Jorge Basadre (1903-1980) was a renowned Peruvian historian, historian and politician, who also stood out as a critic of literature. In turn, he was fervently concerned about Peruvian education and culture, which led him to serve as Minister of Education for two periods: first in 1945 and then in 1956..
His most significant work was titled History of the Republic of Peru, which was extended by the author during the course of his career and published in several volumes. It is important to note that this work corresponded to a complicated Peruvian historical context, where great advances were made as well as dire setbacks..
According to critics, Basadre's historiographic skills were highly admirable since, at a time when computers did not exist, the author managed to carry out complex bibliographic research using only index cards. The works of this writer were decisive for the record of the history of Peru.
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During Jorge Basadre's childhood and youth, a complex political process was experienced in Peru, since the failure of the civilian Republic was being experienced, which ended abruptly when Augusto Leguía, of an authoritarian and personalist nature, won the presidential elections. in 1908, starting with him a dictatorship that lasted 11 years.
As for the city of origin of Basadre, Tacna, it was invaded by the Chilean military as a result of the Battle of Alto de la Alianza, which occurred in 1880.
This implied that the author lived in a city context characterized by Chilean military oppression, which was betting on an aggressive process of Chileanization of the inhabitants of Tacna..
As a consequence of this military occupation, the city of Tacna suffered a kind of material and physical estrangement from the rest of the country. This fact strongly marked the mentality of the historian and of all the young people from Tacna, who longed for freedom of expression and to become part of the Peruvian country again..
The history of the city of Tacna deeply and personally influenced Jorge Basadre. Even two of his relatives had died in the Battle of Arica, also known as the "Assault and capture of the nose of Arica", a city that was under the yoke of the Chilean authorities, as were Tacna and Tarata..
Years later the liberation of the city of Tacna was requested by means of a plebiscite; However, the Chilean government knew that it would not have a chance of winning, so it frequently postponed the elections..
A hostile and hopeless environment was then lived in the province; However, the romantic notions of homeland and nation grew stronger and stronger..
Subsequently, there was a breakdown of capitalism worldwide, which caused the fall of the dictatorial government of Lejía and produced the entry of different political options and different parties within Peru. With this came the communism of José Carlos Mariátegui, as well as the Socialist Party.
Jorge Basadre Grohmann, a native of the province of Tacna, was born on February 12 in 1903 and died in the capital of Lima on June 29, 1980, after reaching 77 years of age..
His parents were Olga Grohmann Pividal -of German descent- and Carlos Basadre Forero. According to research by the same author, Basadre had ancestors not only German, but also indigenous, Spanish and Irish. It is said that this genealogical variety nurtured the beliefs and thought of the renowned historian.
Basadre carried out his first studies at the Santa Rosa school, an institution that operated clandestinely due to the Chilean occupation. In the words of the same author, attending classes was like performing an act that was prohibited.
The Chilean authorities knew of the existence of this school but, as it was a small and isolated place, they decided to tolerate it..
When his father died, the future historian had to move in 1912 to Lima, the capital city that was idealized by the people of Tacne, since they believed that all patriotic promises and ideals of freedom and justice were fulfilled there; in other words, they exalted the capital compared to its oppressed province of origin.
After his arrival, Basadre realized that Lima also had its conflicts and that there were many aspects that needed to be improved both in the political and social environment..
Later, he finished his primary studies at the National School of Our Lady of Guadalupe and then entered the National University of San Marcos..
During his stay at the Basadre University he obtained a doctorate in Letters, as well as in Law.
In addition, he maintained an active participation in the University Conversation: together with other students he founded the group known as the Generation of the Reform. In the same way, he began to teach History classes in some schools in the capital.
In 1925 he was chosen as part of the Peruvian delegation to ensure that the plebiscite was carried out in the province of Tacna. During this process, Basadre was injured, and as there were no guarantees that the elections would be carried out correctly and safely, the plebiscite was canceled..
It was not until two years after that Tacna was reincorporated to Peru; However, the province of Arica remained part of the Chilean domain until today.
It is said that the author Jorge Basadre was invaded by a wounded and romantic political sentiment, as was natural in all Tacneños, who were frequently persecuted by the invading authorities. Basadre's first book, The soul of Tacna (published in the year 1925), reflected his diplomatic concerns.
In addition to this book, Basadre and his student group founded a weekly magazine called Justice, which was printed in Tacna. The name of this was an attempt to reflect the libertarian and patriotic aspirations of the young Peruvians of the moment..
