First or second edition of a rare biography of the mythical Spaniard Nicolas Rubiuni (1710-?), the "first king of Paraguay" and "emperor of the Mamelukes (Mamelucos) of São Paulo". It was the first time that the Bandeirantes (settlers) of Pirintinga served as the theme for a novel. This curious work is sometimes considered to be an anti-Jesuit publication, but Borba de Moraes argues that it should simply be seen as a work of fiction instead. The first two editions of this novel were both published in 1756 and it is therefore unclear which is the first. However, the present edition appears to be the most rare of the two, as we have only been able to find it in two sales records of the past 100 years.
The myth of Nicolas Rubiuni is said to have been created by Marquis Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo (1699-1782), chief minister to the Portuguese king, to undermine the Jesuits. When the Jesuits first arrived in Paraguay in 1588, their objective was to convert to local people, the Guaraní, to Christianity, and to protect them from European colonists and slave traders. The Guaraní were threatened by the Bandeirantes from Brazil, who tried to capture and enslave them to work on the sugar plantations. However, armed by the Jesuits, the Guaraní were able to defeat them in 1642, which ended to worst of the slave trade in the region. The involvement of the Jesuits inspired mixed feelings in Europe. They were painted as either romantic saviours or as exploiters, who were using the Guaraní to create their own independent kingdom in Paraguay. The figure of Rubiuni was said to have stood up against the Jesuits and restore order in the region.
According to Borba de Moraes, the work demonstrates how closely the activities in the Americas were followed in Europe, as the unknown author displays a wealth of knowledge about the missions, the subjecting of Paraguay to Jesuit rule, and the treatment of the Guaraní. The work must have been fairly popular in Europe, as Italian, German and Dutch translations were published shortly after the first French editions.
With the bookplate of Carolus Franciscus S. R. J. Comes à Nefelrod mounted on the inside of the front wrapper. The edges and corners of the wrappers are somewhat scuffed, with creasing and some loss of material on the spine, including of the two paper labels mounted there, making them difficult to read. With a wormhole on the front wrapper and first 3 leaves, barely affecting the printed text. Otherwise in good condition.