The National University of San Marcos was a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. It was the first officially established and the oldest continuously operating university in the Americas.
The university started in the general studies that were offered in the convent of the Rosario of the order of Santo Domingo—the current Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo—in around 1548. Its official foundation was conceived by Fray Thomas de San Martín on May 12, 1551, with the decree of Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1571, it acquired the degree of pontifical granted by Pope Pius V, with which it ended up being named the “Royal and Pontifical University of the City of the Kings of Lima.” It was also referred to as the “University of Lima” throughout the Viceroyalty.
The Friends of Prospero
Peru: Episode VIII • Peru: Episode VII • Peru: Episode VI • Peru: Episode V • Peru: Episode IV • Peru: Episode III • Peru: Episode II • Peru: Episode I
The Two-Headed Serpent
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