Kino, Eusebio Francisco
c.1644
Segno in Tyrol, Austria (now Italy)
March 15, 1711
Mission at Santa Magdalena
Jesuit missionary and explorer
"He died as he had lived, with extreme humility and poverty."
Kino's companion Luis Verde.
Eusebio Francisco Kino was a pioneering seventeenth-century Jesuit missionary. He was also an explorer, mathematician, mapmaker, astronomer, and businessman. In 1665 Kino joined the Jesuits to train as a missionary. (Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order for men founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola. They are dedicated to academic study and the establishment of foreign missions and schools.) Three years later he participated in an expedition to establish Spanish settlements in Mexico. Beginning in 1687, he spent almost twenty-five years in Primería Alta (the area that is now northern Mexico and southern Arizona), building missions and exploring the southwestern region of North America. His explorations led to the return of the Jesuits to the present-day Baja Peninsula of California in 1697. Kino was also responsible for establishing ranching as a viable economic enterprise in Primería Alta.
Establishes Settlements
Eusebio Francisco Kino was born in 1644 in Segno in the Austrian province of Tyrol (now Italy). He was baptized onAugust 10 the following year. As a young man, Kino received a good education. At a time when many people could not read or write, he studied at the universities of Inglostadt and Freiburg, where he showed an aptitude for mathematics. Although he was offered a professorship in mathematics at the University of Inglostadt, Kino had already decided his future was with the Roman Catholic Church. In 1665 he joined the Jesuits in order to become a missionary. Kino also continued studying mathematics in hopes of someday going to China.
Although it had been his dream for many years to go to China, Kino was sent to Mexico. After going to Cadíz, Spain, in 1678, he sailed on to Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1681. At the time, Spain had decided to establish settlements in Baja California. The responsibility for this enterprise fell to the Jesuits, and Kino was selected to be one of two missionaries sent to California in 1683. Kino and his party spent two years exploring the region and making frequent reports. When a drought forced the cancellation of the enterprise in 1685, Kino was sent to Primería Alta.
Establishes Missions, Explores Southwest
After arriving in Primería Alta in March 1687, Kino spent his time living and traveling among the Yuma and Pima Indians. As yet there were no European settlers in the area and he explored the region, built missions, and attended to his religious duties. Moving from his previous mission at the town of Cucurpe, he founded the mission of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores. Kino remained at Dolores from 1687 until 1711, from that location establishing missions in the Santa Cruz, San Miguel, Magdelena, San Pedro, Sonóita, and Altar river valleys. Some of these missions eventually grew into modern-day towns and cities. For instance, in April 1700 hefounded San Xavier del Bac, which is now Tucson, Arizona.
Kino did more than direct the building of missions. He also led explorations that pushed as far north as the Gila and Colorado Rivers and which ultimately led to the return of the Jesuits to the Baja Peninsula of California in 1697. Up until this time the area was believed to be an island, but Kino confirmed that it was actually a peninsula and could therefore be reached and explored by land. Kino traveled thousands of miles on horseback, sometimes with Europeans and other times with Native Americans. In 1695 he rode to Mexico City, taking 53 days to make the 1,500-mile journey.
Establishes Ranching as a Business
Kino was also a skilled businessman. He is credited with introducing ranching as a viable economic enterprise in Primería Alta. The older missions had supplied him with a few animals, but he went on to establish cattle ranches in at least six river valleys in northern Mexico. The missions bred cattle, horses, mules, and sheep. The animals not only fed Native Americans but also enabled the missions to be financially self-sufficient. This was an important factor because it meant that the missions could survive regardless of what was happening politically and economically in Spain. In addition, it allowed Kino to develop new missions without relying on help from anybody else. For example, when creating San Xavier del Bac he was able to send along seven hundred animals—a large herd for the time. He also originated the idea of building a road around the head of the Gulf of Mexico in order to shorten thewater route for shipping livestock. One historian has credited Kino with establishing the cattle industry in at least twenty places where it still exists today, including Tucson.
A Jesuit missionary, like Eusebio Francisco Kino, preaching to Native Americans in Texas. Reproduced by permission of The Granger Collection.Remains Devout to the End
Kino seems to have exemplified the simplicity and faith that marked the most devout Jesuits. He took his vows ofpoverty seriously, owning few possessions, and he ate and slept sparingly. He was unafraid to die, secure in his belief in the promise of salvation (forgiveness of sins). He died on March 15, 1711, during a visit to dedicate a chapel at the mission of Santa Magdalena. Luis Velarde, Kino's companion for the last eight years of his life, wrote: "He died as he had lived, with extreme humility and poverty. In token of this, during his last illness he did not undress. His deathbed, as his bed had always been, consisted of two calfskins for a mattress, two blankets such as the Indians use for covers, and a pack-saddle for a pillow."
A Man of Many Talents
In addition to being a Jesuit missionary, Eusebio Kino was a man of many talents and abilities. For instance, his proficiency in mathematics won him the position of royal astronomer (a person who specializes in the study of space) and mapmaker. As an astronomer he published Exposición Astronómica de el Cometa (Astronomical Exposition of the Comet), a book about the comet of 1680, which he had observed while in Càdiz, Spain. He was also a noted explorer. After leading the Jesuits back to present-day Baja California in 1697, Kino discovered that the area was a peninsula rather than an island. His map of the region became quite popular and was published several times in Europe.
Spain Needs California
When Eusebio Francisco Kino arrived in North America in 1681, Spain had already claimed present-day California but had not yet explored the land. By that time, mapping and settling the territory had become crucial. The Spanish conquest of the Philippines in the 1650s had opened trade between Mexico and Manila across the Pacific Ocean. But the present route from Mexico to the Philippines skirted California because ships had to avoid dangerous currents. Moreover, English and Dutch pirates (people who rob ships and the land from the sea) lay in wait, hoping to plunder rich Spanish ships. Spain therefore needed a harbor on the coast so the voyage would be safer and more direct. The Spanish government also wanted to take advantage of the abundant pearl fishing in California waters. Yet, earlier in the century the Spaniards had alienated Native American tribes in the Southwest, so no permanent Spanish settlements had been built. Kino's party was sent to explore the area, befriend the Native Americans, and establish missions.
For Further Research
Bolton, Herbert Eugene. Kino's Historical Memoir of Primería Alta, Volume 1. Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark, 1919.
"Eusebio Kino, S.J." http://www.library.arizona.edu/images/s wf/kino.html Available July 13, 1999.
Johnson, Allen, and others, ed. Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Scribner, 1946–1958, pp. 419–20.
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