JORGE BASADRE: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - HISTORY - 2025

Jorge Basadre (1903-1980) was a renowned Peruvian historian, historian, and politician, who also stood out as a critic of literature. In turn, he was fervently concerned with Peruvian education and culture, which led him to serve as Minister of Education for two periods: first in 1945 and then in 1956.

His most significant work was titled History of the Republic of Peru, which was extended by the author during the course of his career and published in several volumes. It is important to note that this work corresponded to a complicated Peruvian historical context, where great advances were made as well as dire setbacks.

According to critics, Basadre's historiographic skills were highly admirable since, in a time when computers did not exist, the author managed to carry out complex bibliographic research using only index cards. The works of this writer were decisive for the record of the history of Peru.

Historic context

During Jorge Basadre's childhood and youth, a complex political process was experienced in Peru, since the failure of the civilian Republic was being experienced, which ended abruptly when Augusto Leguía, authoritarian and personalist, won the presidential elections. in 1908, starting with him a dictatorship that lasted 11 years.

The city of Tacna

As for the city of origin of Basadre, Tacna, it was invaded by the Chilean military as a result of the Battle of Alto de la Alianza, which occurred in 1880.

This implied that the author lived in a city context characterized by Chilean military oppression, which was betting on an aggressive process of Chileanization of the inhabitants of Tacna.

As a consequence of this military occupation, the city of Tacna suffered a kind of material and physical estrangement from the rest of the country. This fact strongly marked the mentality of the historian and of all young people from Tacna, who longed for freedom of expression and to become part of the Peruvian country again.

The history of the city of Tacna influenced Jorge Basadre in a profound and personal way. Even two of his relatives had died in the Battle of Arica, also known by the name of the "Assault and capture of the hill of Arica", a city that was under the yoke of the Chilean authorities, as were Tacna and Tarata.

Years later the liberation of the city of Tacna was requested by means of a plebiscite; however, the Chilean government knew it would have no chance of winning, so it frequently postponed elections.

A hostile and hopeless environment was then lived in the province; however, the romantic notions of homeland and nation grew stronger and stronger.

Emergence of the Peruvian parties

Subsequently, there was a breakdown of capitalism worldwide, which caused the fall of the dictatorial government of Lejía and produced the entry of different political options and different parties within Peru. With this came the communism of José Carlos Mariátegui, as well as the Socialist Party.

Biography

Jorge Basadre Grohmann, a native of the province of Tacna, was born on February 12 in 1903 and died in the capital of Lima on June 29, 1980, after turning 77 years of age.

His parents were Olga Grohmann Pividal -of German descent- and Carlos Basadre Forero. According to research by the same author, Basadre had ancestors not only German, but also indigenous, Spanish and Irish. It is said that this genealogical variety nurtured the beliefs and thought of the renowned historian.

Early years

Basadre carried out his first studies at the Santa Rosa school, an institution that functioned clandestinely due to the Chilean occupation. In the words of the same author, attending classes was like performing an act that was prohibited.

The Chilean authorities knew of the existence of this school but, as it was a small and isolated place, they decided to tolerate it.

When his father died, the future historian had to move to Lima in 1912, the capital city that was idealized by the people of Tacne, since they believed that all patriotic promises and ideals of freedom and justice were fulfilled there; in other words, they exalted the capital compared to its oppressed province of origin.

After his arrival, Basadre realized that Lima also had its conflicts and that there were many aspects that needed to be improved both in the political and social environment.

Later, he finished his primary studies at the National School of Our Lady of Guadalupe and later entered the National University of San Marcos.

University studies and early writings

During his stay at the Basadre University he obtained a doctorate in Letters, as well as in Law.

In addition, he maintained an active participation in the University Conversation: together with other students he founded the group known as the Generation of the Reform. In the same way, he began to teach history classes in some schools in the capital.

In 1925 he was chosen as part of the Peruvian delegation to ensure that the plebiscite was carried out in the province of Tacna. During this process, Basadre was injured, and as there were no guarantees that the elections would be carried out correctly and safely, the plebiscite was canceled.

It was not until two years after that Tacna was reincorporated to Peru; however, the province of Arica continued to be part of Chilean rule until today.

It is said that the author Jorge Basadre was invaded by a wounded and romantic political sentiment, as was natural in all Tacneños, who were frequently persecuted by the invading authorities. Basadre's first book, El alma de Tacna (published in 1925), reflected his diplomatic concerns.

In addition to this book, Basadre and his student group founded a weekly magazine called Justicia, which was printed in Tacna. The name of this was an attempt to reflect the libertarian and patriotic aspirations of the Peruvian youth of the moment.

Teaching at the university

In 1928 the author began to practice as a teacher at the University of San Marcos, being the youngest professor of the moment. Later, in 1929, he was chosen as director of the Central Library of the same university thanks to his librarian performance. Basadre held this position for a year.

As a result of support from the Carnegie Foundation, in 1931 he undertook a journey in which he extended his curriculum as a librarian. Basadre toured countries such as the United States, Germany and Spain, in which he conducted research on different files stored in large libraries.

