Ulrich Schmidl or Schmidel (1510 in
Straubing - 1579 in
Regensburg) was a German
Landsknecht
The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front lin ...
,
conquistador,
explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
,
chronicler
A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
and
councilman
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
. Schmidl was, beside
Hans Staden
Hans Staden (c. 1525 – c. 1576) was a German soldier and explorer who voyaged to South America in the middle of the sixteenth century, where he was captured by the Tupinambá people of Brazil. He managed to survive and return safe to Europe. In ...
, one of the few Landsknechts who wrote down their experiences of travel in the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
.
Biography
Schmidl was the son of a wealthy
merchant, and received a good education. He entered military service and took part in 1534 as a Landsknecht under
Pedro de Mendoza
Pedro de Mendoza () (c. 1499 – June 23, 1537) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', soldier and explorer, and the first ''adelantado'' of New Andalusia.
Setting sail
Pedro de Mendoza was born in Guadix, Grenada, part of a large noble family that ...
in an expedition to today's
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
(
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...
). He also accompanied
Juan de Ayolas
Juan de Ayolas (died c. 1537) was a conquistador born in Briviesca who explored the watershed of the Río de la Plata for the Spanish Crown. He accompanied Pedro de Mendoza on his 1534 expedition to colonize the region between the Río de la ...
on his first trip in quest of provisions, and afterward went with Ayolas in his expedition up the
Paraguay River
The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters i ...
, and was one of the soldiers that were left with
Domingo Irala in charge of the vessels in Puerto la Candelaria (modern
Fuerte Olimpo
Fuerte Olimpo () is a city in Paraguay. It is the capital of the department of Alto Paraguay. Straddling the river Paraguay which forms the border with Brazil, Fuerte Olimpo is Paraguay's northernmost departmental capital, located over 830 ...
). When
Cabeza de Vaca
In Mexican cuisine, ''cabeza'' (''lit.'' 'head') is the meat from a roasted head of an animal, served as taco
A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling ...
was deposed in April 1544, Schmidel sustained Irala, who was the new governor, and in 1546 accompanied him in his expedition to
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
as far as the foot of the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
, where he was despatched with
Nuño de Chaves to President
La Gasca. He accompanied Irala on his last unfortunate expedition of 1550.
He became a founder of
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
. His journey led him across the
Río Paraná and
Río Paraguay
The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters in ...
and into today's
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
, where he helped to found
Asunción
Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay.
The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay o ...
. From there he undertook several expeditions in the
Gran Chaco
The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato ...
, which led him into southeast
Bolivia.
![Houghton US 2257](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Houghton_US_2257.154_-_Buenas_Aeres.jpg)
In 1552, on learning of the death of his elder brother to whose estate he was to succeed, Schmidl obtained his discharge. In
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, he presented to the council of the Indies letters from Irala with the report of his discoveries, and arrived toward the close of 1554 in
Straubing, where he afterward resided. He had kept a diary during his wanderings, and wrote a narrative of his adventures under the title of ''Wahre Geschichte einer merkwürdigen Reise, gemacht durch Ulrich Schmidel von Straubingen, in America oder der Neuen Welt, von 1534 bis 1554, wo man findet alle seine Leiden in 19 Jahren, und die Beschreibung der Länder und merkwürdigen Völker die er gesehen, von ihm selbst geschrieben'' (The true story of a noteworthy trip made by Ulrich Schmidel from Straubingen in America or the New World from 1534 to 1554, where will be found all his troubles of 19 years and the description of lands and noteworthy peoples he saw, described by himself; Frankfort, 1557), of which a Latin version appeared in Nuremberg in 1599 as ''Vera historia'', etc.
Henri Ternaux-Compans
Henri Ternaux-Compans (born in Paris in 1807; died there in December 1864) was a French historian.
Biography
After finishing his studies in Paris, he entered the diplomatic service and was secretary of the embassies at Madrid and Lisbon, and ch ...
published a translation of the work in his ''Voyages, relations et mémoires originaux pour servir à l'histoire de la découverte de l'Amérique, recueil de documents sur la Floride'' (20 vol., 1837–1841) and
Andrés González de Barcia in his ''Historiadores primitivos de Indias''. Schmidel thus became the first historian of Argentina.
Much of his account in the
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...
overlaps with an account written in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
by
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (; 1488/90/92"Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Núñez (1492?-1559?)." American Eras. Vol. 1: Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 50-51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Decembe ...
, who was ''
adelantado
''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning "advanced") was a title held by Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th and 17th cen ...
'' of the
Governorate of the Río de la Plata
The Governorate of the Río de la Plata (1549−1776) ( es, Gobernación del Río de la Plata, links=no, ) was one of the governorates of the Spanish Empire. It was created in 1549 by Spain in the area around the Río de la Plata.
It was at fir ...
between 1540 and 1545. Their accounts, one by a German mercenary, another by a Spanish nobleman, offer stark differences in point of view.
His narrative gives the names and tells of the habits and manner of living of many Indigenous American nations that were extinct a century later.
Perhaps the most fascinating parts of his accounts are those that attribute
cannibalism not only to some
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
n tribes, but also to the desperate
conquistadors who were unsuited for survival in the rough climate, and would consume one another in an effort to escape starvation. A particularly notable account states that
Spaniards
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both in ...
who were hung, were hacked up by their fellow countrymen, and devoured.
After his return to
Straubing with a few pieces of booty, he inherited the fortune of his deceased brother, and became a councilman. Because of religious strife he had to leave Straubing and went in 1562 to
Regensburg, where he died around 1579.
Notes
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidel, Ulrich
1510 births
1579 deaths
Explorers of Argentina
History of Buenos Aires
German emigrants to Paraguay
German explorers
16th-century explorers
German conquistadors