Lingua Geral as a secret code of communication between Jesuits

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide a translation into Portuguese and the historical context of a manuscript written in Língua Geral of the Amazon, and one of the collection of documents confiscated from the German Jesuit, Anselm Eckart, when he was incarcerated at Almeida in Portugal in 1759. The document was identifi ed as a letter, although it makes no reference to known places, neither does it reveal the name of the sender nor of the receiver. Placenames are referred to in coded form. The letter was written in Língua Geral, which was used as a secret code by the Jesuits from the Amazon, during their imprisonment in the college at Braga. It describes events imediately after November 3rd, 1759, such as the removal of the Jesuits from the college at Braga and their doubts and fears about the future of the members of the Order of Jesus.