Fray Pedro Simón | |
|---|---|
 Painting of Pedro Simón (1941) | |
| Born | 1574 |
| Died | ca. 1628 |
| Language | Spanish |
| Subject | Muisca religion,mythology,History of Colombia andVenezuela |
| Notable work | Noticias historiales de las conquistas de Tierra Firme en las Indias occidentales (1626) |
Fray Pedro Simón (San Lorenzo de la Parrilla,Spain, 1574 -Ubaté,New Kingdom of Granada, ca. 1628) was a SpanishFranciscanfriar, professor andchronicler of theindigenous peoples of modern-day Colombia andVenezuela, at the time forming theNew Kingdom of Granada. Pedro Simón is one of the most importantMuisca scholars whose writings were the basis for later scholars such asLucas Fernández de Piedrahita,[1][2]Alexander von Humboldt,[3][better source needed] and twenty first-century scholarJavier Ocampo López.[4]
Pedro Simón studied inCartagena, Spain and went toCartagena de Indias in 1603.[5] Simón accompaniedJuan de Borja and described his war against thePijao in 1608.[6] On 3 June 1623, he was namedCustodio de la Provincia Franciscana del Nuevo Reino de Granada ("custodian of the franciscan province of the New Kingdom of Granada").[6][7]
In this year he began writing his most notable workNoticias historiales de las conquistas de Tierra Firme en las Indias Occidentales, of which the initial section was published inCuenca, Spain in 1627.[6][7] The full text appeared for the first time in five volumes in post-independenceBogotá in 1882–1892. Later editions are dated 1953, 1963 and 1982. In the nineteenth century, one part was published in English translation under the titleThe Expedition of Pedro de Ursua and Lope de Aguirre (London, 1861).[5][8] After finishing this work, Simón settled in the San Diegoconvent inUbaté,Cundinamarca, where he died sometime between October 1626 and May 7, 1628.[6][7]
