Jan de Vos (historian)
Encyclopedia
Jan de Vos van Gerven was a Belgian historian
, who lived in Mexico from 1973 until his death in 2011 (24th of July).
In 1995 he became guest-advisor to the Zapatista Army of National Liberation
(EZLN) during the peace talks between the EZLN and the Mexican Government.
Jan de Vos was born in Antwerp, Belgium
, in 1936. He grew up bilingual in Dutch and French. He achieved his PhD. in the humanities
at the University of Leuven, Belgium.
In 1973 he came to Chiapas
, Mexico
, as a missionary priest. Over time, and in relationships with the indigenous Mayans
of the Lacandon region, he adopted an outlook influenced by liberation theology
.
During his life in Chiapas he did research and wrote wrote many books on the history of the Lacandon region and processes that led to the Chiapas conflict
.
In 1986, he received an academic prize (the Premio Chiapas) and in 1992 he received the national Juchimán de Plata prize.
Having made a reputation by writing on the Lacandon Jungle
, he was invited as a permanent guest advisor by the EZLN during the negotiations between the government and the EZLN in San Andrés Larráinzar
in 1995. (see also the San Andrés Accords
)
As a distinguished person in the region he entered the Consejo Consultivo (Consultative Council) of the EU/Chiapas
development project Prodesis
around 2004.http://www.prodesis.chiapas.gob.mx/?Consejo_Consultivo
In her answer to a question in the European Parliament, Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner referred to Jan de Vos to underline the transparent and democratic character of the project:
During an interview in 2007, however, de Vos was very critical of Prodesis's way of operating, and sceptical about the possible results. In his opinion, the people in the Lacandon region have been betrayed too often (which is a strong sentiment in the region) and Prodesis is making the same mistakes as predecessor-projects like PIDDS and the Cañadas programme.
In the last years of his life, de Vos worked at CIESAS (Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social) and resided mainly in Mexico City
, but he often returned to San Cristobal de las Casas
.
He became most known however for his trilogy on the Lacandon Jungle
:
An excerpt from the introduction to The Peace of God and the King; The Conquest of the Lacandon Jungle, 1525-1821:
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, who lived in Mexico from 1973 until his death in 2011 (24th of July).
In 1995 he became guest-advisor to the Zapatista Army of National Liberation
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary leftist group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico....
(EZLN) during the peace talks between the EZLN and the Mexican Government.
Jan de Vos was born in Antwerp, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, in 1936. He grew up bilingual in Dutch and French. He achieved his PhD. in the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
at the University of Leuven, Belgium.
In 1973 he came to Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, as a missionary priest. Over time, and in relationships with the indigenous Mayans
Maya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...
of the Lacandon region, he adopted an outlook influenced by liberation theology
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
.
"I came to Chiapas to bring the Mayan people the Word of God, but they converted me instead" http://books.google.nl/books?id=kB8CEdwLqVEC&pg=PA88&dq=%22Jan+de+Vos%22+chiapas&lr=#PPA88,M1
During his life in Chiapas he did research and wrote wrote many books on the history of the Lacandon region and processes that led to the Chiapas conflict
Chiapas conflict
The Chiapas conflict generally refers to the Zapatista uprising and its aftermath, but has to be understood in relation to the history of marginalization of indigenous peoples and subsistence farmers in the state of Chiapas, Mexico....
.
In 1986, he received an academic prize (the Premio Chiapas) and in 1992 he received the national Juchimán de Plata prize.
Having made a reputation by writing on the Lacandon Jungle
Lacandon Jungle
The Lacandon Jungle is an area of rainforest which stretches from Chiapas, Mexico into Guatemala and into the southern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. The heart of this rainforest is located in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas near the border with Guatemala in the Montañas del Oriente...
