Patria, Criollos and Blacks: Imagining the nation in the Mercurio peruano 1791-1795

The views of author on the processes that occurred in the most influential cultural and political zones occupied by Peruvian Creole intellectuals in the late colonial period. The discussion is based on the function of the specific newspaper as a space of knowledge and a significant way of enunciation. The author has examined the Creole articulation of the image of the Peruvian nation and the way in which Creoles understood their role as useful citizens and intellectuals. The author has also discussed the role played by the black population in Lima in the national project articulated by the contributors in their newspaper articles. The Mercurio Peruano was founded by the Sociedad Académica de Amantes del País, a group of young intellectual Creoles from Lima. Their expertise included medicine, commerce, science, geography, religion, literature and law.