Acosta, José de

Acosta, José de
Acosta, José de
Founded a number of colleges, among them those of Arequipa, Potose, Chuquisaca, Panama, and La Paz

Catholic Encyclopedia. . 2006.

Acosta, José de
    José de Acosta
     Catholic_Encyclopedia José de Acosta
    The son of well-to-do and respected parents, born at Medina del Campo in Spain, 1540; died at Salamanca, 15 February, 1600. He became a novice in the Society of Jesus at the age of thirteen at the place of his birth. Four of his brothers successively joined the same order. Before leaving Spain, he was lecturer in theology at Ocana, and in April, 1569, was sent to Lima, Peru, where the Jesuits had been established in the proceeding year. At Lima, Acosta again occupied the chair of theology. his fame as an orator had proceeded him. In 1571 he went to Cuzco as a visitor of the college of the Jesuits then recently founded. Returning to Lima three years later, to again fill the chair of theology, he was elected provincial in 1576. He founded a number of colleges, among them those of Arequipa, Potose, Chuquisaca, Panama, and La Paz, but met with considerable opposition from the viceroy, Francisco de Toledo. He official duties obliged him to investigate personally a very extensive range of territory, so that he acquired a practical knowledge of the vast province, and of its aboriginal inhabitants. At the provincial, council of 1582, at Lima, Acosta played a very important part. Called to Spain by the King in 1585, he was detained in Mexico, where he dedicated himself to studies of the country and people. returning to Europe, he filled the chair of theology at the Roman college in 1594, as well as other important positions. At the time of his death, he was rector of the college at Salamanca.
    Few members of the Society of Jesus in the sixteenth century have been so uniformly eulogized as Father Acosta. Independently of his private character, his learning and the philosophic spirit pervading his works attracted the widest attention in learned circles. Translations of his works exist in many languages of Europe, while the naturalists of the eighteenth century praise his knowledge of the flora of western South America. Aside from his publication of the proceedings of the provincial councils of 1567 and 1583, and several works of exclusively theological import, Acosta is best known as writer through the "De Natura Novi Orbis." "De promulgatione Evangelii apud Barbaros, sive De Procuranda Indorum salute", and above all, the "Historia natural y moral de las Indias." The first two appeared at Salamanca in 1588, the last at Seville in 1590, and was soon after its publication translated into various languages. It is chiefly the "Historia natural y moral" that has established the reputation of Acosta. In a form more concise than that employed by his predecessors, Gomara and Oviedo, he treats the natural and philosophic history of the New World from a broader point of view. Much of what he says is of necessity erroneous, because it is influenced by the standard of knowledge of his time; but his criticisms are remarkable, while always dignified. He reflects the scientific errors of the period in which he lived, but with hints of a more advanced understanding. As far as the work of the Church among the Indians is concerned, the "De procurandâ Indorum salute" is perhaps more valuable than the "Historia," because it shows the standpoint from which efforts at civilizing the aborigines should be undertaken. That standpoint indicates no common perception of the true nature of the Indian, and of the methods of approaching him for his own benefit.
    De Backer, Bibliotheque des equivains de la Cie. de Jesus. Among earlier sources, Father Eusebius Nieremberg, Anella Oliva, Historia del Peru y de los Verones insignes de la Compagnia de Jesus (1639) deserves mention, as well as Nicholas Antonio, Biblioteca Vetustisima and the Bibliography of Beristain de Souza; writers on Spanish-American literature generally mention Acosta. A good Bibliography, and a short Biography of Acosta, are found in Enrique Torres Saldanando, Los antiquos Jesuitas del Peru (Lima, 1882). See also: Mendiburu, Diccionaria historico-biografica del Peru, I (1874).
    AD. F. BANDELIER

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


Catholic encyclopedia.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • ACOSTA, Jose De — (c. 1540 1600) Josei de Acosta, a Spanish Jesuit historian, wrote the earliest European study on Mexico and western South America, Historia natural y moral de las Indias (Natural and Moral History of the Indies, 1590). In De procuranda Indorum… …   Renaissance and Reformation 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary

  • Acosta, José de — ▪ Spanish theologian born 1539, Medina del Campo, Spain died Feb. 15, 1600, Salamanca       Jesuit theologian and missionary to the New World, chiefly known for his Historia natural y moral de las Indias, the earliest survey of the New World and… …   Universalium

  • Acosta, José de — ► (1539 1600) Cosmógrafo e historiador español. Autor de un catecismo en castellano, aimará y quechua (1583) y de una famosa Historia natural y moral de las Indias, en que se tratan las cosas más notables del cielo, y elementos, metales, plantas… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Jose de Acosta — José de Acosta Pour les articles homonymes, voir Acosta. José de Acosta José d Acosta, né vers 1539, mort le 15 février 1600, était un Jésuite espagnol du …   Wikipédia en Français

  • José De Acosta — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Acosta. José de Acosta José d Acosta, né vers 1539, mort le 15 février 1600, était un Jésuite espagnol du …   Wikipédia en Français

  • José de acosta — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Acosta. José de Acosta José d Acosta, né vers 1539, mort le 15 février 1600, était un Jésuite espagnol du …   Wikipédia en Français

  • José de Acosta — (September/October 1539 ndash; February 15 1600), was a Spanish 16th century Jesuit missionary and naturalist in Latin America.LifeBorn at Medina del Campo in Spain, he became a novice in the Society of Jesus at the age of thirteen at the place… …   Wikipedia

  • Jose de Acosta —     José de Acosta     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► José de Acosta     The son of well to do and respected parents, born at Medina del Campo in Spain, 1540; died at Salamanca, 15 February, 1600. He became a novice in the Society of Jesus at the age… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Jose de Acosta — José de Acosta (auch José d Acosta, * September/Oktober 1539 (oder 1540) in Medina del Campo; † 15. Februar 1599 in Salamanca) war ein spanischer Jesuit, Missionar und Gelehrter. Er entwickelte die Theorie, dass die amerikanische Urbevölkerung… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • José Vicente Garcia Acosta — José Vicente García Acosta (* 4. August 1972 in Tafalla) ist ein spanischer Radrennfahrer. Karriere García Acosta begann seine Profikarriere 1995 bei dem spanischen Radsport Team Banesto. Das UCI ProTour Team nennt sich mittlerweile Caisse d… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”