Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico

The Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico (Spanish: Real y Pontificia Universidad de México) was a university founded on 21 September 1551 by Royal Decree signed by Charles I of Spain, in Valladolid, Spain.^[1] It is generally considered the first university 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

In 1910, during the regime of Porfirio Díaz, Justo Sierra merged and expanded Mexico City's decentralized colleges of higher education, founding the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). UNAM is a public university and considered the institutional heir of the earlier original 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 initial class being in the morning and the second in the 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.
• Joseph A. Lopez (1779–1841), priest and president of Georgetown University
• 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), a 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
• UNAM
• Pontifical University of Mexico

References

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