"Early Jesuit Travellers in Central Asia 1603-1721" is a comprehensive and scholarly account of the pioneering missionary journeys undertaken by the Society of Jesus during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. This work meticulously documents the efforts of Jesuit fathers as they ventured into the remote and then largely unknown territories of Central Asia, including the high plateaus of Tibet, the kingdom of Tsaparang, and the rugged Pamirs.

Author C. Wessels provides an in-depth analysis of the expeditions of notable figures such as Bento de Góis, who sought the overland route to Cathay, and Antonio de Andrade, the first European to establish a mission in the Himalayan heartland. By synthesizing historical records and contemporary accounts, the text illuminates the significant geographic, ethnographic, and religious discoveries made by these intrepid explorers. This volume serves as an essential resource for readers interested in the history of exploration, the cultural history of the Silk Road, and the early modern expansion of Christian missions in the East. "Early Jesuit Travellers in Central Asia 1603-1721" remains a vital record of the first sustained European contact with the deep interior of the Asian continent.

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