My New Venture into Latin America and the World of Darwin

My final semester of graduate school does not look like it will disappoint.... already filled with weird and interesting little tidbits of history.


From a book I am reading this week in Latin America
Peru in the 16th century, a Spanish priest is sent to a small outpost that will be his parish.  He enters the city pretty much acting like a lunatic...he throws things at people, hits them with random objects, calls them bitches and curses them.... constantly acting like a crazy man.

Why?  Was he TOO moved by the spirit?
No.... he had lived for many years in a mining town where they mined silver by using mercury and he was just poisoned so much that it had addled his brain.

Now I just picture this guy throwing his food, money bag, beads, and whatever else he had at people as they looked on him in complete fear.

After a few weeks of the guy being in town...no one would go to mass, no one would go around him and eventually he was replaced but just picture a mercury addled insane priest coming in your town out of the blue and him having authority over your spiritual well being.

Priests in the new world had a rough time... one...who wanted to do something about the labor system in place in one town...was poisoned for getting in the way... after drinking his hot chocolate he fell dead....

Yep... 

And whoever says history is boring, is insane.