In 1928 the author began to work as a teacher at the University of San Marcos, being the youngest professor of the moment. Later, in 1929, he was chosen as director of the Central Library of the same university thanks to his librarian performance. Basadre held this position for a year.
As a result of the support of the Carnegie Foundation, in 1931 he undertook a journey in which he extended his curriculum as a librarian. Basadre toured countries such as the United States, Germany and Spain, in which he conducted research on different files stored in large libraries.
During his studies, Basadre was especially influenced by two currents: the French Annales current, which focused on studying history from social structures and processes; and the German current of the historiographical school, which was impregnated with positivist ideas.
Jorge Basadre was chosen as Minister of Education during two presidential governments: the first occurred while José Luis Bustamante y Rivero was in power, in 1945; the second was during the government of Manuel Prado, who also held power for the second time in 1958.
He also served as director of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Pan American Union from 1948 to 1950. Then, in 1956, he resumed his work as a teacher at the University of San Marcos..
From a very young age, Basadre dedicated himself to the care and protection of libraries. At the beginning of his university life he worked in the National Library without receiving any payment; I just wanted to contribute culture. During his stay in this place he met José Carlos Mariátegui.
After dedicating himself to other works, he returned to the National Library in 1930. During this period he was in charge of organizing the great scientific volumes that were sheltered within the old shelves..
In 1939, he found a text that is considered today as an ancient bibliographic gem unique in the world, called To King N.S Don Felipe, which dated from the year 1622.
In 1943 a strong fire occurred in the National Library of Peru, for which Basadre was entrusted by President Manuel Prado to the arduous task of directing the reconstruction and reorganization of the old institution. During this period of considerable work the historian founded the National School of Librarians.
According to insiders, one of Basadre's main merits is having combined objectivity and commitment. All his bibliography demonstrates this purpose of not forgetting the historical duty he had with his nation. At the same time, his work offered a possible explanation of the Peruvian historical context.
At the end of the 1920s, Basadre realized that there were few books that could be consulted on the Independence of Peru. In addition, there had been no investigation into the formation of the State in San Marcos and the national problem.
For this reason, the author undertook to carry out an arduous bibliographic task, through which he could respond to this information gap. Basadre realized that politics and history could not be approached separately but that they had to work together, in order to find solutions in the current political situation..
During his life Jorge Basadre wrote a considerable number of texts and essays. Some of the most notable and recognized were: Mistakes, in 1928, where he gathered several literary criticisms; Y Peru: problem and possibility, in 1931, in which the author established what the goals of the story should be.
There are also other writings of great importance, such as The promise of Peruvian life, published in 1943, where Basadre addressed the struggle of Americans from longing for an improvement in the quality of life; Y Inca literature, of the year 1938, in which the author's research bibliographic work can be appreciated.
Regarding his most important and admired work, History of the Republic of Peru -published in 1939-, it covers from the Declaration of Independence (1822) until the fall of the Oncenio, corresponding to the government of Augusto Leguía (1933).
Basadre decided to divide this extensive work into periods, eight in their totality:
-The founding epoch of the republic.
-The false prosperity of guano.
-Chile's pre-war financial and economic crisis.
-The war with Chile.
-The beginning of reconstruction.
-The aristocratic republic.
-The Oncenio.
-The beginning of the irruption of the organized masses in politics.
Despite his many recognitions, the studies that have been carried out on Jorge Basadre have been quite scarce. In 1978 the Catholic University published a text entitled History, problem and promise, where you can find two short essays that address the historiographical work of Basadre.
The first was written by Francisco Miró Quesada, which was titled History and theory in the work of Jorge Basadre. There the influence of philosophy on historical reasoning was raised.
The second essay, titled Life and history. Considerations on Jorge Basadre's memoirs, It was written by David Sobresevilla, and in this he talked about the author's humanistic training.
Today, the face of the great historian Jorge Basadre can be found on the national 100-soles banknotes..
Both in his time and today, Basadre is considered an encyclopedic-minded man. His friends and acquaintances reported that he had the ability to speak on any topic and make the conversation as fluid as possible. It is said that this was possible thanks to the wide culture that he received from his foreign relatives.
As a thank you for your work, there is an avenue that bears your name, as well as the 12 block of the capital..
The Peruvian government awarded him its highest decoration, "The Order of the Sun", in recognition of his interpretation of Peruvian history..
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