The present document was composed in 1671, in the form of a circular letter, by Father John Philip Bettendorff from Luxembourg, superior of the Maranhão Mission. Written in a context of economic crisis and juridical uncertainty, the letter clarifies two points under-researched by historiography: the difficulties faced by the Amazon Mission after the first expulsion of the Jesuits in 1661, and the divisions within the Society of Jesus as a result of its rapid overseas expansion.
Amazon region; Jesuits; evangelization