Martín Fernández de Navarrete facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Most Excellent Martín Fernández de Navarrete
de Navarrete c. 1881
Born	Martín Fernández de Navarrete y Ximénez de Tejada (1765-11-09)9 November 1765 Ábalos, Spain
Died	8 October 1844(1844-10-08) (aged 78) Madrid, Spain
Other names	"El Marino Historiador," informal appellation assigned for his 5-volume Collection of the voyages...
Known for	Colección de los viages y descubrimientos que hicieron por mar los españoles desde fines del siglo XV (Collection of the voyages and discoveries made by the spaniards since the late 15th century)
Scientific career
Fields	Naval officer, Senator, Historian
Seat D of the Real Academia Española
In office 31 January 1797 – 8 October 1844
Preceded by	Enrique Ramos
Succeeded by	Manuel López Cepero [es]

Martín Fernández de Navarrete y Ximénez de Tejada (born November 9, 1765 – died October 8, 1844) was an important Spanish figure. He was a nobleman, a politician, and a historian. He served as a senator in Spain. From 1824 to 1844, he was the Director of the Spanish Royal Academy of History.

Navarrete is famous for finding a copy of Columbus's journal from his first voyage. This copy was made by Bartolomé de las Casas. Navarrete's most important work is a huge five-volume book. It is called Colección de los viages y descubrimientos que hicieron por mar los españoles desde fines del siglo XV. This means "Collection of the voyages and discoveries made by the Spaniards since the late 15th century." The Spanish Crown asked him to write this book. Because of this amazing work, he was given the nickname El Marino Historiador, which means "The Mariner Historian."

Navarrete was a member of many important Spanish and international groups. These included science and arts academies of his time.

Early Life and Naval Career

Martín Fernández de Navarrete was born in 1765 in Ábalos, La Rioja, Spain. His family's main home, Abalos Palace, was in this town. Today, his personal papers are kept there. These papers include letters he wrote to famous people like Alexander von Humboldt and Washington Irving.

He studied at the Royal Seminary of Nobles in Vergara. In 1780, he joined the navy. He took part in the Great Siege of Gibraltar in 1782. Later, he helped stop pirates from Algiers.

Navarrete had to leave active navy service for a while due to his health. During this time, he focused on studying history. In 1789, the Spanish Crown asked him to look through national records. They wanted him to find information about Spain's history at sea.

The Mariner Historian's Work

Navarrete returned to the navy in 1793. He was at the siege of Toulon. After that, he became the commander of a frigate, which is a type of warship.

From 1797 to 1808, he held several important jobs in the navy department.

In 1808, France invaded Spain. Napoleon Bonaparte made his brother Joseph Bonaparte the king of Spain. The French invaders wanted Navarrete to be their Minister of the Navy. However, Navarrete refused this offer.

Because of the unstable situation, Navarrete left Madrid. He joined the Cortes of Cádiz in Andalusia. Here, a new Spanish Constitution was being created. Most of Spain was under Napoleon's control at this time.

For the rest of his life, Navarrete focused on writing and politics. In 1819, his book Vida de Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was published. This was an appendix to the Academy's edition of Don Quixote.

In 1825, the first two volumes of his major work were released. This was the Colección de los viajes y descubrimientos que hicieron por mar los españoles desde el fin del siglo XV. More volumes came out in 1829 and 1837. This huge work gathered information about Spanish naval discoveries in America and Asia. These discoveries helped build the Spanish Empire.

In 1837, he became a senator. In 1824, he was named director of the Spanish Royal Academy of History. He passed away in Madrid in 1844. At the time of his death, he was helping to prepare another collection of historical documents. His books Disertación sobre la Historia de la Nautica (1846) and Biblioteca Maritima Española (1851) were published after he died.

A portrait of Martín Fernández de Navarrete hangs in the Board of Trustees' hall of the Naval Museum of Madrid. Another portrait is on the main staircase of the Royal Academy of History in Madrid.

Important Roles and Honors

Martín Fernández de Navarrete held many important positions and received honors:

• Knight of the Order of Malta
• Spanish State Counselor  
• Spanish Senator  
• Director of the Spanish Royal Academy of History (1824-1844)
• Vice-protector of the Royal Academy of Noble Arts of San Fernando  
• Dean of the Royal Spanish Academy of Language  
• Member of the Spanish Admiralty Board  
• Great Cross of the Royal American Order of Ysabel la Católica  
• Member of the Council of Spain
• Member of the Council of the Indies  
• Director of Spanish Hydrographic Depot  

He was also a member of many other academies and societies, including:

• Institut de France
• Commander of the Legion of Honor of France  
• Academy of History of Rio de Janeiro  
• Academy of San Lucas of Rome  
• Academy of Sciences of Turin  
• Academy of Berlin  
• Antiquarian Societies of Copenhagen and Normandy  
• American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia  
• Academies of Geography of Paris and London 
• Sociedad Economica Matritense 

Main Writings

Here are some of Martín Fernández de Navarrete's most important works:

• Fernández de Navarrete, Martín (1825–37) Colección de los viages y descubrimientos que hicieron por mar los españoles desde fines del siglo XV: con varios documentos inéditos concernientes á la historia de la marina castellana y de los establecimientos españoles en Indias, 5 vols., Madrid: Imprensa Real. v.1 (1825), v.2 (1825), v.3 (1829), v.4 (1837), v. 5 (1837)
• Vida de Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, escrita e ilustrada con varias noticias y documentos inéditos pertenecientes a la historia y literatura de su tiempo. Madrid, 1819.[1]
• Disertación sobre la historia de la náutica. Madrid, 1846.
• Biblioteca marítima española. Obra póstuma del señor Martín Fernández de Navarrete. Madrid: Viuda de Calero, 1851, 2 volúmenes.
• Viajes de Américo Vespucio. Ed. Espasa-Calpe. Madrid, 2003. ISBN: 8467011149.
• Colección de Documentos Inéditos para la Historia de España. Inacabado. Madrid, 1844.
• Disertación Histórica sobre la parte que tuvieron los españoles en las guerras de Ultramar o de las Cruzadas [...]. Tomo V. Real Academia de la Historia. Madrid . 1816

See also

In Spanish: Martín Fernández de Navarrete para niños