ECHEVERRIA, Manuel Mariano,
South American missionary, born at Quito about 1730; died there in the latter
part of the 18th century. In 1767 he was appointed superior of the missions of
Mainas and those on the banks of the Marañon, and on 2 January 1768, at the head
of twenty-eight priests, he set out for his post. He worked with ardor, and did
much to improve the moral and material condition of the wild Indian tribes. On
his return from the missions he was appointed prebendary to the Cathedral of
Quito, but died soon after. Echeverria wrote "Descripción de Mainas" (1784), a
work which has remained unedited, but is valuable for the information it
contains about the villages of the province of Mainas, including Napo and
Canelos, the number of their inhabitants, their exact positions, and their
natural and industrial products.
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia by John Looby, Copyright © 2001 VirtualologyTM
