Miguel de Olivares (1675–1768) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an priest and

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 stu ...

. Miguel de Olivares was born at

Chillán Chillán () is the capital city of the Ñuble Region in the Diguillín Province of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of the new Ñuble Region since 6 Sept ...

. He joined the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, became a missionary, and as such began about 1701 to travel through the territories of Quillota, Polpaico, Tiltil, Limache, and others. From 1712 until 1720 he directed the missions of Nahuelhuapi and Calbuco, and in 1730 he was in Concepción during the earthquake of July, which destroyed that city. His frequent voyages gave him an opportunity to study the archives of the Company of Jesus, and about 1736, in Santiago, he began to compile his history. From 1740 till 1758 he served in the missions of Araucania, where he learned the language of the Indians. He intended to write a complete history of Chile, when a decree of Charles III exiled the Jesuits, and, notwithstanding his advanced age, Olivares had to leave the country. In

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

, by order of the viceroy, Manuel de Amat, he was robbed of his manuscripts, and the viceroy's secretary, Jose Perfecto Salas, obtained the second part of the "Historia militar, civil y sagrada de lo acaecido en la conquista y pacificación del Reino de Chile." From Imola he tried to recover his manuscripts, and the king himself ordered the president of Chile to send them to Spain, which was done by

Ambrosio O'Higgins Ambrosio Bernardo O'Higgins y O'Higgins, 1st Marquess of Osorno (c. 1720 – 19 March 1801) born Ambrose Bernard O'Higgins (''Ambrós Bearnárd Ó hUiginn'', in Irish), was an Irish-Spanish colonial administrator and a member of the O'Higgins fa ...

, but Olivares died at Imola before their arrival in Madrid. A complete edition of the work and a "Historia de la Compañía de Jesus en Chile 1593–1736," with notes by the Chilean historian

Diego Barros Arana Diego Jacinto Agustín Barros Arana (; August 16, 1830 – November 4, 1907) was a Chilean professor, legislator, minister and diplomat. He is considered the most important Chilean historian of the 19th century. His main work ''General History of ...

, appeared in Santiago in 1870.

Sources

* 1675 births 1768 deaths Chilean historians Jesuit historians and chroniclers 17th-century Chilean Jesuits 18th-century Chilean Jesuits People from Chillán Chroniclers Jesuits expelled from the Americas {{chile-historian-stub

See also

Sources