Pages 567 Genre Poetry | Publication date Late 16th century Originally published 1589 Page count 567 Countries Colombia, Venezuela | |
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Subject Spanish conquest of Colombiaindigenous groups in Colombiaindigenous groups in Venezuela Similar El Carnero, La serpiente sin ojos, El país de la canela, La Araucana | ||
Elegías de varones ilustres de Indias is an epic poem written in the late sixteenth century by Juan de Castellanos.
Description
The work gives a detailed account of the colonization of the Caribbean and the territories in present-day Colombia and Venezuela. It describes the settlement companies and foundation of cities as well as vivid depictions of indigenous cultures, such as the Muisca, and natural history, making this text an important early chronicle of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Besides its historical value, it is notable for the use of multiple Renaissance-era literary styles, including the elegy, epic, pilgrimage tale, pastoral romance, chivalric romance and other literary forms.
The book contains one of the earliest descriptions of the New World species potato (Solanum colombianum), until the discovery of the Americas an unknown plant in the Old World.