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.

Auteur
Dr. Albrecht Classen is University Distinguished Professor of German Studies at the University of Arizona. He has published close to 70 scholarly books on medieval and early modern literature, culture, history, and mentality, and he is also an expert on eighteenth-century Jesuit missionary literature in the Southwest.

Contenu

Chapter 1: German-Speaking Jesuit Missionaries in the Southwest: Global Perspectives of a Local Phenomenon in the Eighteenth Century- An Introduction Chapter 2: Major German Jesuit Writers and Their Biographies: A Global History from Individualized Perspectives Chapter 3: Padre Eusebio Kino - the Pioneer: Discovery, Encounters, and the Establishment of the Kino Missionary Network Chapter 4: Joseph Stoecklein's Welt-Bott: A Jesuit Missionary's Collection of Global Reports for a German Audience Chapter 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 World Chapter 6: Joseph Och's Travel Reports: An Autobiographical Perspective Chapter 7: The Personal Perspective: Letters by the Swiss Jesuit Philipp Segesser: A Missionary's Correspondence with His Family