Ramon Pané

About the Author

Ramon Pané, a Catalan friar of the Order of Minims, arrived in the New World in 1494 as part of Christopher Columbus's second voyage, becoming one of the earliest European chroniclers of indigenous cultures. Tasked by Columbus to document the spiritual beliefs and customs of the Taíno people on the island of Hispaniola, Pané immersed himself in their world, learning their language and recording their myths, rituals, and shamanistic practices with a blend of missionary zeal and ethnographic curiosity. His seminal work, An Account of the Antiquities of the Indians, completed around 1498, offers a rare firsthand glimpse into pre-colonial Caribbean societies just as they faced the onslaught of European conquest. Though Pané returned to Spain in 1500 and his manuscript languished in obscurity until its publication in 1901, his observations remain a vital historical artifact, bridging the chasm between Old World faith and New World antiquity while highlighting the tragic clash of civilizations.