An exploration of women's involvement in the Latin American Wars of Independence

Guillermo del Río

Gender:Male

Ethnic origen: White

Events:

Connections:

Biography:
Born in Flanders, he arrived in Lima after having been taken prisoner by the English. He edited Gaceta de Lima from 1793-1804. It continued publication until 1804 when del Río converted it into Minerva Peruana, which ran until 1810. He was accused of conspiracy against the Spanish and lost his job as editor of these official journals. He later published El Peruano (1811) and was accused of sedition. Viceroy Abascal imposed a fine of 100 pesos and he had to flee to Chile. He returned to Lima at the time of the Liberal Constitution and published El Investigador (1813-14). After Independence he edited El Correo Mercantil y Político (1821-24). He was the first journalist of independent Peru who gave his services to emancipation. His works include: Monumentos literarios del Perú (1812); he translated Compendio histórico de la revolución francesa desde el año 1789 hasta el de 1802 (1805) from French. (Romero de Valle, 104, 130.)

El Investigador, had 135 issues from 19 July 1813 to 30 June 1814. It concentrated on localismo and anti-clericalism. It was the first local paper on urban life. It reflected social life, urban problems, los chismes del vecindario and also the political fears and concerns of the time, it praised the 1812 Constitution and used satire against the inquisition. (Romero de Valle, 161.)

He edited El Peruano which ran between 6 September 1811 and 9 June 1812. It emerged from a society called Tertulia del Campo, the members of which have never been identified. He edited El Triunfo de la Nación in 1821, that was in favour of a constitutional monarchy. (Martínez Riaza, 32, 42.)

References:

Martínez Riaza, Ascención (1985) La prensa doctrina en la independencia de Perú, 1811-1824
Romero de Valle, Emilia (1966) Diccionario manual de literatura peruana y materias afines