# Diego Barros Arana
Diego Barros Arana (1830–1907) was a Chilean historian, diplomat, and educator, author of the sixteen-volume *Historia General de Chile* and rector of both the Instituto Nacional and the Universidad de Chile. A liberal and anticlerical, he was banished under the government of [Manuel Montt](https://www.edgepedia.org/manuel-montt), served as Chile's minister plenipotentiary and boundary expert (perito) with Argentina in the 1870s, and helped lay the groundwork for the 1881 boundary treaty between the two countries.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 August 1830, Santiago[1](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-92250.html) • [2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) |
| Rector, Instituto Nacional | March 1863 to 1872[3](https://www.scielo.cl/pdf/autoc/v8n2/0719-8213-autoc-8-02-1057.pdf) • [4](https://uchile.cl/presentacion/historia/rectores-de-la-u-de-chile/diego-barros-arana-1893-1897) |
| Diplomatic post | Minister plenipotentiary and perito on the Boundary Commission with Argentina from the 1870s[5](https://www.archivonacional.gob.cl/diego-barros-arana) • [2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) |
| Major work | *Historia General de Chile*, written 1881–1902, published in 16 volumes by the Imprenta Cervantes[2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) |
| Rector, Universidad de Chile | 1893; reelected 1897 but the appointment was not given effect[4](https://uchile.cl/presentacion/historia/rectores-de-la-u-de-chile/diego-barros-arana-1893-1897) • [2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) |
| Political alignment | Liberal, lay (anticlerical), opponent of Manuel Montt and later of José Manuel Balmaceda[5](https://www.archivonacional.gob.cl/diego-barros-arana) • [2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) |
## Origins and education
Barros Arana was born in Santiago on 16 August 1830.[1](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-92250.html)
In 1838 his father enrolled him as an external student at the Instituto Nacional, where he spent eleven years studying Latin, grammar, philosophy, French, and the history of the ancient Orient; among his classmates was [Francisco Bilbao](https://www.edgepedia.org/francisco-bilbao), later a prominent liberal thinker.[1](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-92250.html)
## Career
**Exile and return.** As an open opponent of the government of Manuel Montt (1851–1861), Barros Arana was banished from Chile and lived in Latin American and European countries.[2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) He returned to Chile in 1863, once the conservatives ceded the executive to the Liberal Party.[5](https://www.archivonacional.gob.cl/diego-barros-arana)
**Rector of the Instituto Nacional, 1863–1872.** In 1863 he assumed the rectorship of the Instituto Nacional.[2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) • [4](https://uchile.cl/presentacion/historia/rectores-de-la-u-de-chile/diego-barros-arana-1893-1897) There he carried out a reform oriented toward scientific, lay education, drawing harsh attacks from conservative and Catholic positions.[2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) In 1865 he published the *Compendio de Historia de América*, a textbook that circulated as part of this educational project.[4](https://uchile.cl/presentacion/historia/rectores-de-la-u-de-chile/diego-barros-arana-1893-1897) • [3](https://www.scielo.cl/pdf/autoc/v8n2/0719-8213-autoc-8-02-1057.pdf)
**Boundary diplomacy with Argentina.** From 1855 he was a member of the Facultad de Humanidades of the Universidad de Chile, and in 1871 he became dean of that faculty.[2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) • [4](https://uchile.cl/presentacion/historia/rectores-de-la-u-de-chile/diego-barros-arana-1893-1897) From the 1870s he served as Chile's minister plenipotentiary and perito on the Boundary Commission with Argentina.[5](https://www.archivonacional.gob.cl/diego-barros-arana) • [2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) By 1876 he proposed an agreement with Argentina over [Patagonia](https://www.edgepedia.org/patagonia) in exchange for Argentine neutrality in the future [War of the Pacific](https://www.edgepedia.org/war-of-the-pacific); the resulting 1881 treaty was approved by 90% of the Chilean parliament.[5](https://www.archivonacional.gob.cl/diego-barros-arana)
**Historian.** His most important legacy is the monumental *Historia General de Chile*, written between 1881 and 1902 and published in sixteen volumes by the Imprenta Cervantes.[2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) The work covers Chilean history from the discovery and conquest (1536–1561) through the colonial period (1561–1810), the war of independence (1810–1824), and the political anarchy (1824–1830).[6](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_lSsOAAAAQAAJ)
## Political influence
Barros Arana's influence ran through education and foreign policy rather than party office. His rectorship of the Instituto Nacional set the institution on a scientific and lay course, in deliberate contrast to the conservative and Catholic education of the period, and made him a target of that camp for years.[2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) As Chile's negotiator with Argentina he shaped the boundary question that dominated Chilean diplomacy in the 1870s; his proposed trade of Patagonia for Argentine neutrality preceded the 1881 treaty, which passed the Chilean parliament with 90% approval.[5](https://www.archivonacional.gob.cl/diego-barros-arana) His opposition to Balmaceda placed him with the congressional side when the civil war of 1891 broke out, and he hid in the Recoleta Dominica.[2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html) He was elected rector of the Universidad de Chile by the claustro as of 3 July 1893.[4](https://uchile.cl/presentacion/historia/rectores-de-la-u-de-chile/diego-barros-arana-1893-1897) He was reelected in 1897, but President Errázuriz Echaurren did not give effect to his appointment.[4](https://uchile.cl/presentacion/historia/rectores-de-la-u-de-chile/diego-barros-arana-1893-1897)
## Legacy
His lasting legacy rests on the *Historia General de Chile*, his most important work, and on the lay, scientific orientation he gave to Chilean public education.[2](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html)
## References
1. [Diego Barros Arana - Memoria Chilena, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-92250.html)
2. [Diego Barros Arana (1830-1907) - Memoria Chilena, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile](https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-583.html)
3. [Un libro en movimiento: creación, edición y circulación del Compendio de Historia de América de Diego Barros Arana - Autoctonía](https://www.scielo.cl/pdf/autoc/v8n2/0719-8213-autoc-8-02-1057.pdf)
4. [Diego Barros Arana - Universidad de Chile](https://uchile.cl/presentacion/historia/rectores-de-la-u-de-chile/diego-barros-arana-1893-1897)
5. [Diego Barros Arana - Archivo Nacional de Chile](https://www.archivonacional.gob.cl/diego-barros-arana)
6. [Historia jeneral de Chile - Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_lSsOAAAAQAAJ)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Other history › Latin America and the Caribbean › New Latin American nations (1830 to 1910) › Writers, thinkers, and education*
*Initially written Sep 24, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
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