Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros (31 July 1777 – 7 April 1849) was an Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 statesman and priest. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán

Congress of Tucumán

The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America on July 9, 1816, from the Spanish Empire....

 which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina

Argentine Declaration of Independence

What today is commonly referred as the Independence of Argentina was declared on July 9, 1816 by the Congress of Tucumán. In reality, the congressmen that were assembled in Tucumán declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America, which is still today one of the legal names of the...

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Castro Barros was born in Chuquis

Chuquis

Chuquis is a municipality and village in La Rioja Province in northwestern Argentina.-References:...

, Arauco Department

Arauco Department

Arauco is a department of La Rioja Province, Argentina.-Population:It has 723 inhabitants , which means an increase of 16%, since the last census in 1991 .-Settlements:*Arauco...

, La Rioja Province

La Rioja Province (Argentina)

La Rioja is a one of the provinces of Argentina and is located in the west of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Catamarca, Córdoba, San Luis and San Juan.-History:...

, Argentina.
As a child, he was taken to Santiago del Estero

Santiago del Estero

Santiago del Estero is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 244,733 inhabitants, making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surface area of 2,116 km². It lies on the Dulce River and on National Route 9, at a distance of...

 to study and in 1790 he went to Córdoba

Córdoba, Argentina

Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...

 where he was taken under the wing of the rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of the University of Córdoba. He gained his doctorate in theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 in 1800 and later that year he was ordained by Bishop Moscoso of Tucumán.

Castro Barros was elected to represent La Rioja in the 1813 Assembly

Asamblea del Año XIII

The Assembly of Year XIII was a meeting called by the Second Triumvirate governing the young republic of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata on October 1812....

 replacing Ugarteche.
In 1815, he was elected to the Tucumán Congress and served as president in May 1816 for the appointment of Juan Martín de Pueyrredón

Juan Martín de Pueyrredón

Juan Martín de Pueyrredón y O'Dogan was an Argentine general and politician of the early 19th century. He was appointed Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata after the Argentine Declaration of Independence.-Early life:Pueyrredón was born in Buenos Aires, the fifth of...

 as Supreme Director. For the declaration on 9 July, he led the Tedeum mass that was celebrated to give thanks. He supported an Incan constitutional monarchy

Constitutional monarchy

Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...

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Later Castro Barros became rector of the University of Córdoba on three occasions and founded several primary schools. He lived in exile in the Banda Oriental

Banda Oriental

The Banda Oriental del Uruguay was the South American territory east of the Uruguay River and north of the Río de la Plata, coinciding approximately with the modern nation of Uruguay, the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul and some parts of Santa Catarina...

 from 1833 and then from 1841 in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, where he was rector of the Universidad de Chile

Universidad de Chile (university)

The University of Chile is the largest and oldest institution of higher education in Chile and one of the oldest in the Americas. Founded in 1842 as the replacement and continuation of the former colonial Royal University of San Felipe , the university is often called Casa de Bello in honor of...

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A museum dedicated to Castro Barros is located in his birthplace, Chuquis.