Ferdinand Verbiest, Antoine Thomas and the idea of spreading Christianity into Tartary
Since the Mongol invasion of northern Europe in 1241, European people became aware that the Central Asian grasslands were inhabited by terrifying horsemen tribes. At first, Franciscan friars were sent in “mission” to the court of Mongol Khans in order to obtain military information and try to establish diplomatic relations. During the seventeenth century the Tartars were no longer a threat for Europe and the overland route to Tartary/China was impassable, as a result the Jesuits and missionaries of other orders reached China through the sea route on Portuguese ships.