The Independence Debate: The Construction of the South American Republics from 1780 to 1850
In April 2018 we held an international conference on the construction of South American republics between 1780 and 1850. It was held in the Instituto Riva-Agüero at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
The conference was entitled The independence debate. The Construction of the South American republics from 1780 to 1850 (“La Independencia a debate. La construcción de las Repúblicas en Sudamérica, 1780 – 1850”). It was jointly organised by the University of Kent, the Pontificia Universidad Católica of Peru and the Leverhulme Trust. The conference was held in collaboration with the Riva-Agüero institute and the following departments at the Universidad Católica of Peru:
The School of Humanities
The Department of History, Literature and Social Sciences
The Master’s programme
The Department for the Study of the History of Languages.
On Wednesday the 25th April the conference was held in the Instituto Riva-Agüero and on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th April it was held in the Humanities Lecture Theatre in the Pontificia Universidad Católica of Peru.
The conference was held as part of our research network “War and Nation: Identity and the Process of State-Building in South America (1800-1840)”, which is co-ordinated by Natalia Sobrevilla Perea (University of Kent) and funded by the Leverhulme Trust. The research team is comprised of Claudia Rosas Lauro (PUCP, Perú), Gabriel Di Meglio (Instituto Ravignani, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Argentina), Alejandro Rabinovich (Universidad de la Pampa, CONICET, Argentina), Daniel Gutiérrez (Universidad Externado de Colombia) and Juan Luis Ossa (Centro de Estudios de Historia Política, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Chile).
The objective of the research network is to analyse the processes of independence and the formation of the South American republics between 1780 and 1850.
Our conference marked the bicentenary of the independence of Peru and allowed a space for reflection on the numerous figures that have a place in the complex process of the struggle for independence.
The subjects we addressed include: the formation of the states; political-territorial sovereignty and the new nationalities; the role of war; public opinion; the ideas and the political culture of the time; the transition from the economy of the old regime to that of the republic; the different regions and the role of the popular sectors, the indigenous population and those of African descent.
On this occasion were joined by more than forty other national and international researchers. The keynote speakers were Hilda Sabato (Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Argentina), Charles Walker (University of California, Davis, Estados Unidos) and Scarlett O´Phelan Godoy (PUCP). We also had international invited speakers such as Víctor Peralta (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas de Madrid, España), Rodrigo Moreno (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), Fernando Jumar (Universidad Tres de Febrero, Argentina), Hugo Contreras (Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, Chile) and lecturers and researchers from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, the Universidad Nacional San Antonio de Abad del Cusco, the Universidad Nacional San Cristóbal de Huamanga, the Universidad Católica de San Pablo de Arequipa, the Universidad de Piura, the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, etc.
The full programme can be seen using the link below:
Programa Congreso Independencia a Debate 1780-1850