Jose Baquijano y Carrillo He was born in Lima on February 13, 1751, the son of don Juan Bautista de Baquíjano y Urigüen -first count of Vista Florida- and doña María Ignacia Carrillo de Córdoba y Garcés de Marcilla. His parents had married in 1746. José Baquíjano y Carrillo was the third holder of the noble title of Count of Vista Florida, which he acceded to in 1809. He studied at the Royal College of San Martín and at the Council Seminary of Santo Toribio. he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Canon Law on February 18, 1765 and two months later, on April 29, a doctor of Canons and Laws, degrees obtained at the University of San Marcos. He was received as a lawyer on December 5, 1769 , by passing the examination of the Royal Audience of Lima. He began as a tutor for law students at the Santo Toribio seminary. Thanks to the decisive action of his protector Gorrichátegui -rector of said seminary-, he became his assistant when he was named bishop of Cuzco. In 1771 Baquíjano was appointed professor of Spanish Law and, therefore, was the first professor to teach this subject in Peru . Until then, the subjects of National Law were not included in the curricula of legal studies. The main emphasis of legal training -at the University of San Marcos and in the colleges- rested on Roman Law in its medieval versions. Continuing with teaching he was supernumerary professor of institutes in 1778 . In 1780, upon returning to Lima -after his first stay in Spain- he was appointed professor of Vespers of Laws. He was also an associate professor of Canons at the University of San Marcos and in 1806 he was in charge of directing studies at that house. In 1783 he had applied for the rectorship of this university, although unfortunately for his expectations he was defeated in said contest by Miguel de Villalta.
Literary contribution
Baquíjano's most famous text, delivered in 1781, is his Praise of Viceroy Agustín de Jáuregui, a veiled criticism of the Hispanic reforms that had harmed Lima's commercial hegemony in South America . As a result of this writing he was censored by the Spanish authorities and years later, in 1786, he had to sign some public retractions. He wrote some loose texts, among which we can mention his Relectio extemporánea ad explanationem legis phamphilo XXXIX delegatis et fideicomissis III quam in puvlici certamine pro primaria legum cathedra pronunciavit D.D.Josephus Baquijano et Carrillo (Lima, 1788).
President of the Society of Lovers of the Country and one of the founders of Mercury Peruano in 1791, the most important Peruvian illustrated print of the 18th century . In said medium he wrote several articles under the pseudonym "Cephalio", among which the following can be mentioned: "History of the creation and establishment of this Royal Audience" (volume I, fol. 185-190, 1791), “History of the foundation, progress and current state of the Royal University of San Marcos de Lima” (volume II, fol. 160-167, 172-180, 188-198 and 199-204, 1791) and “History of the discovery of Cerro de Potosí, foundation of its imperial town, its progress and current state” (volume VII, fol. 25-32, 33-40 and 41-48, 1793).
Judicial Functions
Baquíjano exercised, on the other hand, judicial functions. After numerous requests -which included donations to the Crown- he was appointed hearer of the audience of Lima in 1806. However, he had already held minor positions in this court. Thus, he was interim protector of natives from 1778 and mayor of crime in 1795. As protector of natives, he defended the curaca of Pisac (Cuzco), Bernardo Tambohuacso, who had been accused in 1780 of being involved in the conspiracy of Lorenzo Farfán of the Goths in Cuzco.
Trips to Spain
During his life he undertook three trips to the metropolis. The first stay took place between 1773-1777, occasion in which Baquíjano tried to be appointed hearer of the Lima audience. However, in view of his license and excessive fondness for the game, which had surprised even the brother of his protector in Spain, he was sent back to Lima. The second trip was undertaken in 1793 upon receiving a commission from the University of San Marcos. In addition, he was instructed to present to the Crown the complaints of the Lima merchants against the free trade regulations and to suggest, on the other hand, the creation of the first Bar Association in Lima. The last of his trips took place in 1813 when he was appointed State Counselor, a fact that triggered a real popular outburst among all Lima social classes. After this trip, he would die in Seville on January 24, 1817 .
Baquíjano's paradigms
The Peruvian historiography has appreciated the public trajectory of Baquíjano in attention to two paradigms. The first of them, of a nationalist nature, presents him as one of the great men of Peruvian emancipation and one of the forgers of nationality. The main proponent of this vision was the Lima historian José de la Riva-Agüero y Osma (1885-1944), a descendant of Baquíjano himself. The second paradigm, on the other hand, sees Baquíjano as a good example of the strategies deployed by American Creoles to obtain honors and recognition from the Spanish crown. The book by the North American historian Mark Burkholder, Politics of a colonial career. José Baquíjano and the Audiencia of Lima (Albuquerque, 1980), is the main exponent of this literature. Apart from these approaches, Baquíjano was an outstanding son of his time and a living example of enlightened criollism in Spanish America .