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The royal decree of 1620 and the origins of the san gregorio magno university of quito

Abstract:

The research analyzes the origins of the Jesuit University of San Gregorio Magno. After the expulsion of the Society of Jesus, by royal disposition, it was fused to the Dominican university, being the result of this fusion the birth of the Real and Public University of Santo Tomás de Aquino, which later gave way to the Central of Quito and, finally, to the University Central of Ecuador. Currently, there are non-consensual appraisals about the inaugural year of this first great house. Some historical reviews point to the years 1621 and 1622. As if that were not enough, the motto on the institutional shields reads: “founded in 1651” In the so-called Libro de oro institucional, the key that has made it possible to correct the problem has been found. The royal certificate of September 5, 1620, signed by Felipe III is, for now, the oldest and most specific document of this original house of studies.