Description
Californiada
Book Summary
This work rescues a Latin poem composed in 1740 to commemorate the Second Centenary of the Society of Jesus. Written by Fr. José Mariano de Iturriaga and edited by Fernando Navarro Antolín, the text narrates the evangelizing epic of Baja California led by the missionary Juan María de Salvatierra. More than a simple translation, the volume offers a philological and historical analysis that places the work within the context of New Spanish Jesuit propaganda. The reader will find here a unique testimony of American Neo-Latin literature and a key document regarding Ignatian missions in the 18th century.
What is it about?
On September 27, 1740, the superiors of the Colegio Máximo de San Pedro y San Pablo in Mexico City commissioned the young Grammar teacher, Fr. José Mariano de Iturriaga, to compose a poem in Latin to celebrate the Second Centenary of the founding of the Society of Jesus. Although the work was not intended for publication, the author chose as a central theme one of the great Jesuit enterprises of the previous century: the evangelization of Baja California. The poem focuses on the figure of Fr. Juan María de Salvatierra, a New Spanish missionary who led this enterprise. The current edition not only presents the Latin text and its translation, but also contextualizes it as a piece of institutional propaganda, showing how the Society used the epic to exalt its missionary work and reinforce its identity in the viceroyalty.
Main themes
- Neo-Latin literature in colonial America: study and edition of an epic poem written in Latin in 18th-century Mexico.
- History of the Jesuit missions in Baja California: narration of the evangelizing work of Fr. Juan María de Salvatierra.
- Propaganda and identity construction in the Society of Jesus: analysis of the poem as a tool for institutional exaltation during the Second Centenary.
- Philology and textual criticism: critical edition of the manuscript, translation into Spanish, and preliminary study of the work.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is intended for researchers and students of colonial Hispanic American literature, church history, Jesuit studies, and classical philology. It will also be of great interest to readers specializing in the history of Baja California and the cultural production of the New Spanish viceroyalty. It is a work for academic reference, not for general dissemination.
What this book contributes
- Access to an unpublished 18th-century Latin poem, translated and annotated, which expands the known corpus of American Neo-Latin literature.
- A detailed analysis of the historical and propagandistic context in which the work was created, linked to the celebration of the Jesuit Second Centenary.
- A documented view of the figure of Fr. Juan María de Salvatierra and the evangelization strategies on the California frontier.
- Philological tools for understanding the meter, style, and classical sources used by the author.
Technical specifications
- Author: Navarro Antolín, Fernando; de Iturriaga, S.J., Jose Mariano
- Publisher: Universidad de Huelva
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: LITERATURE: HISTORY AND CRITICISM, LITERARY STUDIES: POETRY AND POETS
- Collection: FONDO
- Binding: Paperback
- Date of publication: Not available
- Number of pages: 306
- Dimensions: Not available
- Weight: 757 g
Editorial Review
This is a rigorous academic edition that recovers a minor but significant piece of the Jesuit literary heritage in America. Its main value lies in the combination of critical edition, translation, and contextual study, which makes it a useful tool for specialists. The reader interested in the history of the missions or in Neo-Latin literature will find here a well-crafted document, although its scope is limited to a very specific audience.