Martin Schmid

• Illustration — Kirche von San Ignacio de Velasco, Bolivia • Illustration — Altar in the Church of San Miguel de Velasco, Bolivia • Illustration — Confessional in the Church of San Miguel de Velasco, Bolivia; in memory of Martin Schmid • Illustration — Baptized Chiquitos drawn by Alcide d'Orbigny 1831 • Illustration — Front of the Church of San Javier, Bolivia • Illustration — Church of Concepción, Bolivia Martin Schmid was born in Baar, Switzerland. He was educated at the Jesuit College in Lucerne from 1710 to 1716. In 1717 he entered the Society of Jesus. His novitiate training was in Landsberg an der Lech, with subsequent theological studies in Hall in Tirol and in Ingolstadt in 1722. After he was ordained in 1726 Eichstätt to the priesthood, he obtained permission to travel as a missionary to Latin America. The trip was delayed by the Anglo-Spanish War forcing him to remain in Seville. While he was there, he improved his Spanish. At the same time, he helped to translate the history of the tribe of the Chiquitos of Juan Patricio Fernández into the German language - Erbauliche und angenehme Geschichte der Chiquitos, und andrer... neu-bekehrten Völcker, Vienna 1729, which translates as An Edifying and Enjoyable History of the Chiquitos, and of Other...Newly-converted People. At the end of 1728 his journey to South America commenced. The crossing from Tenerife to Buenos Aires took more than three months. The missionaries needed eight more months to go inland and reach Potosí, Bolivia. Here Schmid was selected, along with three other Jesuits, to evangelize the Chiquitos. In August 1730, he finally reached the mission area of the Chiquitos.

Schmid spent his first ten years between 1730 and 1740 in San Javier, Bolivia, part of the Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos. These missions featured houses for the natives spaced along three sides of a rectangle; the fourth side contained the church, workshops and schools. The churches were based upon European architecture adapted to local conditions. Besides his work as a priest, he began to build a music school. He taught the indigenous people to recreate European musical instruments. He also helped to establish a variety of workshops, and introduced several crafts which laid the foundations of later construction activities. In 1744, he sent his first letter home from the Jesuit Reductions settlement of San Rafael de Velasco. Here Schmid established the first of his jungle churches. In 1749 he returned to San Javier, to try to establish a similar church. In 1752 he undertook the construction of the church in Concepción, Bolivia. In other mission villages in the Chiquitanía region additional structures were built under his leadership. Wood-carved baroque altars were created in San Miguel de Velasco and San Ignacio de Velasco. How much involvement Schmid or his staff had in the preparation and decoration of the other churches in the ten villages of Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos, is uncertain.

Schmid spent his last years in San Miguel de Velasco and in San Ignacio de Velasco, where he was, along with his fellow brother Johann Mesner (1703–68), entrusted with manufacturing and gilding the altars. In 1767, the Jesuits of San Ignacio received an order of expulsion by King Charles III of Spain. The 73-year-old Schmid was hoping he would not be affected by the eviction because of his age. Nonetheless, in 1768 he had to start the arduous journey home. With other deportees he crossed the Andes up to Arica, Chile, by mule. From there he traveled by boat, via Lima, to Panama. He then proceeded via Cartagena, Colombia, to Havana, and finally reached Cádiz, Spain in 1769. After a 15-month detention in El Puerto de Santa María he was allowed to leave Spain. In mid-November 1770 he arrived in Augsburg. In the spring of 1771, Schmid returned to his home in Switzerland. He spent more than one year at the Jesuit College of Lucerne. He died there aged 77, and was buried at the Jesuit Church of Lucerne.

Besides his work as a missionary, Martin Schmid made a significant contribution to the enculturation of the Chiquitos Indians. With the introduction of European music, and the manufacturing of musical instruments, he has had a major, long-term influence on their musical culture. He may have helped to impart knowledge of craftsmanship and agriculture. With the creation of a dictionary, he contributed to the writing system and the conservation of the Chiquitano language. However, arguably his most enduring achievements were his churches and their interior decoration. These churches, and the churches of his students, in: San Javier, Concepción, Santa Ana de Velasco, San Miguel de Velasco, San Rafael de Velasco, and San José were listed by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites in 1990. With his letters Schmid left a cultural history heritage.

• Dictionary of the Chiquitano language (German); Library La Paz (Bolivia). • Musical compositions in the music archive in Concepción (Bolivia).

Martin Schmid is recorded with the occupation master builder. Recorded as architect, composer, master builder and missionary.