University of Seville

The University of Seville originally dates to the 15th century. Created by Archdeacon Maese Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella, it was originally called Colegio de Santa María de Jesús. In the 16th century (1505), a Bull of Pope Julius II granted the College the faculty to teach degrees in Theology, Philosophy, Law, Medicine and Arts. In 1551, the City Council allowed it, by means of a Royal Provision, to officially become a University, enjoying all the privileges of the other Spanish Universities.[7]

Its antecedents date back to the middle of the 13th century, the Dominicans, in order to prepare missionaries for work among the Moors and Jews, organised schools for the teaching of Arabic, Hebrew, and Greek. To cooperate in this work and to enhance the prestige of Seville, Alfonso the Wise in 1254 established "general schools" (escuelas generales) of Arabic and Latin in Seville.[9] Alexander IV recognized this foundation as a generale litterarum studium by the Papal Bull of 21 June 1260 and granted its members certain dispensations in the matter of residence.[10] Later, the cathedral chapter established ecclesiastical studies in the College of San Miguel. Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella, archdeacon of the cathedral and commonly known as Maese Rodrigo, began the construction of a building for a university in 1472; in 1502 the Catholic Monarchs published the royal decree creating the university, and in 1505 Julius II granted the Bull of authorization. The construction of the chapel of Santa Maria de Jesus began in 1505 and was consecrated on May 17, 1506. The work on the chapel was completed in 1519 and the construction of the college was finished around 1520. In 1526 it was enlarged with the acquisition of an adjoining plot of land that belonged to the Alcazar.[11] The Catholic Monarchs and the pope granted the power to confer degrees in logic, philosophy, theology, and canon and civil law.

In 1621, new statutes were drawn up that gave the university greater independence with respect to the college, which, in turn, came to be sponsored by the Count-Duke of Olivares and was renamed Colegio Mayor de Santa María de Jesús, which differentiated it more from the nearby Colegio de Santo Tomás, governed by the Dominicans. In 1621 the university had four faculties: Theology, Canons and Law, Medicine and Arts, and granted the degrees of bachelor, bachelor and doctor in all faculties, along with that of master for the Faculty of Arts.[12]

The colegio mayor de Maese Rodrigo and the university proper, although housed in the same building, never lost their separate identities, as is shown by the fact that, in the 18th century, the university was moved to the College of San Hermenegildo, while that of Maese Rodrigo remained independent, although languishing.[13]

In 1767 Pablo de Olavide, assistant of Seville, after knowing the situation of the university, prepared a report in which other personalities participated, among them the clergymen José Cevallos and Luis Germán y Ribón, of the Real Academia Sevillana de Buenas Letras. The report proposed the end of the centers of theology studies, which were organized by different religious orders; the secularization of the chairs and their duration so that they would not be for life; the elaboration of new texts for the faculties of Theology, Arts or Philosophy, Canons and Law and Medicine, as well as a new course in Mathematics; and greater independence of the university with respect to the college. These proposals were approved by Royal Decree in 1769.[12]

In 1767 the Jesuits were expelled from Spain. In 1768 Olavide proposed that the university be moved to the former professed house of that order, a 16th century building on Laraña Street. This was approved by Royal Order of May 31, 1768. The move took place in 1771.[12]

The school was confiscated in 1835. It was used as barracks for the local militia. In 1848 it was renovated, and housed the diocesan seminary. With this use, it underwent a major renovation at the end of the 19th century.  The seminary was moved to the palace of San Telmo in 1901 and the school building was sold to the real estate developer Juan Bautista Calvi. In 1909 it was demolished for the creation of the current Constitution Avenue. The façade was moved to the Santa Clara convent, where it was mounted in 1922 by Juan Talavera y Heredia when a portion of the convent was used as a municipal museum. The façade remains in the convent of Santa Clara. The chapel of the school, which became the headquarters of the Consejo de Hermandades y Cofradías, has been preserved.[14]

In 1772 this center, now separated from the Colegio Mayor de Santa María de Jesús, was renamed "Real Universidad Literaria" (Royal Literary University). It had this name until 1845.[15]

The Royal Decree of July 12, 1807, promoted by the minister José Antonio Caballero, implemented in all Spanish universities the study plan approved that year by the University of Salamanca and suppressed all the minor universities, such as those of Baeza and Osuna. Both were reinstated in 1815, although they were definitively suppressed in 1824.[16] In the nineteenth century new general university plans and reforms were carried out that affected certain Spanish faculties.[17]

In 1843 the Provincial and University Library of Seville was founded,[18] and since its remodeling in 1845-68, it has become one of the most important libraries in Spain, with the acquisition of new books.[19]

The Universidad Hispalense, as the University of Seville is known, evolved in terms of its curricula and faculties and in terms of its location in the city during the 19th century with new professorships, the reform of faculties and the emergence of seminars and specialized libraries.

In terms of curricula, theology studies, due to the ecclesiastical influence, were among the last to be taught. The General Plan of 1845 suppressed theology in all Spanish universities except in five educational institutions, including Seville. It was eradicated from all universities in 1852; however, Seville reinstated it again in 1854, only to be definitively closed after the Revolution of 1868.[20]

The Moyano Law (1857) created the Faculty of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of the University of Seville.[21]

The reform of 1843 suppressed the teaching of medicine in Seville, with classes ceasing in the city in 1845 and moving to the city of Cadiz, in full swing.[22] The Provincial and University Library was also in charge of the Library of the Faculty of Medicine in Cadiz. In 1868 the Free School of Medicine was created in Seville. In 1917, the Faculty of Medicine was founded in the city of Seville.[23]

After a major remodeling, the University of Seville moved to the Real Fabrica de Tabacos between 1954 and 1956.  The transformation of the building was a work of great significance, carried out by the architects Alberto Balbontín de Orta, Delgado Roig and Toro Buiza.[24][25]

Initially it housed the Rector's Office and the Faculties of Science, Law and Philosophy and Letters. It currently serves as the headquarters of the rectorate and only houses the Faculties of Geography and History and Philology.

In the 1960s, the Higher Technical Schools of Architecture and Industrial Engineering were created.[26][27] In the following decade, the Schools of Economics,[28] and Pharmacy were created, the Faculty of Sciences was divided, giving rise to the Schools of Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, and the University College of La Rábida, the seed of the University of Huelva, was created.[29]