African cosmopolitanism in the early modern Meditteranean: the diasporic life of Yohannes, the Ethiopian pilgrim who became a Counter-Reformation bishop

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Periodical article

Title:	African cosmopolitanism in the early modern Meditteranean: the diasporic life of Yohannes, the Ethiopian pilgrim who became a Counter-Reformation bishop
Author:	Salvadore, Matteo
Year:	2017
Periodical:	The Journal of African History (ISSN 0021-8537)
Volume:	58
Issue:	1
Pages:	61-83
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Europe Ethiopia
Subjects:	Catholic Church Ethiopians bishops 1500-1599
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1017/S002185371600058X
Abstract:	The article chronicles the diasporic life of the Cyprus-born Ethiopian priest Yohannes (1509-65), who, after traveling far and wide across Europe and to Portuguese India, eventually settled in Rome and served the papacy for over two decades. Rare language skills and a cosmopolitan coming of age enabled his remarkable ecclesiastical career as an agent of the Counter-Reformation. Shortly before an untimely death, Yohannes became the second black bishop and the first black nuncio in the history of the Roman Church, rare appointments that would not be accessible to black Africans again until the 20th century. His unique experience represents a significant addition to the available historiography on blacks in early modern Europe and calls into question some commonly held assumptions in African diaspora studies. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]