Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico

Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico

Real y Pontificia Universidad de México
Active	21 September 1551–1865
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Location	Mexico City , Mexico
Campus	Urban

The Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico (in Spanish: Real y Pontificia Universidad de México) was founded on 21 September 1551 by Royal Decree signed by Charles I of Spain, in Valladolid, Spain. It is generally considered the first university officially founded in North America and second in the Americas (preceded by the National University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru, chartered on May 12 of the same year).

After the Mexican War of Independence it was renamed University of Mexico. When Mexican liberals were in power at intervals in the nineteenth century, it was closed, since liberals sought to put education in the hands of the state rather than the Roman Catholic Church. Its first closure was in 1833, when Valentín Gómez Farías implemented liberal policies. When Antonio López de Santa Anna returned to power, the university was reopened. It was finally abolished in 1865 during the Second Mexican Empire by Maximilian I of Mexico. Scattered institutions, mainly civil colleges founded by the liberals and religious establishments outside Mexico City, continued without interruption.

In 1910 during the regime of Porfirio Díaz, the university was revived under Justo Sierra. Traditionally, the National Autonomous University of Mexico is a public university, considered the institutional heir of the earlier Pontifical University of Mexico, but under state rather than church control.

Organization

The university was organized by five faculties: Theology, Laws, Fees, Medicine and Arts. The principal subjects or chairs (in Spanish, cátedras) were Prima and Vísperas, due to the first class being in the morning and the second at evening. The university granted different degrees such as bachiller, licenciado, maestro and doctor, which translate to bachelor, graduate, master and doctor respectively.

Notable alumni

• Bartolomé de Alva, Roman Catholic secular clergyman and Nahuatl translator.
• Agustín Dávila Padilla (1562–1604), chronicler of the Dominican Order and its missions in America up to the end of the 16th century.

Notable faculty

• Juan José Eguiara y Eguren (? - 1763), Roman Catholic bishop and scholar who served as its rector.
• Francisco Cervantes de Salazar (1514? – 1575), distinguished writer who served twice as rector during its early years.
• Alonso Gutiérrez (1507–1584), Augustinian philosopher, historian and intellectual figure.
• Don Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora (1645–1700), cartographer, historian and philosopher of the late 17th century.

See also

• List of colonial universities in Latin America