Juan Bautista Muñoz
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Juan Bautista Muñoz ( Museros, 12 June 1745 –
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, 19 July 1799) was an 18th-century
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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
philosopher and historian. He wrote a major history of Spain and Spanish America, using Spanish archival resources, and was the driving force behind the creation of the Archive of the Indies. That brought into a single repository all the documents pertaining to the administration of Spanish overseas possessions.


Biography

Born in Museros (near
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
) in 1745, Juan Bautista Muñoz was the third of four sons.Bas Martín, Nicolás (2002) ''El cosmógrafo e historiador Juan Bautista Muñoz, 1745-1799''. Valencia: Universitat de Valencia. After the death of his father in 1751, his mother placed him under the tutelage of his uncle, the Dominican friar Gabriel Ferrandis at the convent of Pilar de Valencia, where he began to receive his first formal education. From 1753 to 1757, Muñoz was enrolled at the
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...
in Valencia, where he came under the influence of the polymath Antonio Eximeno Pujades, and began to take an interest in mathematics and modern philosophy.


Academic at Valencia

From 1757 to 1770, Juan Bautista Muñoz was at the
University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ), shortened to UV, is a public research university in Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Valencian Community. It is regarded as one of Spain's leading academic i ...
, initially as a student, then as a teacher. He received his master of arts and bachelor in philosophy in 1760, and a doctorate in theology by 1765. Imbibing the spirit of the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...
, Muñoz made a name for himself at the university as an opponent of
Scholasticism Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and Ca ...
and a reformer of the curriculum towards more modern topics. In his eclectic philosophical treatise, ''De recto philosophiae recentis in theologiae usu dissertatio'' (1767), Muñoz laid out the case for the usefulness of modern philosophy and
natural theology Natural theology is a type of theology that seeks to provide arguments for theological topics, such as the existence of a deity, based on human reason. It is distinguished from revealed theology, which is based on supernatural sources such as ...
to traditional theology. He promoted the introduction of the works of François Jacquier and Luis António Verney in the curriculum. During this period, Muñoz also undertook the labors of editing the works of
Louis of Granada Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...
, which came out in several volumes between 1765 and 1775. As a Dominican and a modernist, Muñoz's career profited from the royal edict of
Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
of 1767 expelling the Jesuits from Spain. After a brief sojourn in Rome in 1768, Muñoz was appointed to the chair of philosophy at Valencia in 1769.


Cosmographer-major

On October 28, 1770, at the age of twenty-five, Juan Bautista Muñoz was appointed ''Cosmografo mayor de Indias'' (
cosmographer The term cosmography has two distinct meanings: traditionally it has been the protoscience of mapping the general features of the cosmos, heaven and Earth; more recently, it has been used to describe the ongoing effort to determine the large-sca ...
-major of the Indies) by King
Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735â ...
. He resigned his chair at Valencia and moved to
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
to take up his office. The position, created in 1571, had become ill-defined by this time, the Spanish navy had already absconded with most of its scientific functions, and urged the abolition of the post. Muñoz tried to redefine the post, partitioning some of the functions with the naval academy. Despite his efforts, the post was formally abolished by royal edict in 1783, although Muñoz continued to use the title down to his death 1799. It was in this capacity as cosmographer-major that Muñoz began to delve more deeply into history. In the course of the composition of the geographical and navigational reports and memoirs he submitted to the Consejo de Indias, Muñoz frequently had to resort to examining the historical documentary record of
Spanish America Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' Spanish Empire, imperial era between 15th and 19th centur ...
. While in Madrid, he also participated in the educational reform movement launched by Charles III, putting out a treatise on the matter in 1778 (''Juicio del tratado de educacion de Pozzi'').


''History of the New World''

