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76. Jefferson's Spanish Library

By Miguel Pérez

​
Jan. 13, 2015 - He was the star of the Founding Fathers, the intellectual architect of our system of government, the author of our Declaration of Independence, our first secretary of state and our third president. He was well-known for his attraction to France. But if you were to ask Thomas Jefferson, he would tell you how important it is for you to learn Spanish.

At least that's what he told his own relatives and friends — persistently!

"With respect to modern languages, French, as I have before observed, is indispensable," Jefferson wrote to his future son-in-law Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. as he advised the young man on his education. "Next to this the Spanish is most important to an American. Our connection with Spain is already important and will become daily more so."

In that 1787 letter, Jefferson also went further than most of his contemporaries in recognizing the pre-British history of North America.

"Besides this," he also wrote to Randolph, "the ancient part of American history is written chiefly in Spanish."

He conveyed almost exactly the same sentiments in another 1787 letter, to his nephew Peter Carr: "Bestow great attention on (Spanish), and endeavor to acquire an accurate knowledge of it. Our future connections with Spain and Spanish America will render that language of valuable acquisition. The ancient history of that part of America, too, is written in that language. I am sending you a dictionary."

Curiously, aside from language books and lessons, Jefferson encouraged everyone to learn Spanish with a bilingual dictionary and a copy of his favorite Spanish novel, "Don Quixote," by Miguel de Cervantes.

In fact, Jefferson claimed that this was how he taught himself to read Spanish in 1784. He also boasted that he did it quite rapidly, by reading a borrowed copy of "Don Quixote" while on a 19-day voyage to France — a claim later questioned by his friend John Quincy Adams.

"As to Spanish," Adams wrote in his journal after having dinner with Jefferson in November 1804, "it was so easy that he had learned it, with the help of a Don Quixote lent him by Mr. Cabot, and a grammar, in the course of a passage to Europe, on which he was but nineteen days at sea. But Mr. Jefferson tells large stories."

Nevertheless, Jefferson's method of learning Spanish must have been effective enough to make him insist on recommending it, especially to his two daughters who were constantly nagged by their father over their required "Don Quixote" readings. When he was away from his family, as if he were a teacher making sure his students did their homework, he would write his daughters letters asking them how much of the novel they had read.

"How many pages a-day do you read in Don Quixot?" he asked in a 1790 letter to his daughter Mary. "How far are you advanced in him?"

When Mary reported that she had not been reading "Don Quixote" every day, Jefferson replied: "Your last told me what you were not doing: that you were not reading Don Quixot. ... I hope your next will tell me what you are doing."

Mary, who was also known as Polly and preferred to be called Maria, was sent to live with her aunt Elizabeth Wayles Eppes when her mother died in 1782.

"She is fond enough of reading and will require no pressing on that head for any thing but her Spanish," Jefferson wrote to Wayles Eppes. "I have insisted on her reading ten pages a day in her Spanish Don Quixot, and getting a lesson in her Spanish grammar."

Knowing that Jefferson sold almost his entire book collection to the federal government — and thus resupplied the Library of Congress after it had been burned by the British in 1814 — the Great Hispanic American History Tour made a stop in Charlottesville, Virginia, based only on the remote chance that "Don Quixote" was one of the books Jefferson had kept in his personal library.

At Monticello, the remarkable mountaintop plantation home that was designed by Jefferson and that now is his burial site and a museum designated a National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you learn to appreciate the genius of our third president. His architectural designs and other innovations demonstrate that he was a man ahead of his time.

My friends and I went on the guided tour, and although everything was fascinating, I couldn't wait to get to the library. "Where is 'Don Quixote'?" I wanted to shout.

And then suddenly, voila! There we were, in Jefferson's library, where the tour guide quickly explained that the shelves are filled mostly with books from Jefferson's time that have been acquired for decorative purposes; most of them aren't from Jefferson's collection — except, he said, for a few books in a small glass-covered bookshelf in a corner.

And before my eyes had time to scan those book titles, the guide explained that among the prominent books still left in Jefferson's library at the time of his death was his personal copy of "Don Quixote," "which is the book Jefferson used to teach himself French."

I couldn't believe my ears. We were in shock. We had found a Spanish treasure in Jefferson's bookshelf, and our Hispanic heritage was being hidden right before our eyes!

