MARTINO DE RADA. — Augustinian missionary, b. at Pamplona on 20 July 1533, d. on the island of Borneo in July 1578.
In 1557 he sailed for Mexico, whence in 1564 he went on to the Philippines. Elected in 1572 Superior of the religious on those islands, he strove to settle the disputes between Spain and Portugal over the dominion of the Philippines, persuading the Portuguese that the Spaniards had not overstepped the boundaries imposed upon them by Alexander VI. In company with Fr. Girolamo Marin, in 1575 and 1576 he undertook two journeys into China, and in 1578 he accompanied the expedition of Francisco de Sande to Borneo. He died during the voyage.
Of his writings there remains: *Relación de las cosas de reyno de Taibin* (Bibliothèque nationale de Paris, cod. 325, ff. 16-31). The author himself, in a letter of 3 June 1576, speaks of some of his lost works. His letters, published only in part, are most interesting for an understanding of the customs and conditions of the Chinese and Indians.