Construire l’empire, développer le commerce

Abstract

This article analyses the role of missionaries in the construction of the Iberian presence in Japan, highlighting their links with European merchants and their involvement in the commercial networks of the China Sea. The missionaries invested in the silk trade through the Macau ship, which operated the link between China and Japan. The involvement of the Jesuits in commercial activities invites us to question their place in the functioning of overseas Iberian empires and societies. This involvement of the Jesuits in commercial activities created tensions with the Spanish Franciscans in the Philippines in the 1580s. The missionaries became the spokesmen for two competing visions of the Iberian empire in Asia.

Keywords

• trade
• empire
• Franciscans
• Japan
• Jesuits
• Macao