My friends and I stared at one another, wondering which one would burst out with laughter or say something harsh. But remarkably, we restrained ourselves until the tour was over. There were a dozen other people in the room, and we didn't want to challenge him and embarrass him.

Besides, they don't like people taking pictures inside the Monticello house, and I had to find a way to take at least one photo of Jefferson's four-volume edition of "Don Quixote" — which I did. It was the least I could do after discovering such a precious treasure.

But then it was my job to seek clarification. "'Don Quixote,' by Miguel de Cervantes, is a Spanish classic, sir," I told him. "And yet you say Jefferson used it to learn French?"

Apologetic and becoming progressively nervous, the guide explained that he had meant to say Spanish instead of French and that the books we had seen in a glass-covered bookshelf were indeed in Spanish. He left us abruptly, excusing himself to go lead another tour, but he also left us wondering how many tours had been misguided and how often our Hispanic heritage had been hidden this way.

At a time when English-only proponents are apparently threatened by other languages, it's good to remember that Jefferson and other Founding Fathers actually prided themselves on their command of several languages and urged educated citizens to study them and become multilingual.

In fact, Jefferson, who spoke several languages and was a strong proponent multilingual education, envisioned a North America that should be at least bilingual. "Apply yourself to the study of the Spanish language with all the assiduity you can," he wrote in a letter to Carr in 1788. "It and the English covering nearly the whole face of America, they should be well known to every inhabitant, who means to look beyond the limits of his farm."

And in yet another letter (1785) to Carr, he had advice that should be heeded by today's politicians: "When you become a public man, you may have occasion for (Spanish), and the circumstance of your possessing that language, may give you preference over other candidates."

In his writings, Jefferson made references to Quixotic enterprises and becoming a Don Quixote "to bring all men by force of argument, to one opinion."

But it is easy to see why Jefferson was so attracted to the story of Don Quixote and Don Quixote's squire, Sancho Panza, especially when they discussed the importance of freedom and independence. I can just imagine the spirited sparkle on Jefferson's face when — with the help of a dictionary — he first translated these words of Don Quixote's: "Freedom, Sancho, is one of the most precious boons that the heavens bestow upon man. All the treasures hidden in land or sea cannot equal it."

In Thomas Jefferson, very early in the life of the new American nation, we had a leader who appreciated multilingualism and multiculturalism, who understood the importance of learning Spanish, who recognized that America was Spanish before it was British and who was obviously influenced by great Spanish literature.

The Great Hispanic American History Tour made the right decision when we decided to stop at his house.

With much ground still left to cover, our history tour will continue for the next few months — although at a slower pace. For the next few months, while this tour guide returns to his teaching career, the journey will make monthly stops instead of weekly stops. My weekly column with Creators Syndicate will now become a monthly feature, continuing to tour the country in search of our hidden Hispanic heritage. Return trips to Florida, New Mexico and California — as well as a book on the entire journey — will be realized.

But in the next few months, I will be posting many more of the tour's photos and videos at http://www.hiddenhispanicheritage.com, where my readers and I will continue building a timeline and these history columns will also be published in Spanish.

Next month, the Great Hispanic American History Tour goes to Washington, D.C., where there is enough hidden Hispanic heritage for several columns. Stay tuned!

COPYRIGHT 2015 CREATORS.COM
Miguel Perez with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello
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Thomas Jefferson
Miguel Perez with Thomas Jefferson
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Miguel Perez at Monticello
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                   CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS

1. Our Pre-Mayflower Thanksgivings
Nuestros Días de Acción de Gracias Pre-Mayflower
               
2. A Tale of Two Cities
                 
3. Our Pre-Hispanic Heritage
              

4. The Black Legend Returns

4. La Leyenda Negra Regresa
                
5. Even on HBO, The Black Legend Lives
                   
6. Our Spanish Heritage
                     
7. Exalted or Offended?
                    
8. We are all 'Americanos'
                  
9. Latinos are Failing
                  
10. Hispanic, Columbus or Indigenous Day?
10. 
™Dia Hispano, De Colon o Indigena?
                   
11. Two Good Places to Rest
11. Dos buenos lugares para descansar
                  
12. Whitman's Prophetic Letter
12. La Carta Profética de Whitman
                  
13. America’s Cradle
13. La Cuna de America
                 
14. Our Quincentennial is Coming!

14. ´Nuestro Quinto Centenario Se Avecina!
                   
15. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 29
                
16. A Time To Welcome the Spirits
                  
17. A Hispanic Christmas
17. Una Navidad Hispana
                  
18. JOSE MARTI:
     His Legacy Lives Here
     Su Legado Vive Aquí 
                
19. Hyphenated and Proud!
                   
20. Politicizing Education

21. Speak Any Spanish Lately?
              
22. Happy Three Kings Day!
22. ​
´Feliz Día de Reyes!
               
23. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 29

24. A Long-Overdue Museum
                 
25. America's First Christmas was celebrated in Spanish
25. La Primera Navidad Americana fue celebrada en español

26. The Grand Canyon
and the Bucket List
 Of Hispanic Heritage
26. El Gran Canyon
y la Lista de Lugares de la Herencia Hispana

                  
27. Now That Fiesta Month Is Here,
Can We Talk About Heritage?

27. Ahora que el mes de fiesta hispana esta aquí,

​™Podemos hablar de nuestra herencia?
                  
28. Our Hispanic Heritage: On Exhibit and Yet Hidden
28. Nuestra Herencia Hispana: En Exhibición y Sin Embargo Oculta

29. Florida's Birthday Should Be a National Holiday

             
30. A Local Celebration that Should be National               

31. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 30               
​

32. The Conveniently 'Forgotten War'
32. La Guerra Convenientemente Olvidada

33. Guantanamo Has a History  June 4, 2013

34. Exposing the Social Media Bigots  June 18, 2013
34. Exponiendo a los Intolerantes
     de los Medios Sociales June 18, 2013

35. Thinking of Cusi On the Fourth of July
35. Pensando en Cusi en el Cuatro de Julio

36. The Discovery of White Hispanics
36.  El Descubrimiento de los Hispanos Blancos

37. Let's Build a Timeline Of Hispanic-American History
37. Vamos a Construir una Cronología
     De la Historia Hispanoamericana

38. In the Name of Heritage
38. En el Nombre de la Herencia

39. Hispanics or Latinos?
39. ™Hispanos o Latinos?

40.  Hollywood's Hidden Hispanic Heritage
40. La Herencia Hispana Oculta en Hollywood

41. Obliviously Living in ‘The Land of Estevan Gomez’
41. Viviendo Inconscientemente
       En la ‘Tierra de Estevan Gómez’

42. Marking America's Birthplace
42. Marcando el Lugar de Nacimiento De Estados Unidos

43. Hispanics in Denial Should Be Infamous
43. Los Hispanos en Rechazo Deben Ser Infames

44. 
Gay Marriage's Hidden American History
      Started in Spanish
 CABEZA DE VACA'S JOURNEY
44. La Historia Oculta del Matrimonio Gay
      En América Comenzó en Español
        EL VIAJE DE CABEZA DE VACA​

45. Super Bowl Coke Commercial
       Draws Out Ugly Americans

45. Comercial de Coke en Super Bowl
     Hace Relucir a los Americanos Feos


46. 
The 'Discovery' of Self-Loathing Hispanics
46. El ‘Descubrimiento' de los
     Hispanos que se Auto Desprecian


THE GREAT HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TOUR 
June 2014 - January 2015


