Early History of the Southwest through the Eyes of German-Speaking Jesuit Missionaries

A Transcultural Experience in the Eighteenth Century

Inbunden, Engelska, 2012

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The history of the United States has been deeply determined by Germans throughout time, but hardly anyone has noticed that this was the case in the Southwest as well, known as Arizona/Sonora today, in the eighteenth century as Pimería Alta. This was the area where the Jesuits operated all by themselves, and many of them, at least since the 1730s, originated from the Holy Roman Empire, hence were identified as Germans (including Swiss, Austrians, Bohemians, Croats, Alsatians, and Poles). Most of them were highly devout and dedicated, hard working and very intelligent people, achieving wonders in terms of settling the native population, teaching and converting them to Christianity. However, because of complex political processes and the effects of the ‘black legend’ all Jesuit missionaries were expelled from the Americas in 1767, and the order was banned globally in 1773. As this book illustrates, a surprisingly large number of these German Jesuits composed extensive reports and even encyclopedias, not to forget letters, about the Sonoran Desert and its people. Much of what we know about that world derives from their writing, which proves to be fascinating, lively, and highly informative reading material.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2012-12-13
Mått159 x 236 x 23 mm
Vikt467 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor228
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN9780739177846

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Chapter 1: German-Speaking Jesuit Missionaries in the Southwest: Global Perspectives of a Local Phenomenon in the Eighteenth Century— An IntroductionChapter 2: Major German Jesuit Writers and Their Biographies: A Global History from Individualized PerspectivesChapter 3: Padre Eusebio Kino — the Pioneer: Discovery, Encounters, and the Establishment of the Kino Missionary NetworkChapter 4: Joseph Stoecklein’s Welt-Bott: A Jesuit Missionary’s Collection of Global Reports for a German AudienceChapter 5: An Encyclopedic Approach to the Early History of Sonora: The Pimería Alta as Viewed by Ignaz Pfefferkorn; A German Scientist and Anthropologist Missionary in the New WorldChapter 6: Joseph Och’s Travel Reports: An Autobiographical PerspectiveChapter 7: The Personal Perspective: Letters by the Swiss Jesuit Philipp Segesser: A Missionary’s Correspondence with His Family

Who would have thought that the early history of Sonora and Arizona was so deeply influenced by the arrival and long-term presence of German-speaking Jesuit missionaries during the 18th century? Prof. Classen offers a highly engaging study of these brave and intelligent men who had dedicated their adult lives to missionary activities in that semi-arid desert and who wrote extensive reports and sometimes maintained a large correspondence (Segesser) with their families back home. On the basis of those documents (in German!) Prof. Classen gives us a most vivid picture of how these European missionaries confronted the New World, how they coped in the cacti-filled desert, and how they reached out to the native population. This book truly opens a new chapter in the history of the Southwest, demonstrating, from an unexpected perspective, the deep impact of German speakers on 18th-c. Sonora.