On December 12, 1794, Fray Servando Teresa de Mier preached a sermon in Mexico City that led to his arrest by the Inquisition. He was exiled to Spain—only to escape and spend ten years traveling throughout Europe, as none other than a French priest. So began the grand adventure of Fray Servando's life, and of this gripping memoir. Here is an invitation hard for any reader to resist: a glimpse of the European "Age of Enlightenment" through the eyes of a fugitive Mexican friar. In this memoir, one sees a portrait of manners and morals that is a far cry from the "civilized" spirit that the Empire wanted to impose on its Colonies. This book takes a look at history from an upside down perspective, asking this question: who were the real savages, the colonizers themselves, or the supposed "savages" they were struggling to convert?
After ten years, Fray Servando finally returned home to an independent Mexico, where he served the new government before his death. Heretic and rebel, fugitive and visionary, character in a novel and father of his country—Fray Servando Teresa de Mier was all of these things. Translated into English for the first time, this memoir truly captures the passionate spirit of a fantastic man.