, he was invited as a permanent guest advisor by the EZLN during the negotiations between the government and the EZLN in San Andrés Larráinzar
San Andrés Larráinzar
San Andrés Larráinzar is a town in the Mexican state of Chiapas.It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Larráinzar....
in 1995. (see also the San Andrés Accords
San Andrés Accords
The San Andrés Accords are agreements reached between the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and the Mexican government, at that time headed by President Ernesto Zedillo. The accords were signed on February 16, 1996, in San Andrés Larráinzar, Chiapas, and granted autonomy, recognition, and...
)
As a distinguished person in the region he entered the Consejo Consultivo (Consultative Council) of the EU/Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
development project Prodesis
Prodesis
Prodesis was a development project in the Lacandon region of Chiapas, Mexico, that ran from 2004 to 2008.The aim of the project was to reduce pressure on the rainforest and combat poverty among its inhabitants, most of them being Mayan Indians and subsistence peasants.- Plan and objectives...
around 2004.http://www.prodesis.chiapas.gob.mx/?Consejo_Consultivo
In her answer to a question in the European Parliament, Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner referred to Jan de Vos to underline the transparent and democratic character of the project:
"From an institutional point of view, major emphasis has been put on inclusive participation and control by civil society within PRODESIS’ Consultative Council, whose “civil society college” currently includes 30 members of regional and national civil society organisations. The renowned Chiapas expert and EZLN’s external consultant during the negotiation of the San Andres Agreement, Professor Jan de Vos, is also a member of that Consultative Council."
During an interview in 2007, however, de Vos was very critical of Prodesis's way of operating, and sceptical about the possible results. In his opinion, the people in the Lacandon region have been betrayed too often (which is a strong sentiment in the region) and Prodesis is making the same mistakes as predecessor-projects like PIDDS and the Cañadas programme.
In the last years of his life, de Vos worked at CIESAS (Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social) and resided mainly in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, but he often returned to San Cristobal de las Casas
San Cristóbal de las Casas
San Cristóbal de las Casas also known as it's native Tsotsil name, Jovel is a city and municipality located in the Central Highlands region of the Mexican state of Chiapas...
.
Selected works
Among several indispensable works on the history of Chiapas, he wrote Fray Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada and The Battle of The Sumidero.He became most known however for his trilogy on the Lacandon Jungle
Lacandon Jungle
The Lacandon Jungle is an area of rainforest which stretches from Chiapas, Mexico into Guatemala and into the southern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. The heart of this rainforest is located in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas near the border with Guatemala in the Montañas del Oriente...
:
- La Paz del Dios y del Rey: la Conquista de la Selva Lacandona, 1525-1821 (The Peace of God and the King: the Conquest of the Lacandon Jungle)
- Oro verde: la Conquista de la Selva Lacandona por los Madereros Tabasqueños, 1822-1949 (Green Gold: the Conquest of the Lacandon Jungle by the Tabasco's Timber Dealers)
- Una Tierra Para Sembrar Sueños: Historia Reciente de la Selva Lacandona, 1950-2000 (A Land for Sowing Dreams: Recent History of the Lacandon Jungle)
An excerpt from the introduction to The Peace of God and the King; The Conquest of the Lacandon Jungle, 1525-1821:
"For Western Civilization, violent and oppressive by nature, the Indigenous cultures keep on being a nuisance which has to be eliminated. Today, several South American countries keep on exterminating in cold blood the last free indigenous tribes of the Amazon Rain Forest. Other nations limit themselves to destroying the autoctonous cultures and force the Indigenous people to enter the national society, only to turn them in uprooted second hand citizens. In other countries they are enclosed, for dubious phylantropic reasons, in reservations (sometimes territorial, sometimes subtly cultural), in which the Indigenous people are condemned to live like museum pieces, without being able to participate freely in the life of the nation they belong to. And there is not a single country in the American Continent where Indians are not economically exploited and socially oppressed by their White and Mestizo brothers."
(La Paz de Dios y del Rey; La conquista de la Selva Lacandona. 1525-1821; Mexico, Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1993)