Luis Geronimo de Ore: The World of an Andean Franciscan from the Frontiers to the Centers of Power

Luis Gerónimo de Oré (1554–1630) was a Franciscan linguist and theologian who lived during a critical period in the formation of the modern world, translating doctrinal concepts into indigenous languages and advocating for indigenous justice in the southernmost end of the Americas. This biography recovers from obscurity a colonial friar whose legacy continues in the Andean world today.

Format: Hardback
Length: 396 pages
Publication date: 06 December 2023
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press

Luis Gerónimo de Oré, a Franciscan linguist and theologian born in a provincial city in the Peruvian Andes, lived during a pivotal period in the formation of the modern world. As the global empire of Spain engaged in a nearly continuous struggle over resources and religion, Oré's life unfolded against this backdrop. In the first comprehensive biography of Oré, Noble David Cook and Alexandra Parma Cook undertake the task of reconstructing the friar's life and the communities he inhabited. They trace the career of this first-generation Creole, from his roots in Huamanga to his work in Andean missions, his interactions with the royal courts of Spain and throughout Spanish America, and his final years as bishop of Concepción, Chile.

While serving in Peru's Colca Valley, Oré composed multilingual texts, translating doctrinal concepts into indigenous languages such as Quechua and Aymara, alongside Latin and Spanish. These texts were frequently used by missionaries and secular clergy in their conversion efforts. As commissioner to Cuba and La Florida, Oré conducted inspections of frontier missions along the coast of what would later become the southeastern United States. He authored an influential history of these outposts and their environment, which had a lasting impact on the understanding of colonial America.

After being dispatched by Philip III to Concepción, Oré spent his final years working in the southernmost end of the Americas. There, he continued his advocacy for indigenous justice and engaged in heated arguments with the governor over defensive war, royal patronage, and Indian enslavement. This biography, drawn from extensive research conducted in Spain and Latin America over several decades, seeks to reclaim the legacy of a colonial friar whose influence remains felt in the Andean world today.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780807180129