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| You are in: Museum of History >> Hall of North and South Americans >> Melecor Talamantes | |
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TALAMANTES, Melecor (tah-lah-man'-tays), Peruvian geographer, born in Lima about 1750; died in Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1809. He studied theology in the University of San Marcos, Lima, and, after receiving the degree of D. D., entered the military religious order of Merced, in which he soon rose to the rank of superior of his province.
His favorite study was geography, in which he soon became an acknowledged authority, and on his way to Spain in 1806 he stopped in Mexico, to study documents regarding the colonization of the northern provinces. He was commissioned by the viceroy, Hurrigaray, to determine the boundary of the viceroyalty with the former French possession of Louisiana, and between the latter and Florida. While occupied in this work, he was implicated in Hurrigaray's plans of secession, and on the latter's deposition, 15 September, 1808, Talamantes was arrested and transported to Vera Cruz, where he died of yellow fever.
His manuscript, "Apuntamientos para deslindar los justos limites de las posesiones Españales de la America septentrional con las Francesas," came into the possession of his collaborator, Jose Pichardo, who used the notes and completed the work.
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, by John Looby Copyright © 2001 StanKlos.comTM