In the late 18th century, published Spanish histories of the Indies were in an out-of-date state. The first draft had been composed by
Peter Martyr d'Anghiera Peter Martyr d'Anghiera ( or ''ab Angleria''; ; ; 2 February 1457 – October 1526), formerly known in English as Peter Martyr of Angleria,D'Anghiera, Peter Martyr. ''De Orbe Novo'' . Trans. Richard Eden a''The decades of the newe wo ...
in his '' Decadas'' (1511–25), which were supplemented shortly after by a small 1552 tract by
Bartolomé de las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ); 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as an historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman, then became ...
and the first part of the ''Historia general de las Indias'' (1535) of
Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés (August 1478 – 1557), commonly known as Oviedo, was a Spanish soldier, historian, writer, botanist and colonist. Oviedo participated in the Spanish colonization of the West Indies, arriving in the first fe ...
(the rest of Las Casas and Oviedo would only appear in the 19th century; the life of Columbus by his son
Ferdinand Columbus Ferdinand Columbus ( or ; ; ; 15 August 1488 – 12 July 1539) was a Spanish bibliographer and cosmographer, the second son of Christopher Columbus. His mother was Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, who his father never married. Biography Ferdinand Colu ...
, only existed in an Italian edition (1571) at the time). The first comprehensive Spanish history of the Indies had been
Francisco López de Gómara Francisco López de Gómara (February 2, 1511 – c. 1564) was a Spanish historian who worked in Seville, particularly noted for his works in which he described the early 16th century expedition undertaken by Hernán Cortés in the Spanish conqu ...
's ''Hispania Victrix'' (1552). The last great history had been Antonio Herrera's ''Historia general'' (1601–15). Although partial histories had been written since, Herrera's treatise, nearly two-centuries old, remained effectively the last general work on the matter until Muñoz's time. Foreign writers had weighed in with their own accounts. The most recent and significant had been the ''History of America'' by the Scottish historian William Robertson, which appeared in 1777. Robertson's history, in the modern Enlightenment tradition and historical methodology, was initially well received and a Spanish translation augmented with Spanish archival materials completed. But a Spanish reviewer took issue with Robertson's work, and the translation never published. The outbreak of the Anglo-Spanish War (1779) had suspended the further appearance of Robertson's work in Spain, and encouraged the Spanish establishment to initiate its own up-dated history. On July 17, 1779, Charles III formally placed Muñoz with the responsibility of writing a comprehensive history of the Spanish conquest and colonization of the Americas, in an effort to set the record straight, snuff out various apocryphal stories and '' leyenda negra'' rumors circulating throughout Europe and defend Spanish territorial rights in America from the encroaching claims of other European powers. Muñoz set about collecting and examining documentary material scattered in various archives throughout Spain and Portugal, with the objective of turning his history into an objective reference work. In 1784, Muñoz moved to
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
, where he had available the archives of the House of Trade and the Columbian Library at the cathedral of Seville (the depository library collected by
Ferdinand Columbus Ferdinand Columbus ( or ; ; ; 15 August 1488 – 12 July 1539) was a Spanish bibliographer and cosmographer, the second son of Christopher Columbus. His mother was Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, who his father never married. Biography Ferdinand Colu ...
in the early 16th century, and deposited at the cathedral after his death in 1539). Seeing the value of having all the Indies-related documents collected in one place, Muñoz recommended to
José de Gálvez José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...
, the Minister of State, that a repository bringing together all the documentary materials for the Indies. The monarch approved the project, ordering the establishment of the Archive of the Indies at ''Casa Lonja'' in Seville. The 16th c. building was the former quarters of the
merchant guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
, when the monopoly port was Seville. The king issued orders to other archives to deliver Indies-related documents. The project for the new archive was under the direction of
José de Gálvez José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...
, who worked closely with Muñoz in collecting, sifting and cataloging the incoming documents. The archives of the
Council of the Indies A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
, the royal archives of
Simancas Simancas is a town and municipality of central Spain, located in the province of Valladolid, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated approximately 10 km southwest of the provincial capital Valladolid, on the r ...
, the House of Trade's archives in Seville and Cadiz and the archives of the Secretaria de Estado y del Despacho de Indias were the principal feeders of the new Archive of the Indies. Before that, materials pertaining to Spain's overseas possessions had not been separated. The first volume of Juan Bautista Muñoz's ''Historia del Nuevo Mundo'' appeared in 1793.


Works

* ''De recto philosophiae recentis in theologiae usu dissertatio'' (1767), * ''Juicio del tratado de educacion de Pozzi'' (1778) Unpublished memoirs to the Consejo de Indias:Bas Martín (2002:p.63) * ''Sobre la Navegación del Mar del Sur'' (1779) * ''Sobre la empresa real de unir el océano Atlántico con el Pacífico por el Istmo de Panamá'' (1786) * ''Sobre la conquista y descubrimiento del Darién, 1774'' (undated) * ''Dictamen de Muñoz sobre la Descripción del Peru del doctor don Cosme Bueno, dirigido a Miguel de San Martín Cueto'' (1786) * ''Dictamen sobre la pretención de los angloamericanos a la navegación del Missisipi'' (1788) Published works: * ''Historia del Nuevo-Mundo'', 1793, Madrid: Ibarra
v.1
(1797 English translation, ''The History of the New World'', London: G.G. & J. Robinson
v.1 of 1


References

* Bas Martín, Nicolás (2002) ''El cosmógrafo e historiador Juan Bautista Muñoz, 1745-1799''. Valencia: Universitat de Valencia. * Bas Martín, Nicolás "Juan Bautista Muñoz y la Sevilla del Siglo XVIII"
pdf


External links


Juan Bautista Muñoz. Polymath Virtual Library, Fundación Ignacio Larramendi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz, Juan Bautista 1745 births 1799 deaths 18th-century Spanish historians Spanish archivists 18th-century Spanish philosophers