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Bernardino de Escalante (ca. 1537〔He is said to be 46 in 1583: 〕– after 1605) was a Spanish soldier, priest, geographer and a prolific writer. He is best known as the author of the second book on China published in Europe, and the first one to obtain wide circulation outside of Portugal.〔 The foremost scholar of the European literature about Asia, Donald F. Lach, noted in 1965 about Escalante, "Very little is known about his biography".〔 However, a significant amount of research on Escalante, spearheaded by Rufo de Francisco, was carried out in the late 20th century. == Biography == Bernardino de Escalante was born in Laredo, Cantabria, and came from a lineage of Cantabrian ''hidalgos''. His father, García de Escalante, was a sea captain and a shipowner. Based in Laredo, then one of the most important ports of Spain's northern coast, García de Escalante engaged in sea trade and participated in a number of important military campaigns.〔 Some of Bernardino's early training was as part of the crew of his father's boat, on its twice-a-year journeys to Flanders. Bernardino's mother, Francisca de Hoyo, belonged to a well-connected family as well: her sister Catalina de Hoyo was married to Prince Philip's (later, King Philip II's) secretary, Pedro del Hoyo. Following his uncle Pedro, young Bernardino de Escalante entered the retinue of the future King Philip II in 1554.〔 He was aboard his father's boat, ''La Concepción'', which was part of the fleet taking Prince Philip to England, for his wedding with Mary I of England. The knowledge of Britain he acquired during his 14 months' stay there shows in his later writing.〔 In 1555-1558, Bernardino de Escalante participated in the war in Flanders, and fought at St. Quentin. It is not known whether he returned to Spain in 1559 (during which year his father died, Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed, and Philip II returned to Spain), or stayed in Flanders until the end of the mop-up operations in January 1561. Soon after returning to Spain, Escalante felt that the period of European wars was over, and he deserved a peaceful life too, perhaps as a scholar or an ecclesiastic. He went to study, although historians don't have any information as to what university he attended. It is known that in the 1570s he enjoyed a benefice at a Laredo church, and served as the commissar of the Spanish Inquisition for the Kingdom of Galicia, often making business trips to Lisbon and Sevilla.〔〔(BIOGRAFÍA DE BERNARDINO DE ESCALANTE )〕 At some point he was apparently transferred to Sevilla, then Spain's main port for the America trade; in 1581, we find him as an inquisitor in that city and the majordomo of the Archbishop of Seville, Rodrigo de Castro Osorio.〔 Spanish archives preserve a number of memorials written by Escalante for Philip II, his ministers and top archbishops, dated between 1585 and 1605. They discuss a variety of geopolitical issues, in particular related to the uneasy Anglo-Spanish relations, and, according to the modern historian J.L. Casado Soto (who published these documents in 1995), were paid attention to by "Philip the Prudent" and his officials.〔; see also the table of content of the volume.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bernardino de Escalante」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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