Compared to many of his contemporaries, Martin Schmid grew up in a respected family home. He can read and write and attends the Jesuit college. He lives much longer than the average person at the time.

We don't know how much Pater Martin Schmid knew about the world when he boarded the ship to South America in 1728. The probability of dying from a foreign disease, however, is high during the crossing or afterwards in Bolivia. His letters during the journey are composed with that in mind: he writes as if it were his last word.