Collections : [Rare Book & Manuscript Library]

A collection of autographs of Latin American patriots and Hispanic loyalists living in the Viceroyalty of Perú during the 19th century. The collection provides a valuable look into daily life in the viceroyalty. Documents to and from military leaders on both sides of the War for Independence describe day to day events of the war (requests for supplies, mess, prisoner and hospital lists, etc.). Among the items by patriots represented in the collection are: a decree by Simón Bolivar, dated 1825, setting up a school system that "la debe igualmente a todos..individuos."; a decree by Tomas de Heres creating the coat-of-arms of Perú, and the heraldry and wording for silver and gold coins of the new government; a list by José Medina of the survivors of the "Vendedores" squadron after the battle of Ayachucho; a letter of José de San Martín to Francisco de Paula Otero; a letter by Antonio José de Sucre to Manuel Martínez de Aparicio; and a letter by José de La Mar to Joaquín de la Pezuela. Among the loyalists represented are: José Fernando de Abascal y Souza, Fernando VII, José Antonio de Areche, Jerónimo Marrón de Lombera, José de Mendizábal e Imaz, Joaquín de la Pezuela, José Manuel Goyeneche, and Manuel Quimper. Also in the collection are two letters by Secretary of State William H. Seward, and two 16th century documents signed by the "conquistadores" Francisco Pizarro and Juan de la Torre. A second box, added in 1980, contains printed and miscellaneous materials from the 1950s.