Juan de Quevedo
| Most Reverend Juan de Quevedo | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Santa María de La Antigua del Darién | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Diocese of Santa María de La Antigua del Darién |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor | Vicente de Peraza |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | January 29, 1514 by Diego de Deza |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1450 Bejoris, Spain |
| Died | December 24, 1519 (age 69) Barcelona |
Juan de Quevedo (es:Vejorís, c. 1450 – December 24, 1519) was a Spanish Franciscan priest and the first Bishop of Santa María de La Antigua del Darién in Panama (1513–1519).[1][2]
Biography
Juan de Quevedo was born in Vejorís, Cantabria, Spain and ordained a priest in the Order of Friars Minor.[3] On September 9, 1513[3] - at the request of King Ferdinand, husband of Queen Isabella - Pope Leo X appointed him Bishop of Santa María de La Antigua del Darién[4]: 47 On January 29, 1514, he was consecrated by bishop by Diego de Deza, Archbishop of Seville.[3]
He left for the Indies in 1514 along with Hernando de Luque[4] on a fleet commanded by Pedro Arias Dávila.[2] Conflict between Quevedo and Arias Dávila soon ensued as Quevedo strongly protested against the cruel acts committed by the governor and his officers, not only against the Indians, but also against rivals, such as the beheading of Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, the discoverer of the Pacific Ocean.[5] Counter charges were brought against Quevedo with Bartolomé de Las Casas accusing him of having violated a trust, accumulated wealth, and neglected the Indians, but the veracity of Las Casas' accusations has not been established.[5] Quevedo returned to Spain in (1518) and presented two memorials to King Charles. One was against Arias Dávila, and the other advocated restricting the powers of all governors in the New World for the better protection of the natives.[5] When these documents were shown to Las Casas, in spite of differences between the two, he offered to countersign them.[5] Bishop Quevedo soon fell sick and died at Barcelona.[5]
In spite of Quevedo's record as a champion of the rights of Native Americans, his views were still coloured by his time and his missionary fervour. He regarded all the aborigines of America to be a race of men whom it would be impossible to instruct or improve unless they were collected in villages or missions and kept under continual supervision.[5]
External links and additional sources
- Cheney, David M. "Archdiocese of Panamá". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved March 25, 2018. (for Chronology of Bishops) [self-published]
- Chow, Gabriel. "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Panamá". GCatholic.org. Retrieved March 25, 2018. (for Chronology of Bishops) [self-published]
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Juan de Quevedo — Franciscan, native of Bejori, Old Castile, Spain; died a Barcelona, 24 December, 1519. His antecedents are unknown. At the request of King Ferdinand, husband of Queen Isabella, Pope Leo X, on 28 August, 1513, appointed Quevedo bishop of Santa Maria de la Antigua, or Darien, on the Isthmus, and he thus became the first bishop on the mainland of America. Accompanied by several Franciscans, Bishop Quevedo on 12 April, 1514, embarked at San Lucar with Pedrarias (Pedro Arias de Avila, or Davila), who had been named governor of Darien. The expedition reached its destination 30 June. The governor and his officers, despite royal warnings to heed to the advice of Quevedo, committed the most the most frightful cruelties, not only against the Indians, but also against rivals, of which the beheading of Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, the discoverer of the Pacific Ocean, is not the least. Las Casas accused Quevedo of having violated a trust, accumulated wealth, and neglected the Indians; but Las Casas was frequently unjust in his condemnations. It is impossible to determine how much truth or untruth his charges contain. Quevedo returned to Spain (1518) and presented two memorials to King Charles. One was against Pedrarias, and the other advocated restricting the powers of all governors in the New World for the better protection of the natives. When these documents were shown to Las Casas, he offered to countersign them. Quevedo declared that all the aborigines of America, as far as he had observed them, appeared to be a race of men whom it would be impossible to instruct or improve unless they were collected in villages or missions and kept under continual supervision. In this he was right, as all subsequent experience has shown. Bishop Quevedo soon fell sick and died at Barcelona.
References
- Back to citation Eubel, Konrad (1923). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi. Vol. III (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. p. 268. (in Latin)
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Arzobispo de Panamá, Guillermo Rojas y Arrieta C.M. Resena Historica de los obispos que han ocupado la silla de Panamá desde su fundacion hasta nuestros dias Publisher: Escuela Tipográfica Salesiana (1929) | pp. 6–9
- Back to citation occurrence 3.0 Back to citation occurrence 3.1 Back to citation occurrence 3.2 Cheney, David M. "Bishop Juan de Quevedo Villegas, O.F.M." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. [self-published]
- Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Leon, P., 1998, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, Chronicles of the New World Encounter, edited and translated by Cook and Cook, Durham: Duke University Press, ISBN 9780822321460
- Back to citation occurrence 5.0 Back to citation occurrence 5.1 Back to citation occurrence 5.2 Back to citation occurrence 5.3 Back to citation occurrence 5.4 Back to citation occurrence 5.5 Catholic Encyclopedia: "Juan de Quevedo" retrieved January 11, 2015