47. My Pilgrimage to San Xavier
47. Mi Peregrinaje a San Xavier

48. The Great Hispanic American History Tour
48. La Gran Gira por la Historia Hispanoamericana

49. On the Trail of Conquistadors
49. En el Camino de los Conquistadores

50. Beyond St. Augustine
50. Más Allá de San Agustín

51. A Hidden Hispanic Role Model
51. Un Modelo Hispano Oculto

52. The Hispanic Flank of the American Revolution
52. El Flanco Hispano de la Revolucion Americana
​

53. New Orleans Has a Spanish ‘Ne Sais Quoi’
53. Nueva Orleans Tiene Un ‘Ne Sais Quoi’ Español

54. Galveston: Still the Isle of Misfortune?

55. Extracting Compacted History
     Unveils Hidden Hispanic Heritage

56. 'Remember The Alamo' Was a Spanish Mission

57. San Antonio: The Showcase Of Our Hispanic Heritage

58. There Was Compassion On the Spanish Mission Trail

59. A Hidden Latina Role Model

60. Time Portals on the Road

61. The First Thanksgiving
     In the (Southwest) United States

62. The World's Biggest Statue
of a Nameless Horseback Rider


63. A River Runs Through Our Hispanic Heritage

64. A Beacon of Hope On a Border Mountaintop

65. A Mexican-American Town
65. Un Pueblo Mexico-Americano

66. The Crossroads of Conquistadors

67. Hiking In Search of Coronado's Trail

68. The Real American Pioneers

69. Keeping My Pledge to San Xavier

70. If They Knew Arizona's History,
     They Wouldn't Be So Xenophobic

71. 'Tucson' is a Spanish Adaptation

72. Under a Utah Lake, Hispanic Heritage Lives

73. A Hilltop View Of Hispanic Heritage

74. Searching for Coronado's Quivira

75. The Spanish Savior of St. Louis

76. 
Jefferson's Spanish Library

WASHINGTON, D.C.
February-June 2015

77. When Galvez Came to Congress
77. Cuando Gálvez Vino al Congreso


78. A Tour of Our Extraordinarily Hispanic U.S. Capitol

79. Searching for Not-S0-Hidden
Hispanic Heritage in Washington, DC


80. Smithsonian Omits Hispanics In U.S. History Exhibit
80. Smithsonian Omite a los Hispanos
     en Exhibición de Historia de EE.UU.
MIAMI - August 2015
​
81. Finding Dad in a Museum
81. Encontre a Mi Padre en un Museo


​CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP - 2018
82. International Friendship Park ​at U.S.-Mexico Border
​- A Jagged Corner of the World


83. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
​
84. Cabrillo National Monument

85. ​It took more than 2 centuries

86. Presidio Park: The Birthplace
of the Spanish Colonization of California


87. Junípero Serra Museum Transcends the Story of a Great Man

88. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá:
California's First Spanish Mission


89. Old Mission (Padre) Dam: California's First Aqueduct

90. Even at the beach in San Diego, you can't avoid Spanish history

91. Chicano Park: Mexican-American ​painted under highway ramps

92. Balboa Park: Candy for your eyes amid a painful controversy!

93. San Diego: An American Town
Named After the Saint from Alcalá

93. San Diego: Un Pueblo Americano
Lleva el Nombre del Santo de Alcalá


94. San Luis Rey de Francia: The King of the California Missions
94. San Luis Rey de Francia: ​El Rey de las Misiones de California

95. San Antonio de Pala:
A Sub-Mission to Reach
 the Natives of the Interior
95. San Antonio de Pala:
Una Asistencia para Alcanzar los Nativos del Interior

96. San Juan Capistrano:
The Home of the Mission Swallows
 from Argentina
96. San Juan Capistrano:
El Hogar de las Golondrinas Desaparecidas ​de Argentina

97. San Gabriel Arcángel: A Mission that Launched Cities
97. San Gabriel Arcángel: Una Misión Que Lanzó Ciudades

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanics had to be imported

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanos tuvieron que sen importados


99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
A Walk through Mexican-American History

99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
Un Paseo por la historia 
​mexicoamericana


100. Strolling the Hispanic Walk of Fame
​100. Caminando por el Paseo Hispano de la Fama

101. San Fernando Rey de España Teaches
California's Colonial History

101. ​​San Fernando Rey de España Enseña
la historia colonial de California


​102. Mission San Buenaventura Survived Earthquakes and Pirates
102. Misión San Buenaventura Sobrevivió Terremotos y Piratas

​103. Father Serra Cross: On a hill,
​overlooking ​the land he shepherded

​103. La Cruz del Padre Serra: En una colina,
​con vistas a la tierra que pastoreaba


104. The Birthplace of Santa Barbara
104. El Lugar de Nacimiento de Santa Barbara

105. The Queen of the Spanish Missions
105. La Reina de las Misiones Españolas

106. Mission Santa Ines: Built to relieve other overcrowded missions
106. Misión Santa Inés: Construida para aliviar otras misiones superpobladas

