Cardiel, José
CARDIEL, JOSÉ
Missionary and geographer of Paraguay; b. La Guardia, Spain, March 18, 1704; d. Faenza, Italy, Dec. 6,1781. He entered the Jesuit Society on April 8, 1720, and was already a priest when he arrived in Buenos Aires in 1729. Two years later he was sent to the Guaraní Reductions (see reductions of paraguay.) He took part in various attempts to establish new missions among the Mocoví, Abipón, Charrua, Pampa, and Serrano tribes, and also explored the Patagonian Coast. In 1768 he was deported to Italy, where he lived until his death, preparing studies and maps for the history and geography of Paraguay. His cartographic work has been almost completely reproduced and analyzed by G. Furlong (Cartografía jesuítica del Río de la Plata, 2 v. Buenos Aires 1936). Cardiel's most important writings are Carta-relación (1747), Declaración de la verdad (1758), and Breve relación (1771).
Bibliography: g. furlong, José Cardiel, S.J., y su Cartarelación (1747) (Buenos Aires 1953).
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