Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros (31 July 1777 – 7 April 1849) was an Argentine statesman and priest. He was a representative to the

Congress of Tucumán The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in San Miguel de Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on July 9, 1816, fro ...

which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina. Castro Barros was born in Chuquis, Arauco Department, La Rioja Province, Argentina. As a child, he was taken to Santiago del Estero to study and in 1790 he went to Córdoba where he was taken under the wing of the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the University of Córdoba. He gained his doctorate in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in 1800 and later that year he was ordained by Bishop Moscoso of Tucumán. Castro Barros was elected to represent La Rioja in the 1813 Assembly replacing Ugarteche. In 1815, he was elected to the Tucumán Congress and served as president in May 1816 for the appointment of

Juan Martín de Pueyrredón Juan Martín de Pueyrredón y O'Dogan (December 18, 1777 – March 13, 1850) was an Argentine general and politician of the early 19th century. He was appointed Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata after the Argentine ...

as Supreme Director. For the declaration on 9 July, he led the Tedeum mass that was celebrated to give thanks. He supported an

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

. Later Castro Barros became rector of the University of Córdoba on three occasions and founded several primary schools. He lived in exile in the

Banda Oriental Banda Oriental, or more fully Banda Oriental del Uruguay (Eastern Bank), was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay; the modern state of Rio Gra ...

from 1833 and then from 1841 in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, where he was rector of the

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

. A museum dedicated to Castro Barros is located in his birthplace, Chuquis.

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House of Tucumán A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

1777 births 1849 deaths 19th-century Argentine Roman Catholic priests Members of the Congress of Tucumán People from La Rioja Province, Argentina Members of the Assembly of the Year XIII Argentine monarchists {{Argentina-reli-bio-stub