Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Antón de Palategui

Antón de Palategui was a Spanish conquistador, soldier, and poet. He is probably best known for his poem, "Cristo en la Bestia," written during his venture with Francisco de Orellana from the Negro River to the estuary of the Amazon in 1542.

In Spain
Palategui was born circa 1504. Though the location of his birth is unknown, he was educated in Eibar, Castile, making noble heritage likely. Palategui began military service in 1522. That same year he met Hernando Pizarro at the funeral of his father, Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodríguez. They may have been related.

In South America
Palategui followed Pizarro to Peru in 1534 to serve as a consulate in the recently conquered Incan city of Cuzco. There, he proved an equally efficient soldier and bureaucrat, helping to suppress the uprising of Huayna Capac and supervising the execution of Francisco Pizarro's former partner, Diego de Almagro in 1538. This later act led to his imprisonment in Spain in 1557 (Hernando Pizarro suffered worse, by most accounts imprisoned from 1538 until 1560).

According to the private letters of Franco Francisco Cortez, Palategui joined Francisco de Orellana's search for el Dorado and la Canela in 1541 on the recommendation of Hernando Pizarro. Palategui supervised the building of the 49-man expedition's ship. This is mentioned in "Cristo en la Bestia."

Orellena and his men reached the Negro River on June 3, 1542 and continued down the Amazon River (then named the Mar Dulce), reaching the river's mouth on August 24, 1542. The crew followed the Atlantic coast until reaching Cubagua, near the Venezuelan coast. It was there Palategui completed his best known works of poetry, "Cristo en la Bestia," "El Chiste de Dios," and "Otras Cosas."

Given his future imprisonment, it is unlikely Palategui accompanied Orellena on his return to Spain to argue for the governorship of New Andalusia, though it is possible. It is believed he joined Orellena's disastrous second Amazon voyage in 1545, though he is only mentioned in post-dated memos and by first name. Orellena died before the journey was completed.

Return to Europe
Sometime between 1547 and 1555, Palategui returned to Europe. In March, 1555, he settled in Lepanto, during a period of political instability in which Spanish, Ottoman, and Venetian interests all laid claim to the region. These claims would not be settled until the 1570s after the Ottoman advance on Cyprus. In Lepanto, Palategui continued to write poetry, though his work took a spiritually ornate tone, predating the English metaphysical poets, leading some scholars to speculate he had spent some part of his time en absentia learning English. However, other research suggests Palategui's refined style developed incidentally, influenced by the work of the Spanish mystics.

After two years in Lepanto and modern-day Greece, Palategui went home to Castile. However, in March 1557, he was arrested and imprisoned for his role in the execution of Almagro. While in prison, Palategui began his last known work of poetry, "Canción de Prisión." He completed it upon his release in 1560.

Death
Like his birth, the exact date of Palategui's death is unknown, but letters have led historians to place it circa 1567. Regardless, Palategui was unusually long-lived for a Conquistador.

Discovery
Palategui never published work during his lifetime, though soon after his death, his journals were studied by late Renaissance scholars as historical documents, rather than cultural artifacts. His poems, which initially appeared in paragraph form with romantic markers denoting line breaks, were resurrected in the early 20th century by French poet and humorist Max Jacob, who applauded their atypical form and humor. Palategui's work was published on its own as, The God and the Bull: The Complete Works of Antón de Palategui.

Poetic Style
With the exception of "Canción de Prisión," Palategui's later works resemble other 16th-century spiritual poetry in theme and form. However, the works he completed in South America were highly unusual. Palategui rarely obeyed rhyming conventions and avoided formal language. Though allusions to biblical passages and antiquity mark his poems, they often do so in a sardonic manner.

Poets citing Palategui as a formative influence on their own work include his contemporary Juan Castillo de Hermosa, and the 18th-century Spanish Romantic poet Rodrigo Mentider.

Controversy
Some historians doubt the veracity of Palategui's works. In 1974, Historian Gabriel Luis proposed that Palategui wrote "Cristo en la Bestia" based on Gaspar de Carvajal's Relación del nuevo descubrimiento del famoso río Grande que descubrió por muy gran ventura el capitán Francisco de Orellana. Caravajal was a Dominican missionary, commissioned by Gonzalo Pizarro to join Orellana's mission as chaplain. Other historians claim records show Palategui was jailed in Castilla la Nueva at the time of the first exploration. However, linguist George Malgrove suggests Palategui was a byname referring to a city of origin and as such, it is conceivable that several men named Antón de Palategui could've been alive at the same time, which could explain conflicting sources.

Interesting Tidbit
There is a McDonald's in Castilla la Nueva with the final lines of Palategui's "Canción de Prisión" on every register.