Vincenzo Sangermano facts for kids

Vincenzo Sangermano (1758 - 1819) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest. He was also a missionary from the Barnabite Order. In the late 1700s, he traveled to South-East Asia. He worked in Burma (now called Myanmar) from 1783 to 1806.

Father Sangermano served in the areas of the former Ava Kingdom and Bago, Burma. After returning to Italy, he was put in charge of his Order's house in Arpino. He hoped to go back to Burma, but he passed away before he could leave. He wrote a book called A Description of the Burmese Empire. This book was published after his death in 1833. It became a very important source of information about Burma and its people.

Who Was Vincenzo Sangermano?

Vincenzo Sangermano was sent to help with the mission in what is now Burma in 1782. His religious order, the Barnabites, was in charge of missions in Ava and Pegu in Burma. They continued this work until 1832.

Sangermano's Time in Burma

Sangermano arrived in Rangoon (now Yangon) in July 1783. He first lived in Ava. Soon after, he moved back to Rangoon. He spent the rest of his time in Burma there. He also helped the descendants of Portuguese settlers. These settlers had been moved to a far-off region after the Portuguese rulers in Thanlyin were defeated in the early 1600s. Sangermano found about two thousand of them still practicing their religion.

He was very successful in his mission. Even the wife of the Viceroy of Pegu attended his church, though she did not become Catholic. Sangermano wrote down what he saw among the people he visited. This included the Karen. His notes are some of the first Western accounts of the Burmese people.

He learned the Burmese language and studied their literature. People in Burma respected him greatly for his good life and kind manners. Sangermano was also a skilled artist. He drew a very accurate map of the port of Rangoon. Because of this, the British East India Company gave him a pension for the rest of his life.

Return to Italy and Later Life

Sangermano went back to Italy in 1808. He wanted to return to his mission in Burma. However, the Napoleonic wars stopped him. He became the president of the Barnabite order in Arpino. During this time, he worked on a book about his experiences in Burma. Sadly, he died in 1819 before his book could be published. He passed away in Arpino on July 28, while getting ready to sail for Burma again.

A Description of the Burmese Empire

Sangermano's book was first published in 1833. It was called A Description of the Burmese Empire. The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and Cardinal Wiseman helped publish it. Cardinal Wiseman wrote the introduction.

Importance of the Book

The English translation of the book in 1833 was very important for studying Burma later on. It gave useful information about the population and other details. However, some parts of the book were found to be incorrect or exaggerated.

For example, Sangermano described a practice where women were "heated" after childbirth. They were placed near a fire until they were "quite scorched and blackened." While some heating methods were used in postnatal care, Sangermano's description seems much more dramatic than what usually happened. He also described a disease he called "mordazinno," a Portuguese word. This description suggests that cholera was present in Burma before 1817.

Some of his descriptions of the Burmese people were criticized. For instance, he described them as naturally lazy. This view was strongly disagreed with by James George Scott in his 1882 book The Burman: his life and notions.