Gonzalo Fernando de Oviedo y Valdez - A Stan Klos Website
OVIEDO y VALDEZ, Gonzalo Fernandez de (o-ve-ay'-do),
Spanish historian, born in Madrid in 1478; died in Valladolid in 1557. In early
life he was a page of John, the son of Ferdinand and Isabella, and as such
accompanied the monarchs to the siege of Granada. After the infante's death in
1497 he entered the service of Frederic of Aragon, king of Naples, and in 1513
was appointed royal warden of the gold-mines of Castilla de Oro on the isthmus.
He was also a member of the council of Santa Maria la Antigua, but in 1515
returned to Spain to give the government information about the political and
economical conditions of the American colonies, and, although he was appointed
in 1526 governor of La Antigua, he returned soon again to Spain, where he
continued to labor on the great historical work that he had begun in 1515.
In 1535 he was appointed commander of the castle of
Santo Domingo, which place he occupied till 1545, when he returned to Spain with
the appointment of Historian of the Spanish Indies. He now gave himself to the
completion of his history, of which a summary had appeared under the title of
"La Historia de las cosas sucedidas en mi tiempo en America" (Toledo, 1526), and
its first part appeared as "Historia general y natural de las Indias
Occidentales" (Seville, 1535), while the revision of the entire work was
finished in 1548. Its publication, begun in Valladolid in 1550, was interrupted
by the author's death, and the first complete edition was printed by order of
the Royal Historical Academy (Madrid, 1851).
This work has not generally been judged correctly, on
account of many inaccuracies in the historical part, and a strong prejudice
against Columbus. But since its recent publication it became evident that it is
one of the profoundest, and certainly the first, work on the natural history of
America, for the treatment of which the author was specially qualified. It is
embellished by illustrations that were drawn by the author, and some of his
descriptions might serve as an example to modern naturalists. Partial
translations of this work appeared in Italian by Giovanni Battista Ramusio
(1550), and in English by Richard Eden (1577). Two works, also translated by
Ramusio without giving the author's name, "Tratado del palo Guayacan y del palo
Santo como antidoto contra la sifilis" and "Navegación del rio Marañon," are
also attributed to Oviedo.
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia by John Looby, Copyright © 2001
StanKlos.comTM
OVIEDO y VALDEZ, Gonzalo Fernandez de (o-ve-ay'-do), Spanish historian, born in Madrid in 1478 ; died in Valladolid in 1557. In early life he was a page of John, the son of Ferdinand and Isabella, and as such accompanied the monarchs to the siege of Granada. After the infante's death in 1497 he entered the service of Frederic of Aragon, king of Naples, and in 1513 was appointed royal warden of the gold-mines of Castilla de Oro on the isthmus. He was also a member of the council of Santa Maria la Antigua, but in 1515 returned to Spain to give the government information about the political and economical conditions of the American colonies, and, although he was appointed in 1526 governor of La Antigua, he returned soon again to Spain, where he continued to labor on the great historical work that he had begun in 1515. In 1535 he was appointed commander of the castle of Santo Domingo, which place he occupied till 1545, when he returned to Spain with the appointment of historian of the Spanish Indies. He now gave himself to the completion of his history, of which a summary had appeared under the title of " La Historia de las cosas sucedidas en mi tiempo en America" (Toledo, 1526), and its first part appeared as " Historia general y natural de las Indias Occidentales " (Seville, 1535), while the revision of the entire work was finished in 1548. Its publication, begun in Valladolid in 1550, was interrupted by the author's death, and the first complete edition was printed by order of the Royal historical academy (Madrid, 1851). This work has not generally been judged correctly, on account of many inaccuracies in the historical part, and a strong prejudice against Columbus. But since its recent publication it became evident that it is one of the profoundest, and certainly the first, work on the natural history of America, for the treatment of which the author was specially qualified. It is embellished by illustrations that were drawn by the author, and some of his descriptions might serve as an example to modern naturalists. Partial translations of this work appeared in Italian by Giovanni Battista Ramusio (1550), and in English by Richard Eden (1577). Two works, also translated by Ramusio without giving the author's name, "Tratado del palo Guayacan y del palo Santo como antidoto contra la sifilis" and "Navegacion del rio Maranon," are also attributed to Oviedo.
