Martin Schmid, also known as Esmid (September 26, 1694 – March 10, 1772) was a Swiss Jesuit, missionary, musician and architect, who worked mainly in the Chiquitos Province of what is now Bolivia.
Life
Martin Schmid was born in Baar, Switzerland. He was educated at the Jesuit College in Lucerne from 1710 to 1716. In 1717 he entered the Society of Jesus. His novitiate training was in Landsberg an der Lech, with subsequent theological studies in Hall in Tirol and in Ingolstadt in 1722. After he was ordained in 1726 Eichstätt to the priesthood, he obtained permission to travel as a missionary to Latin America. The trip was delayed by the Anglo-Spanish War forcing him to remain in Seville. While he was there, he improved his Spanish. At the same time, he helped to translate the history of the tribe of the Chiquitos of Juan Patricio Fernández into the German language - Erbauliche und angenehme Geschichte der Chiquitos, und andrer... neu-bekehrten Völcker, Vienna 1729, which translates as An Edifying and Enjoyable History of the Chiquitos, and of Other...Newly-converted People.
At the end of 1728 his journey to South America commenced. The crossing from Tenerife to Buenos Aires took more than three months. The missionaries needed eight more months to go inland and reach Potosí, Bolivia. Here Schmid was selected, along with three other Jesuits, to evangelize the Chiquitos. In August 1730, he finally reached the mission area of the Chiquitos.
At the Chiquitos
Schmid spent his first ten years between 1730 and 1740 in San Javier, Bolivia, part of the Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos. These missions featured houses for the natives spaced along three sides of a rectangle; the fourth side contained the church, workshops and schools. The churches were based upon European architecture adapted to local conditions. Besides his work as a priest, he began to build a music school. He taught the indigenous people to recreate European musical instruments. He also helped to establish a variety of workshops, and introduced several crafts which laid the foundations of later construction activities. In 1744, he sent his first letter home from the Jesuit Reductions settlement of San Rafael de Velasco. Here Schmid established the first of his jungle churches. In 1749 he returned to San Javier, to try to establish a similar church. In 1752 he undertook the construction of the church in Concepción, Bolivia. In other mission villages in the Chiquitanía region additional structures were built under his leadership. Wood-carved baroque altars were created in San Miguel de Velasco and San Ignacio de Velasco. How much involvement Schmid or his staff had in the preparation and decoration of the other churches in the ten villages of Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos, is uncertain.
Missionary methods
When Martin Schmid set out to the mission fields, his primary intention was to evangelize the indigenous peoples. However his congregation had other tasks for him. His main job was to strengthen the faith of the already Christianized, indigenous individuals and to make their settlements sustainable. The roots of Christian belief were deepened by means of religious education and church celebrations. The Jesuit missionaries felt that this connection succeeded better if more emphasis was placed on the enhancement of liturgical celebrations, as a means of inspiration. For this reason, the music that was loved by the Indians was promoted, and the decoration of the church premises was done in an imposing manner.During the early years building churches and giving music lessons were Schmid's main fields of activity. Within his field of engagement he was also responsible for spreading the making of handicrafts. For the church construction he trained indigenous artisans. As part of his music lessons he taught the indigenous locals to construct European musical instruments.