List of colonial universities in Latin America
The list of colonial universities in Latin America includes all the universities founded by the Spanish colonial power in Latin America from the discovery of America in 1492 to the wars of independence in the early 19th century.
The transfer of the European university model to the American overseas territories represented a decisive turning point in the educational history of the continent:
“ There was nothing in the New World that was remotely like a university before Europeans came and settled there. By the late 18th century, universities and other higher education institutions were spread across North , Central, and South America . They weren't autochthonous new creations, but offshoots of the European university tradition. "
The Christian missionary work of the Indians and the increasing need for trained administrative staff for the rapidly growing colonial empire made the Spanish colonizers aware of the need for a university education on American soil. The establishment of a colonial university required, continuing the medieval tradition , a papal or royal privilege to award academic degrees , which was sought and usually achieved from the hands of both authorities. The universities were all under royal supervision, only San Nicolas in Bogotá had the status of a private university.
For the most part, the new foundations were based on the model of the University of Salamanca , the oldest and most venerable university in Spain . Smaller universities limited their range of courses to training in the artes , a kind of basic course, and Catholic theology (with canon law ). Leading the way were the gradually developing full universities, which also offered the study of medicine and law in their curriculum and thus had all four classical faculties . In the colonial power centers of Santo Domingo , Lima and Mexico City , the important universities of the first hour emerged, which in the subsequent period, when it became apparent that the vast distances in the Spanish territory required a greater diversification of locations, were an important part of the establishment of further establishments Took on the role.
The Christian religious orders played a major role in the development of the university system, especially the Jesuits , who were very active in the field of education , but also the Dominicans and Augustinians . The establishment and operation of most universities went back to the - usually local - initiative of one of these orders, which sometimes fought open rivalries over the control of the campus and the teaching content. The (temporary) prohibition of the Jesuit order in the late 18th century meant a serious setback for the university landscape in Latin America, several of the closed Jesuit universities were not reopened until decades later.
The successful export of the university, a separate European creation, to a foreign continent proved its "extraordinary effectiveness and adaptability" as the highest educational institution and marked the beginning of its worldwide takeover in modern times (see also list of the oldest universities ). Nonetheless, it cannot be overlooked that at the end of the colonial era, intellectual life and academic activities in the university colleges founded later in the Thirteen Colonies were much more vital. Nevertheless, the Spanish colonial universities fulfilled their main task with the education of the intellectual and secular colonial elite and were thus able to perform an important function in the internal development of the young republics after the separation from the mother country.
In Portuguese Brazil , on the other hand, there were no universities far beyond the colonial era (the first founding took place in Curitiba in 1912 ); The lower local demand for theological and legal specialists was largely covered by Jesuit colleges; for higher education, an overseas study had to be taken up at the University of Coimbra .
list
The list is sorted according to the time of recognition. Where more than one university has been founded in one location, the name of the institution is in brackets.
16th Century
| Accepted | university | Today's country |
|---|---|---|
| 1538 | Santo Domingo (Santo Tomás) | Dominican Republic |
| 1551 | Lima | Peru |
| 1551 | National Autonomous University of Mexico | Mexico |
| 1552 | La Plata o Charcas (Real Universidad de La Plata) | Bolivia |
| 1558 | Santo Domingo (Santiago de la Paz) | Dominican Republic |
| 1580 | Bogotá (Santo Tomás) | Colombia |
| 1586 | Quito (San Fulgencio) | Ecuador |
17th century
| Accepted | university | Today's country |
|---|---|---|
| 1621 | Santiago (San Miguel) | Chile |
| 1621 | Cusco (Pontifica Universidad de San Ignacio de Loyola) | Peru |
| 1621 | Cordoba | Argentina |
| 1621 | Sucre | Bolivia |
| 1624 | Mérida, Yucatan | Mexico |
| 1676 | Guatemala City | Guatemala |
| 1677 | Ayacucho | Peru |
| 1681 | Quito (Santo Tomás) | Ecuador |
| 1685 | Santiago (Nuestra Señora del Rosario) | Chile |
| 1690 | Cusco (San Antonio Abad) | Peru |
| 1694 | Bogotá (San Nicolás) | Colombia |
| 1696 | Quito (San Gregorio Magno) | Ecuador |
18th century
| Accepted | university | Today's country |
|---|---|---|
| 1704 | Bogotá (Javeriana) | Colombia |
| 1721 | Havana | Cuba |
| 1721 | Caracas | Venezuela |
| 1733 | Asunción | Paraguay |
| 1738 | Santiago (San Felipe) | Chile |
| 1744 | Popayan | Colombia |
| 1749 | Panama City | Panama |
| 1749 | Concepción | Chile |
| 1778 | Buenos Aires | Argentina |
| 1791 | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Mexico |
19th century
| Accepted | university | Today's country |
|---|---|---|
| 1806 | Merida | Venezuela |
| 1812 | Managua | Nicaragua |
Remarks
- ↑ University did not open
Individual evidence
- ↑ Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 214
- ↑ a b Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 218f.
- ↑ Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 216
- ↑ a b c d Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 219
- ↑ a b c Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 215
- ↑ a b Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 218
- ↑ a b c d Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 220
- ↑ Rüegg 1993, p. 13f.
- ↑ a b c Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 231f.
- ↑ Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, pp. 220f.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Jílek 1984, pp. 325–339
- ↑ La Universidad Pontificia de México: Historia ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) (span.)
- ↑ a b c d e f g Tünnermann 1991, pp. 26, 35-38
- ↑ Universidad Nacional de Córdoba: Orígenes ( Memento of July 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (span.)
- ↑ Tünnermann 1991, p. 26
literature
- Jílek, Jubor (Ed.): Historical Compendium of European Universities / Répertoire Historique des Universités Européennes , Standing Conference of Rectors, Presidents and Vice-Chancellors of the European Universities (CRE), Geneva 1984
- Roberts, John; Rodriguez Cruz, Agueda M .; Herbst, Jürgen: “The adoption of European university models ”, in: Rüegg, Walter (Ed.): History of the University in Europe . Vol. II: From the Reformation to the French Revolution (1500–1800) , CH Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 3406-36953-7 , pp. 213–232
- Rüegg, Walter: “Foreword. The University as a European Institution ”, in: Rüegg, Walter (Hrsg.): History of the University in Europe. Vol. I: Mittelalter , CH Beck, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-406-36952-9 , p. 13f.
- Tünnermann Bernheim, Carlos: Historia de la Universidad en América Latina. De la Época Colonial a la Reforma de Córdoba , Editorial Universitaria Centroamericana, 1991, ISBN 9977-30-167-0