Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
María de Agreda, Sor (María
Coronel)
(1602-1665)
Spanish mystic
Born María Coronel, she took the name Sor
María and that of her native town when
she entered the Franciscan order. She was
an able administrator, rising to the rank of
prioress and, later, abbess. She was also a
woman of literary skill and intense religious
feeling, combining these qualities in writ-
ings that have made her one of Spain's most
notable 17th-century mystics. Her most
famous work is
La mística ciudad de Dios
(The
mystical city of God), published posthu-
mously in 1670 and reprinted over subse-
quent centuries in many editions. This topic
is a curious mixture of novel, biography,
and mystical rapture. Its central structure is
an account of the life of the Blessed Virgin
Mary with a highly detailed depiction of the
life and times of the Holy Family. The
author supplies much information that is
not contained in the Gospels, freely insert-
ing such specifics as dates and everyday
experiences. Of greater interest to histori-
ans is the correspondence carried on
between Sor María de Agreda and King
P
HILIP
IV. The monarch broke one of his
journeys at her convent in 1643, was
pleased with their conversation, and pro-
posed that they maintain an exchange of
letters. Their friendly communications
lasted for more than 20 years until the nun's
death. Philip discussed the doings of the
court, reflected on high policy, and asked
Sor María's advice on matters of conscience
and conduct. She responded with a mixture
of semi-mystical piety and pragmatic coun-
sel derived entirely from a naive inexperi-
ence that provided a refreshing change of
viewpoint for a king undoubtedly overbur-
dened with the input of self-interested
advisers. The correspondence,
Cartas
(Let-
ters), published in 1885, affords an intrigu-
ing glimpse of an older Spain and the minds
of two personalities not unrepresentative of
their time.
Mariana Islands (Islas Marianas)
This group of 15 islands in the western
Pacific was visited and claimed by F
ERDI
-
NAND
M
AGELLAN
for Spain in 1521. Lying
some 1,300 miles east of the P
HILIPPINE
I
SLANDS
, this small archipelago (covering a
total area of less than 400 square miles)
offered a welcome respite for those who
had crossed the vast, empty space of the
ocean. The looting of several of Magellan's
boats, however, led his sailors to call these
the Islas de Ladrones (meaning “thieves'
islands”), or Ladrone Islands in English. In
1668 Spain took formal possession of the
islands, naming them for Queen Mariana,
wife of King P
HILIP
IV. The island of Guam
was seized by the U.S. Navy in 1898 during
the S
PANISH
-A
MERICAN
W
AR
. In the follow-
ing year the remaining islands, the most
important of them being Saipan and Tinian,
were sold by Spain to Germany. They
became Japanese possessions after World
War I and a UN trust territory of the United
States after World War II. Presently the
Northern Mariana Islands are a U.S. com-
monwealth, and Guam is a U.S. territory.
Martí, José
(1853-1895)
Spanish colonial rebel
Born in Havana, C
UBA
, Martí became
involved, when barely 16, in the movement
that led to the 1868 Cuban insurrection. By
1871 he had served a term in prison and
been banished to Spain. If Spanish
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