FRAY ALONSO DE BENAVIDES' REVISED MEMORIAL OF 1634. With Numerous Supplementary Documents Elaborately Annotated

Hodge, Frederick Webb; Hammond, George P and Rey, Agapito

Published by Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press 1945

About this Item

First Edition. With 16 black and white plates and 9 facsimiles. 4to, publisher's original maroon cloth, the spine and upper cover lettered in gilt, in the illustrated dustjacket. xvi, 368 pp. A fine copy, the dustjacket with fading to the spine panel and minor rubbing at the extremities. THE FINE FIRST EDITION FROM THE CORONADO HISTORICAL SERIES. 'The Benavides Memorial of 1634 is a complete revision of the earlier Memorial of 1630. Supplementing this Memorial are 25 contemporary documents, from the archives of Spain and Italy. These letters and reports shed more information on the missions and early affairs of the Southwest. Alonso de Benavides, was a Portuguese Franciscan missionary active in New Mexico, in the early part of the seventeenth century. His use of the term Navaho is said to be the first printed reference. He came to New Spain in 1598, and professed in the Franciscan convent of Mexico in 1603. After acting as master of novices at the convent of Puebla, he became Custos of the Missions of New Mexico, 1626-9. He founded a mission in 1627 at what is now Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico and with the support of the King of Spain, and helped by Fray Esteban de Peréa, he secured a reinforcement of missionaries there. In order to raise interest in New Mexico he wrote and published two booklets: "Relación de los grandes Tesoros espirituales y temporales descubiertos con el auxilio de Dios en el Nuevo Mexico", in 1630, and is best known through the "Memorial que Fray Juan de Santander de la orden de San Francisco &c. presenta á la Majestad Católica del Rey" (Madrid, 1630 translated into various languages and republished as here in English). Wiki Benavides and his fellows labored earnestly among the peaceful Pueblo-dwelling Indians. 'The Pueblos initially accepted the Spanish presence without resistance, even adopting European innovations (new ideas or methods) in cooking, architecture, and town planning. Some also offered the Franciscans the same respect they gave their own spiritual leaders because they considered the white friars to be assistants of their gods. The Pueblos were so accepting because religion was already the center of their culture, which was headed by spiritual leaders (priests) who were brought to earth by the gods. Having received instructions directly from the gods, the priests conducted rituals that enabled the Pueblos to live in harmony with nature. Benavides believed that Spanish friars could find many converts among the Pueblos and Apaches. (The Apaches are six culturally related Native American groups who lived in New Mexico and present-day Arizona. The enemies of the Pueblos, the Apaches were known as fierce fighters.) Benavides wrote his report in an effort to convince Spanish authorities to concentrate their colonization efforts on New Mexico. The Apaches successfully resisted Spanish colonization, so the Catholic friars had the most interaction with the Pueblos. Traditional beliefs, such as the Pueblo creation myth (a story that explains the beginning of the world), influenced their general acceptance of Catholicism. Karen Ordahl Kupperman Ency. Seller Inventory # 33171

Bibliographic Details

Title: FRAY ALONSO DE BENAVIDES' REVISED MEMORIAL ...

Publisher: Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press 1945

Binding: Hardcover

Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included