RADA, MARTINO de. - 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 Superior of the religious of those islands in 1572, he endeavoured to put an end to the disputes between Spain and Portugal over dominion of the Philippines, convincing the Portuguese that the Spaniards had not crossed the boundaries imposed upon them by Alessandro VI. In the company of Fr. Girolamo Marin, in 1575 and 1576 he undertook two journeys to China, and in 1578 he accompanied Francesco de Sande’s expedition to Borneo. He died during the voyage.
Of his writings there remains: Relación de las cosas de reyno de Taibin (Biblioteca naz. di Parigi, cod. 325, ff. 16-31). The author himself, in a letter of 3 June 1576, speaks of some of his lost works. His letters, only a very small part of which has been published, are most interesting for knowledge of the customs and conditions of the Chinese and Indians.