Thelist of universities established in theviceroyalties of the Hispanic America comprises alluniversities established by theSpanish Empire in theAmericas from thesettlement of the Americas in 1492 to theWars of Independence in the early 19th century.
The transfer of theEuropean university model to theoverseas colonies in the Americas represented a decisive turning point in the educational history of the continents:
Nothing remotely resembling a university existed in theNew World before Europeans arrived and settled there. Yet by the end of the eighteenth century, numerous universities and other institutions of higher education could be found inNorth,Central andSouth America. They had not been invented de novo; they were implants from the European university tradition and its stocks.[1]
TheChristian mission of theIndians and the increasing demand for skilled hands in the administration of the rapidly growing empire made theSpanish colonists realize the need to offer a university education on soil in theAmericas.[2] The foundation of a university required, following themedieval tradition, either apapal bull (orpapal brief) or aroyalprivilege granting the right to conferacademic degrees to thestudents. Usually a bestowment from both clerical and secular authorities was sought and achieved.[3] Universities were all subjected to the king's supervision, only San Nicolas inBogotá held the status of a private university.[4]
The new foundations modeled theircharters mainly on that of theUniversity of Salamanca, the oldest and most venerableSpanish university.[5] Thecurriculum of smaller universities was confined to theartes, a kind of basic studies, andCatholic theology (pluschurch law).[5] A leading role was assumed by the gradually evolving full universities which additionally offered courses inmedicine andjurisprudence, thus comprising all four classicfaculties.[5] The influential first universities were founded in the viceroyalties centersSanto Domingo,Lima andMexico City. When it became apparent that the vast distances of the Spanish realm required a greater geographical spread of universities, they contributed to the creation of further foundations.[6]
A key role in the development of the university system was played by theCatholic orders, especially by theJesuits, but also theDominicans andAugustinians. The founding and operation of most universities resulted from the – usually local – initiative of one of these orders, which sometimes quarreled openly over the control of thecampus and the curriculum.[2] The (temporary)dissolution of the Jesuit order in the late 18th century proved to be a major setback for the university landscape in Latin America, several of the suppressedJesuit universities were reopened only decades later.[7]
The successful export of the university, a genuine European creation,[8] to anothercontinent demonstrated its "extraordinary effectiveness and adaptability" as the highest educational institution and marked the beginning of its universal adoption in themodern age (see alsoList of the oldest universities).[9] Yet there is no denying that at the end of the colonial era the intellectual and academic life in the youngercolonial colleges of theBritish territories appeared more vital.[9] Nevertheless, the Spanish universities in the Americas fulfilled their primary task, the education of the clerical and secular viceroyalty elite, and could thus assume an important function in aiding the development of the young republics after the separation from the motherland.[9]
InPortugueseBrazil, by contrast, no university existed far beyond the colonial period (the first was established as late as 1912 inCuritiba asUniversity of Paraná).[10] The lower local demand for theological and legal specialists was largely met by Jesuitcolegios, while students aspiring tohigher education had to take up studies overseas at theUniversity of Coimbra. Instead of universities for general studies, the Portuguese favored the creation of professional academies to respond to the local needs of technicians and skilled professionals, including creating the first school of higher studies inengineering of the Americas.[10]
The list is sorted by the date of recognition. At places where more than one university was established, the name of the institution is given in brackets.
| Founded | University | Modern country |
|---|---|---|
| 1538[6][11][12][13][14][15][16] 1558[17][18][19][20] | Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino[uncertain 1] | Dominican Republic |
| 1551[11] | National University of San Marcos | Peru |
| 1551[11][21] | Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico | Mexico |
| 1552[22] | La Plata or Charcas[uncertain 2] | Bolivia |
| 1558[11] | Santo Domingo (Santiago de La Paz y de Gorjón) | Dominican Republic |
| 1580[11] | Saint Thomas Aquinas University | Colombia |
| 1586[22] | Quito (San Fulgencio) | Ecuador |
| Founded | University | Modern country |
|---|---|---|
| 1613[11][23] | National University of Córdoba | Argentina |
| 1621[22] | Santiago (San Miguel) | Chile |
| 1621[22] | Cuzco (San Ignacio de Loyola) | Peru |
| 1621[11] | University of Saint Francis Xavier | Bolivia |
| 1623[11] | Pontifical Xavierian University | Colombia |
| 1624[4][11] | Real y Pontificia Universidad de Mérida (Yucatán) [es] | Mexico |
| 1676[11][22] | University of San Carlos of Guatemala | Guatemala |
| 1677[11] | San Cristóbal of Huamanga University | Peru |
| 1681[11] | Central University of Ecuador | Ecuador |
| 1685[11] | Santiago (Rosario) | Chile |
| 1690[4][11] | National University of San Antonio Abad in Cuzco | Peru |
| 1694[4][22] | Bogotá (San Nicolás) | Colombia |
| 1696[11] | Central University of Ecuador | Ecuador |
| Founded | University | Modern country |
|---|---|---|
| 1806[11] | University of the Andes, Venezuela | Venezuela |
| 1812[11] | National Autonomous University of Nicaragua | Nicaragua |
| 1828[11] | National University of Saint Augustine | Peru |