New Publication: The Letters of the Swiss Jesuit Missionary Philipp Segesser

March 26, 2012
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The Department of German Studies is proud to announce the latest publication of Prof. Albrecht Classen. The early history of Sonora/Arizona (Pimería Alta) was profoundly influenced and determined by the Jesuit missionaries from Europe. After Padre Eusebio Kino’s death in 1711, an increasing number of German-speaking Jesuits arrived in our region and soon dominated the entire missionary district. The Swiss Philipp Segesser, one of the most effective, pragmatic, and industrious members of the Jesuit Order active here in the Southwest, has not yet been fully noticed because, until now, his large collection of letters has never been translated into English. Segesser’s reports about his daily life in our region, his insightful observations about local agriculture, fauna, flora, climate, and geology, and his numerous comments about the American Indian lifestyle, clothing, food, hunting habits, religion, and culture at large are a most intriguing and fascinating glimpse into early Arizona history. 

The Letters of the Swiss Jesuit Missionary Philipp Segesser (1689–1762): An Eyewitness to the Settlement of Eighteenth-Century Sonora (Pimería Alta) edited by Prof. Albrecht Classen will be available in August 2012 through the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Publications.