He Was an Enslaved African Soldier Given Into the Care of an Italian Missionary The origins of Yasuke are shrouded in mystery, but historians believe the African soldier was born in 1555 in what was then Portuguese Mozambique. He was reportedly sold into slavery following the fall of Abysinnian Bengal, an African kingdom ruled by […]
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This is not actually Yasuke. Brought to Japan a slave he rose to be a samurai warrior. Born in Portuguese Mozambique, Yasuke「弥助」 (birth name, Yasufe) was brought to 16th century Japan as slave to Jesuit, Padre Visitador Alessandro Valignano. Not long after his arrival he had left his captors and entered into the service of […]
