Tomás de Suria
Encyclopedia
Tomás de Suría was a Spanish artist and explorer. He accompanied Alessandro Malaspina
during his expedition to the Pacific States
of the United States from 1789 to 1795.
in April of 1761. He studied at the Royal Art Academy of San Fernando and accompanied his teacher Jerónimo Antonio Gil to Mexico at age seventeen. He married in 1788 and lived in Mexico City where he worked in the mint of the engraving office.
With his wife's approval, he volunteered to join the Malaspina Expedition
and successfully negotiated the maintenance of his salary, travel expenses, suitable lodgings and continuance of his seniority when he returned to work. Suría joined Malaspina on the Descubierta
on March 27, 1791, at age 30.
, and naturalist Thaddäus Haenke
from Prague
. Haenke was a Bohemian Ph.D. with remarkable facilities as a linguist, musician, physician, mineralogist, botanist, and chemist. The two astronomers, Ciriaco Zevallos and José Espinosa y Tello, are immortalized in the places names for the Vancouver Island
town of Zeballos and the nearby Espinoza Inlet.
Another artist on the expedition was José Cardero
, a cabin boy
from Ecija in southern Spain. Malaspina had originally hired two Spanish artists, José del Pozo of Sevilla and José Guío of Madrid, but the latter had limited himself to scientific drawings and was in poor health. The former was dismissed in Peru where he opened an art studio. Cardero, known as Little Pepe, showed increasing skill, but Malaspina wrote to the Viceroyalty in Mexico City
, requesting two more artists to be sent from Spain. Malaspina ended up taking aboard the Mexican engraver Tomás de Suría as a temporary measure.
The journal kept by de Suría was the only private diary of the voyage. Suría wasn't allowed access to authorized accounts to check his facts, but his reportage provides a candid counterpoint to the reportage of Malaspina. Suría describes his first day at Nootka. "The first thing they asked for was shells with the word 'pachitle conchi', alternating this with saying 'Hispania Nutka' and then words which meant alliance and friendship. We were astonished to hear out of their mouths Latin words such as Hispania, but we concluded that perhaps that had learned this word in their trading with Englishmen..."
At Nootka Sound
he described the Spanish practice of trading guns for children who were slaves of Maquinna
, ostensibly to baptize them and save them from cannibalism
. "There was one among them whom the sailors called Primo... He told us that he had been destined to be a victim and to be eaten by Chief Macuina together with many others, and that this custom was practiced with the younger prisoners of war
, as well as in the ceremonies which were used in such a detestable and horrible sacrifice."
Mozina described the approach of Spanish sailors in a longboat. These were soldiers who had arrived on the frigate Concepción from San Blas
, commanded by Don Pedro Alberni, after whom the town Port Alberni is named. After completing his service in Nootka Sound with the Catalonian Volunteers in New Spain
, Alberni became interim governor of California
, where he died in 1803.
The original Suría journal is kept at Yale University
Library. An English translation was made by the Hispanist scholar Henry Raup Wagner in 1936 for the Pacific Historical Review. This version was translated back into Spanish by Justino Fernández for a short book with added biographical details in 1939. A master's thesis on Suría was completed by Agueda Jiménez Palayo of Guadalajara in 1972, under the direction of Donald C. Cutter.
Upon the expedition's return to Acapulco from Alaska and British Columbia
, Suría was given another eight months to prepare his drawings. These were forwarded to Spain. Although Suría's work gained the approval of Malaspina, his rewards were minimal. He remained in his former job as an engraver until his superior Gil died in 1798, whereupon Suría held the position of chief engraver until 1806. He produced some religious art
in his later years and died in 1844. Most of his original sketches for Malaspina are in the Museo Naval.
Alessandro Malaspina
Alessandro Malaspina was an Italian nobleman who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer and explorer...
during his expedition to the Pacific States
Pacific States
The Pacific States form one of the nine geographic divisions within the United States that are officially recognized by that country's census bureau. There are five states in this division — Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington — and, as its name suggests, they all have...
of the United States from 1789 to 1795.
Early life
Suría was born in Valencia, SpainValencia (city in Spain)
Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...
in April of 1761. He studied at the Royal Art Academy of San Fernando and accompanied his teacher Jerónimo Antonio Gil to Mexico at age seventeen. He married in 1788 and lived in Mexico City where he worked in the mint of the engraving office.
With his wife's approval, he volunteered to join the Malaspina Expedition
Malaspina Expedition
The Malaspina Expedition was a scientific exploration that took place during a five-year voyage around the globe, commanded by Alessandro Malaspina and José de Bustamante y Guerra. Although the expedition receives its name from Malaspina, he always insisted on giving Bustamante an equal share of...
and successfully negotiated the maintenance of his salary, travel expenses, suitable lodgings and continuance of his seniority when he returned to work. Suría joined Malaspina on the Descubierta
Descubierta and Atrevida
The Descubierta and Atrevida were twin corvettes of the Spanish Navy, custom-designed as identical special exploration and scientific research vessels . Both ships were built at the same time for the Malaspina Expedition...
on March 27, 1791, at age 30.
