Manuel Orozco y Berra (8 June 1816 – 27 January 1881; He was born and died in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

) was a Mexican historian and a member of the

Mexican Academy of Language The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua (variously translated as the Mexican Academy of Language, the Mexican Academy of the Language, the Mexican Academy of Letters, or glossed as the Mexican Academy of the Spanish Language; acronym AML) is the corr ...

. He was a disciple of

José Fernando Ramírez José Fernando Ramírez (5 May 1804 – 4 March 1871) was a distinguished Mexican historian in the 19th century. He was a mentor of Alfredo Chavero, who considered him "the foremost of our historians." Ramírez was born in Parral, Chihuahua b ...

and Joaquín García Icazbalceta and together with them, is considered one of the most important historians of Mexico of the 19th century, ranking "as a major figure among 19th-century students of the Mexican Indian past." He produced a significant body of published work on

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

n ethnohistory,Cline, "Selected Nineteenth-Century Mexican Writers on Ethnohistory, Appendix C, Orozco y Berra, Selected writings of Ethnohistorical Interest", pp. 406-07.

Career

In 1844 he delivered the speech alluding to Independence, publishing various political and literary articles. Three years later he obtained the title of lawyer in the Palafoxiana Seminary of Puebla. In 1850 he was appointed director of the Mexican National Archives. From 1855 to 1857 he served as senior official of the Ministry of Development during the liberal government of

Ignacio Comonfort Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos (; 12 March 1812 – 13 November 1863), known as Ignacio Comonfort, was a Mexican politician and soldier who was also president during one of the most eventful periods in 19th century Mexican history: La R ...

. In 1863 President

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...

appointed him Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. During the French Intervention in Mexico (1864-1867) he served as director of the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

under emperor

Maximilian I of Mexico Maximilian I (german: Ferdinand Maximilian Josef Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen, link=no, es, Fernando Maximiliano José María de Habsburgo-Lorena, link=no; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian archduke who reigned as the only Emperor ...

. In 1864 his work Geography of languages and ethnographic letter of Mexico was published. His service to

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French i ...

resulted in his being tried as a traitor and imprisoned for a period. He returned to public life after his disgrace, and between 1880 and 1881 his masterpiece Ancient History and the Conquest of Mexico was published in four volumes. Orozco y Berra was a pioneer of Mexican historiography and president of the Mexican Society of Geography and Statistics. In 1875 Orozco y Berra was a founding member of the Mexican Academy of Language, he occupied the chair XIII. He was a member of the Natural History Society and an honorary member of the Mining Society. He was a corresponding member of the

Spanish Royal Academy The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

and the Royal Academy of History. He was also a member of the Archaeological Society of Santiago de Chile, the Geographical Society of Rome, the Archaeological Society of Paris and the

International Congress of Americanists The International Congress of Americanists (ICA) is an international academic conference for research in multidisciplinary studies of the Americas. Established August 25, 1875 in Nancy, France, the scholars' forum has met regularly since its incept ...

. He died in Mexico City on January 27, 1881.

Works

*''Universal Dictionary of History and Geography'' (1853-1856), in ten volumes. *''Materials for a Mexican cartography'' *''Notes on the history of geography in Mexico'' *''Memory for hydrographic chart of the Valley of Mexico'' *''Memory for up to Mexico City'' *''History of geography in Mexico'' *''Geography of languages and ethnographic letter of Mexico.'' *''Conquerors of Mexico'' *''Mexican Studies and Chronology'' *''Ancient History of the Conquest of Mexico'' *''History of Spanish rule in Mexico''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orozco y Berra, Manuel 19th-century Mexican historians 19th-century Mesoamericanists Historians of Mesoamerica Mexican Mesoamericanists Members of the Mexican Academy of Language Writers from Mexico City 1816 births 1881 deaths

Career

Works

Further reading

References