107. Mission La Purísima Concepcion:
​Going back in time ​to Spanish California

107. Mision La Purísima Concepción:
Retrocediendo en ​el tiempo a la California española


XXX. Saluting an exile: ​Father Félix Varela
XXX. The Meaning of 'Sotomayor'
SPECIAL SECTIONS
• Great (pro-Hispanic) Americans
​
• 16th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 17th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 18th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
​
• Spanish-American expeditions before Jamestown
• NYC ​Hispanic Landmarks
• NYC Hispanic Art
• Do You Know/Sabes?
• Garita Art
​
• Do You Speak Spanglish?
HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TIMELINE
​1513 Ponce de Leon Discovers North America, Names Her 'Florida'

April 22, 1513 ​Alaminos discovers the Gulf Stream

1517 De Cordoba, wounded in Yucatan, stops in Florida

1518 Grijalva Reaches Galveston Island

1519 De Pineda confirms Florida ​is not an island​

1521 Ponce de Leon Returns to Florida, Falls Mortally Wounded

1524-25 Estevan Gomez Explores North America's East Coast

1526 Ayllón lands in S.C., settles in Georgia


1528 Narváez expedition succumbs to storms and natives

1528-36 Cabeza de Vaca treks across North America

1537-42 Cabeza de Vaca Returns to Spain, Writes 'La Relación'

1539 De Niza Searches for Golden Cities of Cibola
​

1539-42 De Soto celebrates first American Christmas

1540 Hernando de Alarcon Reaches California

1540-42 Coronado Explores the Southwest,
Cardenas Discovers ​the Grand Canyon


1542-43  ​Cabrillo explores California coast​

1559 De Luna Builds Santa Maria de Ochuse​


1565 Pedro Menendez de Avilés Establishes San Agustin

1566 Santa Elena Built in South Carolina

1598 ​Juan de Oñate Explores New Mexico

1602 Sebastian Vizcaino ​explores the West Coast

1610 Pedro de Peralta establishes Santa Fe

1610-26 The Birth of San Miguel, oldest church in the U.S.A.

1613 Juan Rodriguez becomes the first Manhattan immigrant

1633 Misión San Luis de Apalachee is born in Tallahassee

​1682 San Antonio de la Ysleta becomes first mission in Texas

1691 Father Eusebio Kino builds Tumacácori and Guevavi

1692 ​Father Kino builds San Xavier del Bac 

1692 Diego de Vargas leads ​'Bloodless Reconquest" of Santa Fe

1695 Castillo de San Marcos ​Completed in St. Augustine

1718 Mission San Antonio de Valero is born
​- long before it became The Alamo
​

1738 Runaway slaves establish Fort Mose,
​the first free African-American community​


​1738 Francisco Menendez Leads Fort Mose

1742 Spanish Soldiers ​Open Fort Matanzas

1752 Spanish Soldiers Build Presidio de Tubac

1763 Spanish Florida Goes to England

1765 Juan Antonio Maria de Rivera ​explores ​Colorado and Utah
​
1769 
Father Serra opens ​San Diego de Alcalá,
California's first ​Spanish mission


1771 Father Serra establishes San Gabriel Arcángel

1772 Good hunting determines site
​of ​Misión San Luis Obispo de Tolosa


1775 Captain Hugh O’Connor
​builds Presidio San Agustin del Tucson


​1776-83 Hispanics in the American Revolution

1776 The Birth of San Francisco

1781 Spanish troops defeat the British, capture Pensacola

1781 Pobladores of Los Angeles are imported

1791 ​Alessandro Malaspina Alaska Reaches Alaska

1797 Fermín Francisco de Lasuén
Establishes Misión San Fernando Rey de España


1797 The Birth of Villa de Branciforte

Herencia Hispana Oculta de America:
La Lista de Lugares, Ideas, y Evidencia Historica para Reconectár a los Americanos con sus Raíces Hispanas

Picture
America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage:
The Bucket List of Places, Ideas and Historical Evidence to Reconnect Americans with their  Hispanic Roots
  • HOME
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  • ON THE ROAD AGAIN
  • EN EL CAMINO OTRA VEZ
  • OUR MEDALLIONS SAGA