Malaspina expedition
Other members of the Malaspina expedition included chief scientist Antonio Piñeda, the French-born botanist Luis NéeLuis Née
Luis Née was a Franco-Spanish botanist, who accompanied the Malaspina expedition to the Pacific Ocean coasts of North America and Australia.He described many new plants, including the Coast Live Oak, which he discovered in California....
, and naturalist Thaddäus Haenke
Thaddäus Haenke
Thaddäus Xaverius Peregrinus Haenke was a geographer and explorer in South America.-Biography:Thaddaeus Haenke was born of ethnic German extraction in the Bohemian village of Kreibnitz , near the Sudeten Mountains in 1761...
from Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. Haenke was a Bohemian Ph.D. with remarkable facilities as a linguist, musician, physician, mineralogist, botanist, and chemist. The two astronomers, Ciriaco Zevallos and José Espinosa y Tello, are immortalized in the places names for the Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
town of Zeballos and the nearby Espinoza Inlet.
Another artist on the expedition was José Cardero
José Cardero
José Cardero was a Spanish draughtsman and artist. He was born in 1766 in Écija, Spain. He is most remembered for his work on the expedition of Alessandro Malaspina and the related expedition of Dionisio Alcalá Galiano. During the Galiano voyage Cordero Channel was named in his honor...
, a cabin boy
Cabin boy
A Cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain....
from Ecija in southern Spain. Malaspina had originally hired two Spanish artists, José del Pozo of Sevilla and José Guío of Madrid, but the latter had limited himself to scientific drawings and was in poor health. The former was dismissed in Peru where he opened an art studio. Cardero, known as Little Pepe, showed increasing skill, but Malaspina wrote to the Viceroyalty in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, requesting two more artists to be sent from Spain. Malaspina ended up taking aboard the Mexican engraver Tomás de Suría as a temporary measure.
The journal kept by de Suría was the only private diary of the voyage. Suría wasn't allowed access to authorized accounts to check his facts, but his reportage provides a candid counterpoint to the reportage of Malaspina. Suría describes his first day at Nootka. "The first thing they asked for was shells with the word 'pachitle conchi', alternating this with saying 'Hispania Nutka' and then words which meant alliance and friendship. We were astonished to hear out of their mouths Latin words such as Hispania, but we concluded that perhaps that had learned this word in their trading with Englishmen..."
At Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
he described the Spanish practice of trading guns for children who were slaves of Maquinna
Maquinna
Maquinna was the chief of the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Nootka Sound, during the heyday of the maritime fur trade in the 1780s and 1790s on the Pacific Northwest Coast...
, ostensibly to baptize them and save them from cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
. "There was one among them whom the sailors called Primo... He told us that he had been destined to be a victim and to be eaten by Chief Macuina together with many others, and that this custom was practiced with the younger prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, as well as in the ceremonies which were used in such a detestable and horrible sacrifice."
Mozina described the approach of Spanish sailors in a longboat. These were soldiers who had arrived on the frigate Concepción from San Blas
San Blas
San Blas, the Spanish name for Saint Blaise, can refer to:*San Blas, La Rioja*San Blas Department*San Blas, Costa Rica*San Blas, Quito*San Blas, El Salvador* San Blas, Nadur* San Blas, Nayarit* San Blas, Sinaloa* San Blas Atempa, Oaxaca...
, commanded by Don Pedro Alberni, after whom the town Port Alberni is named. After completing his service in Nootka Sound with the Catalonian Volunteers in New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
, Alberni became interim governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
, where he died in 1803.
The original Suría journal is kept at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
Library. An English translation was made by the Hispanist scholar Henry Raup Wagner in 1936 for the Pacific Historical Review. This version was translated back into Spanish by Justino Fernández for a short book with added biographical details in 1939. A master's thesis on Suría was completed by Agueda Jiménez Palayo of Guadalajara in 1972, under the direction of Donald C. Cutter.
Upon the expedition's return to Acapulco from Alaska and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Suría was given another eight months to prepare his drawings. These were forwarded to Spain. Although Suría's work gained the approval of Malaspina, his rewards were minimal. He remained in his former job as an engraver until his superior Gil died in 1798, whereupon Suría held the position of chief engraver until 1806. He produced some religious art
Sacred art
Sacred art is imagery intended to uplift the mind to the spiritual. Sacred art involves the ritual and cultic practices and practical and operative aspects of the path of the spiritual realization within the bosom of the tradition in question....
in his later years and died in 1844. Most of his original sketches for Malaspina are in the Museo Naval.
Books
- Tomas de Suria. Quaderno qe contiene el Ramo de Historia Natural y diario de la Espedicion del Círculo del Glovo...... (published by Arsenio Rey Tejerina, see below)
- Fernández, Justino (editor). Tomás de Suría y su Viaje con Malaspina, 1791. (Mexico City: Libreria de Porrua Hermanos y Cia, 1939)
- Journal of Tomas de Suría of His Voyage with Malaspina to the Northwest Coast of America in 1791. (Fairfield, Washington: Ye Galleon, 1980. - Editor, Donald C. Cutter
- Tomàs de Suria a l'expedició Malaspina, Alaska, 1791. Arsenio Rey Tejerina, Generalitat Valenciana, 1995. ISBN 84-482-1181-2 (title in Catalan, text in Spanish, study in Calalan and English)