in Burma, which at that time was a British colony. After entering into the Indian Civil Service, he served in Palestine in 1917. He was appointed as a district commissioner in Arakan in the 192s, and in 193 as a district magistrate in Rangoon. He is the author of several memoirs, biographies, history, fiction, drama, and other miscellaneous topics. His works include the famous work Trials in Burma; Stanley Spencer: A Biography; The Grand Peregrina­tion: Being the?Life?and?Adventures?of?Fernão?Mendes?Pinto,?etc.