Note 2 — And in Neighboring Provinces and Realms, From July, 1618, to the Present Date in 1619

Diego de Pantoja, born in 1571, became a novice in the Jesuit order at the age of eighteen. Seven years later he embarked to join the mission in Japan; but on reaching Macao he was assigned as companion to the noted Jesuit missionary, Mateo Ricci, and the two founded the mission of Pekin. Being later expelled from the kingdom, Pantoja died at Macao in January, 1618 (Sommervogel). Ricci died at Pekin in May, 1610. In the archives not only of Spain, but of Italy, France, and England, are many and voluminous documents referring to the Catholic missions in China. The Jesuit missions there are very fully recounted in Lettres édifiántes.