Thomas Pereira

Thomas Pereira or Tomás Pereira (1 November 1645 – 1708), also known as Tomé Pereira, was a Portuguese Jesuit, mathematician and scientist who worked as a missionary in Qing China.

For the Norwegian footballer, see Thomas Pereira (footballer). For the president of Paraguay, see Tomás Romero Pereira.

Tomás Pereira
Bust of Tomás Pereira in Vila Nova de Famalicão
Born	1 November 1645 (1645-11) Vila Nova de Famalicão, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	1708 (1709) (aged 62) China
Nationality	Portuguese
Occupation	Jesuit missionary, mathematician and scientist

Pereira was born in Vila Nova de Famalicão. He arrived in China in 1672 and first stayed in the Portuguese colony of Macau, where he was enrolled in the University College of St. Paul. Pereira was later sent to Beijing to work in the court of the Kangxi Emperor, where he stayed during most of his career. In 1689, the Kangxi Emperor sent Pereira and his colleague Jean-François Gerbillon to interpret at the negotiations between Qing China and the Russian Empire in Nerchinsk, which eventually resulted in the Treaty of Nerchinsk.

Between 1688 and 1694, Pereira and Antoine Thomas were unofficial directors of the imperial observatory in Beijing as the actual director was not in China at the time.

Further reading

• Joseph Schobert Sebes, The Treaty of Nerchinsk (Nipchu) 1689. A Case Study of the Initial Period of Sino-Russian Diplomatic Relations Based on the Unpublished Diary of Father Thomas Pereyra of the Society of Jesus. (1957-8)