John Stevens (translator) facts for kids

John Stevens (born around 1662, died 1726) was an English captain, a person who deeply studied Spanish culture and language (called a Hispanist), and a translator. He is most famous for his translation of the well-known book Don Quixote in 1700.

Life Story

John Stevens was born in London. His father worked for Catherine of Braganza, who was the Queen of England at the time. John learned Spanish from a very young age, possibly from his mother, making him bilingual (able to speak two languages fluently). He was educated by Benedictines monks in a place called Douai around 1675.

He served in the army that helped stop a rebellion led by Monmouth. In 1685, he went to Dublin with Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon. Because of his connection to the Hyde family, he became a tax official in Welshpool.

As a Roman catholic and a supporter of the old royal family (a Jacobite), he fought in the Irish Williamite War. He was present at the siege of Limerick, a major battle. He even kept a diary about the conflict.

Before 1695, Stevens moved back to London. From then until he died, he spent his time translating books and writing about history and old things. He was also the editor of a newspaper called the British Mercury from 1712 to 1715. John Stevens passed away on October 27, 1726.

His Writings and Translations

John Stevens was a very busy writer and translator. His first published work was a shorter translation of Portuguesa Asia by Manuel de Faria y Sousa in 1695. He dedicated this work to Queen Catherine of Braganza. In 1698, he translated and continued the same author's History of Portugal.

He also translated other Spanish books:

• In 1697, he translated The Government of a Wife by Don Francisco Manuel de Mello.
• In the same year, he published a version of Quevedo's Fortune in her Wits, or the Hour of all Men.
• In 1707, he released a translation of all the comedies by Quevedo, which was reprinted several times.
• He also put together a collection of translated Spanish works called The Spanish Libertines.

Stevens is most famous for his work on Don Quixote. He tried to improve an earlier English translation by Thomas Shelton. This revised version came out in 1706 and included pictures. Stevens also translated a book that was a fake continuation of Don Quixote by Alonzo Fernandez de Avellaneda in 1705. This was the first time that book appeared in English.

He translated many other important works:

• His translation of Quevedo's Pablo de Segovia the Spanish Sharper was used in later editions of the book.
• He translated historical and travel books from Spanish.
• His translation of Mariana's History of Spain appeared in 1699.
• He translated Sandoval's History of Charles V in 1703.
• In 1715, he translated Texeira's Spanish version of Mírkhánd's History of Persia.
• A big project was his translation of Herrera's General History of the Vast Continent and Islands of America, commonly called the West Indies. This was published in six volumes between 1725 and 1726.
• He also put together his own New Collection of Voyages and Travels in 1711, mostly from Spanish authors.

Stevens was also interested in old buildings and history, which is called being an antiquary.

• In 1718, he anonymously published a translation and shorter version of William Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum, a book about old English monasteries.
• In 1722, he published a follow-up to the Monasticon in two volumes, called The History of the Antient Abbeys, Monasteries, Hospitals, Cathedrals, which included pictures.
• He also anonymously released Monasticon Hibernicum in 1722, which was a translation with additions of a book about Irish monasteries.
• Stevens translated Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, a very important early history of England. His translation was used as the basis for later versions by other scholars.

From French, Stevens translated parts of "Dupin" in 1712, likely from Louis Ellies Dupin's Bibliothèque Universelle des Historiens. He also translated a part of P. J. D'Orléans's Histoire des Révolutions en Angleterre sous la Famille des Stuarts in 1722.

Stevens also wrote his own books:

• A Brief History of Spain (1701).
• The Ancient and Present State of Portugal (1701).
• The Lives and Actions of all the Sovereigns of Bavaria (1706).
• A Spanish-English and English-Spanish Dictionary, with Grammar (1706), which was reprinted in 1726.
• The Royal Treasury of England; or an Historical Account of Taxes (1725).

After he died, his wife sold his handwritten notes and papers to John Warburton.

Images for kids

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  Worksop Priory, an engraving from Antient Abbeys (1722)

See also

In Spanish: John Stevens para niños