Jesuits
The Society of Jesus, the Catholic religious order founded by Ignatius of Loyola and approved in 1540, known for its schools, its missions and its special obedience to the pope.
Category: Culture, Society
- August 15, 1534Ignatius of Loyola and six companions take vows at Montmartre
On 15 August 1534 Ignatius of Loyola and six fellow students of the University of Paris, among them Francis Xavier, Diego Laínez and Peter Faber, take vows together at Montmartre. The group grows into the Society of Jesus.
- September 27, 1540Paul III approves the Society of Jesus
Paul III confirms the Society of Jesus on 27 September 1540 with the bull Regimini militantis ecclesiae. Ignatius of Loyola and his six companions found an order devoted to missions and teaching, with a special obedience to the pope.
- May 6, 1542Francis Xavier reaches Goa to begin the Jesuit mission in Asia
Francis Xavier, who left Lisbon on 7 April 1541, arrives at Goa, the capital of Portuguese India, on 6 May 1542. The Jesuit begins missionary work in Asia that takes him to Japan in 1549.
- March 29, 1549Tomé de Sousa founds Salvador as seat of Brazil's first governor-general
In 1549 Tomé de Sousa, Brazil's first governor-general, arrives with six ships and the first six Jesuits and founds Salvador, which is dated to 29 March. The city is Brazil's capital until 1763 and a major port for sugar and the slave trade.
- August 15, 1549Francis Xavier lands at Kagoshima, beginning the Christian mission to Japan
Francis Xavier goes ashore at Kagoshima on 15 August 1549, beginning the first Christian mission to Japan. His ship had reached Japan on 27 July, but he was not allowed into port until 15 August.
- c. 1591The Coimbra Jesuits publish commentaries on Aristotle
From 1591 the Jesuits of Coimbra, under Pedro da Fonseca ("the Aristotle of Portugal"), publish commentaries on Aristotle drawn from their lectures, partly to counter pirated copies. Widely used in the 17th century, they may have influenced Descartes and Leibniz.
- 1598Ferdinand of Styria begins a strict Counter-Reformation in Inner Austria
From 1598 Archduke Ferdinand, later Emperor Ferdinand II and a Jesuit-educated Catholic, expels Protestant pastors and teachers from Inner Austria, with Graz as his base, and installs Catholic priests.
- 1599The Jesuit Ratio Studiorum prescribes Aristotle
The Jesuits issue their final Ratio Studiorum in 1599 (the text is dated 1598). It prescribes Aristotle as the standard author for philosophy, physics and mathematics, and Aquinas for theology, in a school network that reaches 444 schools within a century.
- 1628 – 1629Paulista bandeirantes raid and destroy the Jesuit missions of Guairá
In 1628-29 bandeirantes from São Paulo, led by Manuel Preto, destroy the Jesuit missions of Guairá and enslave their Guaraní. Estimates of captives range from about 5,000 to 100,000, and raids on other missions go on until 1632.
- January 13, 1750Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Madrid, replacing Tordesillas
On 13 January 1750 the two crowns set the borders of their South American colonies by actual possession, accepting Brazil's westward expansion. Spain gets Colonia del Sacramento; Portugal the seven Jesuit missions; Spain annuls it in 1761.
- September 3, 1759Pombal expels the Jesuits from Portugal and its empire
On 3 September 1759 the Marquis of Pombal, chief minister of Joseph I, decrees the expulsion of the Jesuits from all Portuguese domains. Their temporal power in Brazil had already been curtailed in 1758.