Maximilian Uhland alled Father Bernardino de San José(c. 1475 near

Crefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

– 1538 in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

) was a German

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

Biography

He became a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

, and, being assigned to the American missions, went to

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

in 1520 with the newly appointed Bishop

Alessandro Geraldini Alessandro Geraldini (''also Gerardini or Gueraldini''; 1455 – March 8, 1524) was a Renaissance humanist scholar at the Spanish court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He is known for his support of Christopher Columbus. He served as tu ...

. After learning the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

language, he was attached to a mission in the interior, but as he opposed the policy of the conquerors, which brought about the depopulation of the island, he was ordered to leave the country, and went to New Spain in 1526. There he was appointed guardian of the newly founded convent of Santiago de Tlatelolco, but subsequently he was sent to labor in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. In 1535 he was a member of the commission headed by Father

Domingo Betanzos Domingo Betanzos (c. 1480 - 14 September 1549) was a Spanish Dominican missionary to New Spain, who participated in the "Spiritual Conquest", evangelizing the indigenous. Life Betanzos was born around 1480 in the city of León, Spain. He graduat ...

which laid before

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

the wretched condition of the Indians. Uhland, who was a Latinist of reputation, was instructed to speak before the congregation of the propaganda, and induced the pope to issue his celebrated bull entitled “

Veritas Ipsa ''Sublimis Deus'' (English: ''The sublime God''; erroneously cited as ''Sublimus Dei'') is a Papal bull promulgated by Pope Paul III on June 2, 1537, which forbids the enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the Americas (called "Indians of the ...

,” This for a time improved the condition of the Indians, but the prompters of the bull were never forgiven by the Spanish authorities, and Uhland, to avoid persecution, on his return to Mexico did not leave his convent until his death. He left a valuable manuscript, which is preserved in the

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, entitled “Historia de la fundación de la provincia de Santiago de Tlaltelolco.”

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Uhland, Maximilian 1475 births 1538 deaths German Roman Catholic missionaries German emigrants to Mexico Roman Catholic missionaries in the Dominican Republic Roman Catholic missionaries in Haiti Roman Catholic missionaries in New Spain