page_title: Martin Schmid
section_title: Life
hierarchical_section_title: Martin Schmid / Life
caption_attribution_description: English: Costumes of the Chiquitanos drawn by Alcides d'Orbigny during his Travels 1831 Français&#160;: Indien et Indiennes de la province de Chiquitos (Bolibia)
context_page_description: Martin Schmid, also known as Esmid was a Swiss Jesuit, missionary, musician and architect, who worked mainly in the Chiquitos Province of what is now Bolivia.
context_section_description: 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.I In August 1730, he finally reached the mission area of the Chiquitos.
caption: Baptized Chiquitos drawn by Alcide d'Orbigny 1831
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