Mariano Felipe Paz Soldán y Ureta (August 22, 1821 - December 31, 1886), Peruvian historian and geographer, was born in

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. He was Minister of Justice and Instruction and Minister of Foreign Relations.

Education and early career

Paz Soldán was the son of Manuel Paz Soldán and Gregoria de Ureta Araníbar and was educated at Seminary of San Jerónimo and University of San Agustín, where he obtained a degree in Law. He had three brothers Mateo, José Gregorio and Pedro. He studied law and, after holding some minor judicial offices, was minister to

New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia: *New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717 *Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1822 *United Provinces of ...

in 1853. After his return, he occupied himself with plans for the establishment of a model penitentiary at

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, which he was enabled to accomplish through the support of General Ramon Castilla. In 1860, Castilla made him director of public works, in which capacity he superintended the erection of the Lima statue of

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

. He was also concerned in the reform of the currency by the withdrawal of the debased Bolivian coins.

Atlas, History, and Geographical Dictionary

Great atlas

In 1861, he published his great atlas of the republic of Peru, and, in 1868, the first volume of his history of Peru after the acquisition of her independence. A second volume followed, and a third, bringing the history down to 1839, was published after his death by his son.

Geographical Dictionary of Peru

In 1870, he was minister of justice and worship under President

José Balta José Balta y Montero (25 April 1814 – 26 July 1872) was a Peruvian soldier and politician who served as the 19th President of Peru from 1868 to 1872. He was the son of John Balta Bru and Agustina Montero Casafranca. In 1865, he aided Ma ...

, but shortly afterwards retired from public life. He edited his brother Mateo's great geographical dictionary of Peru, which was published in 1877. During the disastrous war with Chile, he sought refuge in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

where he was made professor in the

Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires (''National School of Buenos Aires'') is a public high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, affiliated to the University of Buenos Aires. In the tradition of the European ''gymnasium'' it provides a free educatio ...

and where he wrote and published a history of the war (1884). He died on December 31, 1886.

Publications

* ''Índice alfabético del Código Civil y de Enjuiciamientos y de Reglamento de Tribunales'' (1853) * ''Geografía del Perú'' (1860) * ''Atlas Geográfico del Perú'' (1865) * ''Diccionario geográfico del Perú'' (1877) * ''Historia del Perú independiente 1819-1827'' (1868) * ''Biblioteca Peruana'' (1879) * ''Narración histórica de la guerra de Chile contra Perú y Bolivia'' (1883)

Notes

References

* * Maps, Drawings and photos of M. Paz Soldá
David Rumpsey Map Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paz Soldan, Mariano Felipe 1821 births 1886 deaths People from Arequipa 19th-century Peruvian historians Peruvian male writers Historians of Peru 19th-century male writers