The Geographical, Natural, and Civil History of Chili

Juan Ignacio Molina (1740-1829) was a Jesuit priest born in Chile but forced to flee to Europe after his religious order was expelled from the Spanish Empire in 1767. He settled in Bologna, Italy, and began to write a natural history of his homeland, which was first published in Italian in 1782 (he is also known as Giovanni Ignazio Molina). He completed a second volume on the history of the people of Chile in 1786, and a version of the book was in the library of HMS Beagle. This two-volume English translation was published in 1809, and also includes notes from other explorers, including a 1791 account of Chile by Pedro Gonzalez de Agueros (1768-93) and a 1774 description of Patagonia by Thomas Falkner (1707-84). Volume 2 covers the ‘civil history’ of Chile, discussing the indigenous people living there and the arrival of Spanish settlers.