During his studies, Basadre was especially influenced by two currents: the French Annales current, which focused on studying history from social structures and processes; and the German current of the historiographical school, which was impregnated with positivist ideas.

Political participation

Jorge Basadre was chosen as Minister of Education during two presidential governments: the first occurred while José Luis Bustamante y Rivero was in power, in 1945; the second was during the government of Manuel Prado, who also held power for the second time in 1958.

He also served as director of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Pan American Union from 1948 to 1950. Then, in 1956, he resumed his work as a teacher at the University of San Marcos.

I work at the National Library

From a very young age, Basadre dedicated himself to the care and protection of libraries. At the beginning of his university life he worked in the National Library without receiving any payment; I just wanted to contribute culture. During his stay in this place he met José Carlos Mariátegui.

After dedicating himself to other jobs, he returned to the National Library in 1930. During this period he was in charge of organizing the great scientific volumes that were sheltered within the old shelves.

In 1939, he found a text that is considered today as an ancient bibliographic gem unique in the world, called Al rey NS Don Felipe, which dated from the year 1622.

In 1943 a strong fire occurred in the National Library of Peru, so Basadre was entrusted by President Manuel Prado to the arduous task of directing the reconstruction and reorganization of the old institution. During this period of considerable work the historian founded the National School of Librarians.

Plays

According to insiders, one of Basadre's main merits is having combined objectivity and commitment. All his bibliography demonstrates this purpose of not forgetting the historical duty he had with his nation. At the same time, his work offered a possible explanation of the Peruvian historical context.

At the end of the 1920s, Basadre realized that there were few books that could be consulted on the Independence of Peru. In addition, there was no investigation about the formation of the State in San Marcos and the national problem.

For this reason, the author undertook to carry out an arduous bibliographic task, through which he could respond to this information gap. Basadre realized that politics and history could not be approached separately but had to work together, in order to find solutions in current political events.

During his life Jorge Basadre wrote a considerable number of texts and essays. Some of the most notable and recognized were: Errors, in 1928, where he gathered several literary criticisms; and Peru: problem and possibility, in 1931, in which the author established what the objectives of the story should be.

There are also other writings of great importance, such as The Promise of Peruvian Life, published in 1943, where Basadre addressed the struggle of Americans from longing for an improvement in the quality of life; and Inca Literature, from 1938, in which the author's bibliographic research work can be appreciated.

History of the Republic of Peru

As for his most important and admired work, History of the Republic of Peru -published in 1939-, it ranges from the Declaration of Independence (1822) to the fall of the Oncenio, corresponding to the government of Augusto Leguía (1933).

Basadre decided to divide this extensive work into periods, eight in their entirety:

-The founding time of the republic.

-The false prosperity of guano.

-The economic and finance crisis prior to the war in Chile.

-The war with Chile.

-The beginning of reconstruction.

-The aristocratic Republic.

-The Eleventh.

-The beginning of the irruption of the organized masses in politics.

Studies carried out on the work of Basadre

Despite his many recognitions, the studies that have been carried out on Jorge Basadre have been quite scarce. In 1978 the Catholic University published a text entitled History, problem and promise, where you can find two short essays that address Basadre's historiographic work.

The first was written by Francisco Miró Quesada, which was titled History and theory in the work of Jorge Basadre. There the influence of philosophy on historical reasoning was raised.

The second essay, entitled Life and history. Considerations on the memoirs of Jorge Basadre, was written by David Sobresevilla, and in this he talked about the author's humanistic training.

Curiosities about the author

Today, the face of the great historian Jorge Basadre can be found on the national 100-soles banknotes.

Both in his time and today, Basadre is regarded as a man of encyclopedic mentality. His friends and acquaintances reported that he had the ability to speak on any topic and make the conversation as fluid as possible. This is said to have been possible thanks to the broad culture he received from his foreign relatives.

As thanks for his work, there is an avenue that bears his name, as well as the 12 block of the capital.

The Peruvian government awarded him its highest decoration, "The Order of the Sun", in recognition of his interpretation of Peruvian history.

References

1. Espinoza, C. (sf). Jorge Basadre, historiography and politics. Examination of his project of construction of a new national historiography. Retrieved on October 3, 2018 from UNMSM Research Journals: magazinesinvestigacion.unmsm.edu.pe
2. Jorge Basadre Grohmann (nd). Retrieved on October 3, 2018 from Perúeduca, digital system for learning: perueduca.pe
3. Suárez, F. (2016) Jorge Basadre and his book Peru, problem and possibility. Retrieved on October 3, 2018 from the journal Human and Economic Sciences: Cienciashumanasyeconomicas.medellin.unal.edu.co
4. Contreras, C. (nd) The life and history of Don Jorge Basadre. Retrieved on October 3, 2018 from Revista Ideele: idl.org.pe
5. Jorge Basadre Grohmann National University (sf) Retrieved on October 3, 2018 from UniRank: 4icu.org
6. Basadre, J. (1973) El Azar en la Historia and its limits with an appendix, the series of probabilities within the Peruvian emancipation. Retrieved on October 3, 2018 from PhillPapers: philpapers.org