Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra (1745–1813), born in

Estadilla Estadilla is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2018 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Instituto Naci ...

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, was a

Benedictine monk The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...

and the first

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

to extensively document Puerto Rico's history, nationality, and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

Biography

Abbad arrived in Puerto Rico in 1771 at age 26 as

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, Manuel Jiménez Pérez. From 1772 to 1778, as part of his ecclesiastic duties, he visited many towns throughout the island. Also at that time, while accompanying Jiménez Pérez, he visited

Cumaná Cumaná () is the capital city of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located east of Caracas. Cumaná was one of the first cities founded by Spain in the mainland Americas and is the oldest continuously-inhabited Hispanic-established city in South ...

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, New Barcelona, the

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, and

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. During these travels he kept a diary named ''Viage a la América'' (Voyage to America). The book was published as a

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of ...

in 1974 at

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in th ...

by Banco Nacional de Ahorro y Préstamo (National Loan and Savings Bank). While living in Puerto Rico he observed and recorded every day Puerto Rican life. In 1788, ten years after leaving Puerto Rico, he published the first comprehensive history of Puerto Rico titled ''Historia geográfica, civil y natural de la isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico'' (Geographic, civil and natural history of the island of Saint John the Baptist of Puerto Rico). In his book he described, in detail, a wide array of aspects of Puerto Rican life. Among the topics discussed are San Juan's fortifications and defenses,

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

customs, and Puerto Rican history, society, clothing,

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fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...

, socio-economic peculiarities, and personality. He also proposes several reforms such as free commerce and the promotion of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

and other industries. Even though Abbad's book is the most complete historical account of Puerto Rico from 1493 to 1783, many of the historical accounts presented were obtained from second-hand sources. The earliest known reference to the ''

güiro The güiro () is a Puerto Rican percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a ratchet (instrument), ratc ...

,'' an instrument used in traditional

Puerto Rican music The music of Puerto Rico has evolved as a heterogeneous and dynamic product of diverse cultural resources. The most conspicuous musical sources of Puerto Rico have included European, Indigenous, and African influences, although many aspects of P ...

, is in his writings. He described the ''güiro'' as one of several instruments that were used to accompany dancers. The other instruments would typically include ''maracas,'' tambourine, and one or more guitars. In 1785, Abbad wrote ''Relación de la Florida'' (Florida Relation), an account of the Spanish presence in the Florida peninsula beginning with its discovery by

Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León (, , , ; 1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida and for serving as the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was born in Santerv� ...

up to the establishment of French and British colonies.

References

Puerto Rico en breve

Biography

See also

References

Further reading