Goes, Bento de (1562–1607)

Portuguese Jesuit missionary who acquired an extensive knowledge of the geography of Asia and was the first European to realize that that Cathay and China were one and the same place.

He made his discoveries when he was sent on a mission to the Great Mogul, and then to Cathay, in 1603. The Travels of Bento de Goes from Lahor to China is the title of the English version of his writings.

Goes was born in the Azores.