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Juan Pablo Vizcardo y Guzmán (* Pampacolca 1748 -† London 1798).

Born *Pampacolca, Arequipa, Peru 1748, died London 1798. Jesuit, intellectual and one of the precursors of Peruvian independence.

Vizcardo y Guzmán in London[]

Juan Pablo Vizcardo - Spanish-American (Peruvian, that is born in the Viceroyalty of Peru. Español Americano in his words.) Jesuit priest, intellectual, writer and a precursor of Latin American independence - came to London during the Spanish viceregal period. He died here in 1798. A plaque marks the site of the house where he lived at the intersection of Baker Street and Marylebone Road

Vizcardo plaque Baker Street

and in St Patrick's Church in Soho Square you will find another plaque, unveiled in 1971 with an inscription honouring his life. Vizcardo came to London when 34 years old and there is evidence that he was one of a number of South Americans that the British Foreign Office had been encouraging to form an émigré group-in-waiting. Vizcardo

Vizcardo y Guzmán was born in Pampacolca, a pueblo 'up-country' from the Departmental capital of Arequipa, he trained as a Jesuit priest but then was exiled from Peru when his religious order was expelled from the American continent. In Europe he lived initially in Italy and whilst in France between 1782 and 1791 he wrote (or finished writing - to be published later in London(?)) the now famous "Carta a los Españoles Americanos" which is considered one of the earliest tracts calling on 'Spanish Americans' to strive for freedom from colonial domination. As such the book (and the author) is one of the missing links in this tentative series exploring (for example) the transmission of ideas between Peru, France and Britain. To what extent did the ideas of enlightenment and reason and specifically those circulating in France (in this period which includes the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789) influence the eventual Peruvian rebellion against the Spanish Crown in 1809(1821)-24? Was Vizcardo also influenced by more pragmatic British ideas, including those of the Scottish Enlightenment and/or those voiced by, for example, Thomas Paine -- traceble back to the demands in 1647 of the Levellers during the English Civil War. (See article in OJPS 1647 the Putney Debates /demand for male suffrage etc).


(These links / influences are at this stage unsustained hypotheses . . . and vie with others e.g. the influence of Spanish neo-scholasticism - further references are needed on this point. See Lynch, John. Simon Bolivar: A Life pp28-38)

  • Pampacolca is "upcountry" in the Department of Arequipa, Peru. In eighteenth century Bourbon Peru it was reputed to have been a wealthy agricultural area. Few visitors to Arequipa penetrate that zone, unless perhaps en route to the magnificent lunar landscape of the Valley of the Volcanos.

By the way . . .[]

Vizcardo was not alone in seeing a "British Alliance" with the Spanish Americans (Criollos) as a way of challenging Hispanic supremacy in what we now call Latin America.

"In the same year as the attack on Cartagena (1741) Stephen Deveros proposed a British Alliance with the Spanish American colonists. Trade and commerce, not conquest, were his aims". Ref: E. Taylor Parker, 1933(?).

The Vizcardo y Guzman Medal, produced by the Congress of Peru in 1999 in commemoration of the 200 anniversary of his birth was given to Annie Bazán-De-Fisherin recognition to her voluntary work in promoting Peru in the UK. That distinction was given to Annie by Ambassador Luis Chuquihuara at the Peruvian Embassy amogst hundred of specially invited peruvian and english nationals.

And in Wikipedia[]

The Spanish language Wikipedia has the following entry:

Residió en su ciudad natal, Arequipa, hasta que su orden religiosa fue expulsada del país. Viajó entonces a Italia y se estableció en un pequeño pueblo cerca de Génova. Después de pedir su secularización, esperó largos años la autorización para regresar a su patria y recuperar los bienes confiscados durante su exilio, lo que finalmente le fue denegado. En 1780, la noticia de la sublevación del líder indígena Túpac Amaru en Cuzco provocó su inmediata reacción y decidió apoyarla. Sin saber que había sido sangrientamente reprimida, le escribió a John Udny, cónsul inglés en Livorno y se ofreció a participar personalmente en una vasta acción revolucionaria. Con este fin se trasladó a Londres en 1782, y allí permaneció un par de años antes de regresar a Italia, donde prosiguió su campaña. En Francia, entre 1782 y 1791, terminó de redactar su famosa Carta a los Españoles Americanos, un documento fundamental del pensamiento libertario americano. Esta carta, escrita en francés, aparece primeramente, gracias al prócer venezolano Francisco de Miranda, en 1791, y circuló clandestinamente. En 1801 se publicó en español. Ambas ediciones son londinenses, aunque la primera tiene pie de imprenta en Filadelfia. Viscardo murió en Londres, donde se encontraba becado desde 1796.( alvaro alcarraz) Obtenido de " http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Pablo_Vizcardo_y_Guzm%C3%A1n"

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