Gaspar de Carvajal (Extremadura, Spain, c. 1500 - Lima, Peru, 1584) was a Spanish Dominican missionary to the New World, known for chronicling some of the explorations of the Amazon Capital Mérida Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 5th  41 634 km²  8,2% Population  â€“ Total (2003)  â€“ % of Spain  â€“ Density Ranked 13th  1 073 050  2,6%  25,77/km² Demonym  â€“ English  â€“ Spanish  â€”  extremeño/a, castúo Statute of Autonomy February 26... Also called: La Ciudad de los Reyes (The City of Kings) Founded January 18, 1535 Subdivisions 30 districts Mayor Luis Castañeda Lossio Area 2,664. ... 1584 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, c. ... The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. ...

Arrival in the New World and the Amazonian Expedition

After entering the Dominican order in Spain, he set out for Peru in 1533, dedicating himself to the conversion of the Indians. In 1540, Carvajal joined as a chaplain the expedition of Gonzalo Pizarro, governor of Quito, which was searching for the "Land of Cinnamon" to the east of Quito. Events January 25 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne Boleyn, his second Queen consort. ... Events January 6 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort. ... A chaplain is typically a member of the clergy serving a group of people who are not organized as a mission or church; lay chaplains are also found in some settings such as universities. ... Gonzalo Pizarro (b. ... Map of Ecuador showing location of Quito. ...

The expedition, under difficult conditions, crossed the Andes and into the Amazonian jungle, an inhospitable territory devoid of provisions. Gonzalo Pizarro ordered his second in command, Francisco de Orellana to follow the Napo River with fifty men, in order to find its mouth. The hope was that the men would be able to find provisions and bring them back in the small boat in which they went. Orellana reached the confluence of the Napo and Trinidad, but he didn't find provisions. Unable to return because of the current, he decided to continue following the river, until he reached the estuary of the Amazon in 1542. The Andes between Chile and Argentina Computer generated image of the Andes, made from a digital elevation model with a resolution of 30 arcseconds The Andes is a vast mountain range forming a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. ... A river in the Amazon rainforest The Amazon Rainforest is a term widely used to describe the moist broadleaf forests of the Amazon Basin. ... A Spanish postal stamp featuring Orellana Francisco de Orellana (c1500-c1549) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. ... The Napo is a tributary to the Amazon River that rises in Ecuador on the flanks of the volcanoes of Antisana, Sincholagua and Cotopaxi. ... Events War resumes between Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V. This time Henry VIII of England is allied to the Emperor, while James V of Scotland and Sultan Suleiman I are allied to the French. ...

The Relación and Carvajal's mark on history

Caravajal, who was one of the survivors of the expedition, narrated the events in his work Relación del nuevo descubrimiento del famoso río Grande que descubrió por muy gran ventura el capitán Francisco de Orellana ("Story of the discovery of the famous Grand river by the great captain Francisco de Orellana"). In it, the friar recorded the dates of the expedition as well as a large number of notes of ethnological interest such as the sizes and dispositions of the indigenous peoples which occupied the banks of the river, their tactics of war, rituals, customs, utensils, and the like.

This work remained obscure for a long period, being published only in 1895 by the Chilean José Toribio Medina. Parts of Relación, in addition to interviews of Orellana and some of his men, were used by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo in his Historia general y natural de las Indias (General and Natural History of the Indians), which was written in 1542, but itself not published until 1855. In 1934, Relación was again published, this time extensively revised by a H.C. Heaton. It is in a large extent due to Relación that Friar Carvajal has passed into history. 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Events War resumes between Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V. This time Henry VIII of England is allied to the Emperor, while James V of Scotland and Sultan Suleiman I are allied to the French. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In an interesting footnote, the well-known movie by Werner Herzog, Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1973) has an appearance of Gaspar de Carvajal as chaplain and chronicler of the mad descent of the Amazon by Lope de Aguirre. This expedition, which took place in 1561 (almost twenty years after that of Orellana), was the source of inspiration for the movie. However, the film included many situations and persons from the chronicle of Carvajal, (which is to say, from the expedition of Orellana). Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (born Werner Stipetic on September 5, 1942) is a Bavarian film director, screenwriter, actor and opera director of Croat descent. ... German film written and directed by Werner Herzog. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1973 calendar). ... Lope de Aguirre ( c. ... // Events The Edict of Orleans suspends the persecution of the Huguenots. ...

Later Career Amongst the Indians

Upon his return to Peru, Carvajal was chosen as subprior of the Convent of San Rosario in Lima. In this post, he was chosen to arbitrate between the viceroy Blasco de Nuñez and the auditors of the Real Audiencia in 1544. Unfortunately, the mediation seems to have been unfruitful. After the pacification of Peru, he was sent by his superiors as a missionary to Tucumán, being named the protector of the Indians in that area. Also called: La Ciudad de los Reyes (The City of Kings) Founded January 18, 1535 Subdivisions 30 districts Mayor Luis Castañeda Lossio Area 2,664. ... For the butterfly, see viceroy butterfly. ... An Audiencia (Spanish: audiency) was a Judicial District to functioned as an Appeals Court. ... Events April 11 - Battle of Ceresole - French forces under the Comte dEnghien defeat Imperial forces under the Marques Del Vasto near Turin. ... San Miguel de Tucumán (usually referred to as simply Tucumán) is the largest city in northwestern Argentina, with a population (2001) of 525,853. ...

He worked for years in the region, achieving the conversion of the majority of indigenous people. In 1553 he was instituted as the prior of the convent of Huamanga and provincial of Tucumán. He brought a number of Dominicans to the province, with whose help he founded various reducciones de indios and nine Spanish municipalities. He was chosen to be provincial of Peru in 1557, dedicating two years to the organization of the province and the two following ones to the visiting of the most remote territories and the founding of new convents. There is evidence of a letter written by Carvajal to the king, informing him of the abuses that were being committed against the Indians in the mines of Peru, and asking for his intervention on their behalf. This shows a general attitude towards the Indians consistent with the doctrine of his brother Dominican Bartolomé de las Casas. // Events June 26 - Christs Hospital in London gets a Royal Charter July 6 - Edward VI of England dies July 10 - Lady Jane Grey is proclaimed Queen of England - for the next nine days July 18 - Lord Mayor of London proclaims Queen Mary as the rightful Queen - Lady Jane Grey... Prior is a Latin adjective, meaning coming before, as earlier (as in a priori, regardless what comes next). ... Provincial is the title given in the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Catholic Church order) to the principal of a province (a geographical area, such as a country). ... Events Spain is effectively bankrupt. ... Bartolomé de Las Casas Bartolomé de Las Casas, O.P. (1474 – July 17, 1566) was a 16th century Spanish priest, and the first resident Bishop of Chiapas. ...

In 1565 Carvajal was chosen as a representative of his province before the Spanish court and to the Pope, but it is likely that he never crossed the ocean. He died in Lima in 1584. Events March 1 - the city of Rio de Janeiro is founded April 27 - Cebu City is established becoming the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. ... 1584 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...