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Eusebio Kino

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    (August 10, 1645-March 15, 1711)
    Born in Segno, Bishopric of Trent, Holy Roman Empire
    Eusebio Francisco Kino
    Birth name was Eusebius Chinus
    Italian Jesuit
    Nicknamed 'The Padre on Horseback'
    Also a reputed geographer, explorer, map-maker and astronomer
    Worked as a missionary in the Pimería Alta region (present-day Sonora and southern Arizona)
    Founder of The San Xavier del Bac Mission
    Credited with establishing 24 missions and country chapels/visiting stations, by the time of his death
    Credited with drawing the first accurate maps of Primeria Alta, the Gulf of California, and Baja California
    Died at Mission Magdalena in Sonora, Mexico in March of 1711; interred at the Magdalena de Kino crypt, where his bones are on display
    Written work, 'Favores celestiales' (1708) was later translated into English as the two-volume 'Kino's Historical Memoir of Pimería Alta,' in 1919

Why he might be annoying:

    He is confused with Father Junipero Serra.
    He originally wanted to be transported to the Orient, instead of New Spain.
    He missed his boat destined for Mexico due to travel delays and had to wait a whole year for another ship to transport him.
    He was deemed unusually wealthy for his trade (especially by his colleague missionaries).
    He mistakenly believed that the Sonoran desert was seafaring territory, and spent considerable time designing/building a boat to transport him to the Californian west coast.
    After his death, his successor at the Tumacacori mission, Father Liberos, returned to Spain when Mexico gained her independence. The outpost would never again have a resident priest.
    He generally turns up as a token in apology texts; as a redeeming factor in the Spanish government's destructive policies toward the Indian people.
    His last name was lent to the indigenous protagonist in John Steinbeck's 'Pearl' novel, most likely as a reminder of Colonial Spain's lingering presence.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Herbert Bolton called him 'Arizona's first rancher.'
    He vocally opposed the enslavement of the Indian population.
    He was known for being a key mediator between the Pima and Apache tribes.
    One of his written works became the basis of a poem by Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz.
    He proved that Lower California was a peninsula (not an island as was commonly believed).
    His 1705 map of the area surrounding the Rio Grande, Colorado, and Gila rivers remained the standard reference for the southwestern desert region for over a century.
    During one occasion, while he was traveling the 1500 miles back to his Mission Delores, he was assaulted by a Jacomes rebel Indian who attempted to kill him (he was saved only by a bodyguard who threw himself before the blade).
    He taught the Indians agriculture and animal husbandry, supplying the new settlements with food and livelihood.
    He is the namesake for the popular Mexican wine, Padre Kino, in reference to his introduction of the imported Zinfandel grape to the area.
    His account of the Great Comet of 1680 (Kirch's Comet), and his charting its course over the course of his travels, remained valuable in the field of astronomy.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 17 Votes: 70.59% Annoying