Mercurio Peruano
Mercurio Peruano
Mercurio Peruano, Peruvian periodical of the early 1790s. The Mercurio Peruano was a biweekly paper published in Lima, beginning in 1791, by a small group of officials, university faculty members, and other citizens who sought to improve Peru. Articles in the Mercurio provided Peruvians with information about the viceroyalty and suggestions for improving their daily lives. For example, they analyzed the viceroyalty's commerce, supported more efficient mining techniques, and recommended ways to improve the health of the citizenry. Supported and encouraged by Viceroy Francisco Gil De Taboada y Lemos, the Mercurio demonstrated that Lima had a number of self-proclaimed adherents of enlightened ideas, including José Baquíjano y Carrillo, Ambrosio Cerdán y Pontero, José Rossi y Rubí, and Hipólito Unanue. Its demise in 1795, however, reflected how small that number was. At no time did the number of subscribers total four hundred.
See alsoGazetas; Journalism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mercurio peruano de historia, literatura y noticias públicas que da a luz la Sociedad Académica de Amantes de Lima, 12 vols. (1791–1795; repr. 1964–1966).
Mark A. Burkholder, Politics of a Colonial Career: José Baquíjano and the Audiencia of Lima (1980), pp. 86-91.
Additional Bibliography
Clément, Jean-Pierre, El Mercurio peruano, 1790–1795 (1997–1998).
Mark A. Burkholder