News about Alonso González de Nájera and the Edition of «Desengaño y reparo de la guerra del Reino de Chile» (1614)

Abstract

This article is a preview to the critical edition and annotated text of Desengaño y reparo de la guerra del reino de Chile (1614), by Alonso González de Nájera. Not only the few known facts about the authorʼs life are reviewed: there is also new biographical information about him and his family, such as his birth certificate, which shows that he was born in Cuenca in 1556. Similarly, some relevant discoveries which respect to the publication of the text are presented. As for the preliminary study that will accompany the edition, its main guidelines are described: the attempt to understand the author and his text in the European context of the Pax Hispánica promoted by Felipe III, as expressed in the «Guerra defensiva»ˮ strategy that it was developed and implemented by the Jesuits in Chileʼs territory; also aims to define the typology of this unclassifiable text, focusing in its «arbitristas»ˮ features, with two important dimensions to be considered: on the one hand, the call to desengaño (it is necessary to unveil the truth about the war against Mapuches); on the other, as it proposes specific solutions, the reparo or remedy dimension (war can be won if appropriate measures are taken).