''El Carnero'' () is the colloquial name of a
Spanish language
Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
colonial chronicle whose title was ''Conquista y descubrimiento del Nuevo Reino de Granada de las Indias Occidentales del mar océano, y fundacion de la ciudad de Santafé de Bogotá, ...''
lso known as ''El Carnero de Bogotá''(English: Conquest and discovery of the New Kingdom of Granada of the West Indies sea, and foundation of the city of Holy Faith of Bogota). It is a chronicle of history and customs written in 1636-
1638
Events January–March
* January 4
**A naval battle takes place in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Goa in South India as a Netherlands fleet commanded by Admiral Adam Westerwolt decimates the Portuguese fleet.
**A fleet of 80 Spanis ...
(but not published until 1859) by Bogota-born
Juan Rodríguez Freyle.
Contents
''El Carnero'' tells the story of the
Spanish conquest of the Muisca
The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca people, Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andes, Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose M ...
; the early exploration of northern South America and the establishment of the
New Kingdom of Granada, currently Colombia and parts of
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, and the foundation and first century of the city of
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
. Bogotá was the first city of the kingdom to have an established royal audience and a chancellery. It also describes the indigenous peoples that inhabited the region during the conquest, the civil wars between them, and their customs and culture. It details the origin of the myth of ''
El Dorado'', the "Lost City of Gold", depicted in the
Muisca raft
The Muisca raft (''Balsa Muisca'' in Spanish language, Spanish), sometimes referred to as the Golden Raft of El Dorado, is a pre-Columbian Votive offering, votive piece created by the Muisca people, Muisca, an Andean people of Colombia in the Cor ...
; the initiation ritual of the ''
zipa
When the Spain, Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''Zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Funza, Muyquytá. The ''Zaque'' was the ...
'' of the
Muisca Confederation
The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', ''iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andes, Andean highlands of what is today Colombia before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, Spanis ...
.
[Rodríguez Freyle, 1979 (1638), p.18]
The chronicle is intended to be historical, but includes also several fictional elements through short stories. It is generally stated that these short stories are of great importance in the Hispano-American literature movement. ''El Carnero'' is regarded as the most important source for the historical events in the early colonial times of what later would become Colombia; the
Spanish conquest of the Muisca
The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca people, Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andes, Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose M ...
and
other Colombian conquests.
[''El Carnero'' - semilla de nuestro periodismo]
- El Tiempo Researcher Carlos Rey Pereira published his PhD in 2000 about the work, where he assessed the validity of the events described as a mixture of common opinions and rumours. Rodríguez Freyle filled the gaps between two other
early Spanish chroniclers:
Pedro Simón and
Juan de Castellanos. Other critical reviews of the book mention the viewpoint of the writer; child of an
encomendero and conquistador.
[Bost, 1990, p.169]
See also
* List of conquistadors in Colombia
*Spanish conquest of the Muisca
The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca people, Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andes, Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose M ...
*Indigenous peoples in Colombia
Indigenous Colombians (), also known as Native Colombians (), are the ethnic groups who have inhabited Colombia before the Spanish colonization of Colombia, in the early 16th century.
Estimates on the percentage of Colombians who are indigenou ...
* Colombian literature, history of Colombia, history of Bogotá
Notes
References
''El Carnero''
*
Bibliography
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Other works about the conquests
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External links
*
''El Carnero'' manuscript (digitized)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnero, El
Novels published posthumously
1638 novels
1859 novels
19th-century Colombian novels
17th-century books
Novels set in Colombia
Spanish conquest of the Muisca
17th century in Colombia
Spanish-language books