La Escuela de Artes Y Oficios (1878 - 1887) was a school developed in Montevideo, Uruguay, as part of that country's modernization process, both as an instrument of education and of social control. It was founded on December 31, 1878, during the presidency of Lorenzo Latorre. At that time it was located within a military compound and was administered directly by the Ministry of War: its students were young people detained by the police or the army. These were taught to read, and instructed in a trade during their detention. Printing - both letterpress and lithography - appear to have numbered among these trades: the school published an array of works during its existence, ranging from books of poetry to official statistical government publications. They published one map: Mapa de la republica oriental del Uruguay, whose cartographer is not credited. Its publication through a military office would classify it as an official document. The Escuela remained an office of the military until 1887, at which point it was passed to the Ministry of Justice, Worship and Public Instruction, and its name changed to Escuela Nacional de Artes y Oficios.. The institution survived several changes of name, and is known now as Univesidad del Trabajo del Uruguay. More by this mapmaker...

Francisco Antonio Berra (December 3, 1844 - March 13, 1906) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, historian, and educator who lived and worked primarily in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was born in San Miguel del Monte, Buenos Aires province, but at the age of 8 his family moved to Uruguay. In 1865 he settled in Montevideo to study law at the University, from which he earned a law degree in 1872. He was a member of the Society of Friends of Popular Education and was a friend and colleague with Jose Pedro Varela; the group was instrumental in laying the foundations for public schooling and modern pedagogy in Uruguay. Berra was also active as a lawyer and journalist, with a political focus. It was primarily his writings on pedagogy which would bring him to Buenos Aires in 1882 as part of the first Pedagogical Congress installed in South America, which held sessions in Buenos Aires.

Berra's 'Historical Sketch of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay' fell afoul of government censors during the presidency of Máximo Santos (1882-1886) forcing Berra to flee the country to his native Buenos Aires. Despite this, he remained active in discussing how Uruguayan history ought to be presented in schools, corresponding with Uruguayan historian Carlos María Ramírez. These letters resulted in several published works. He became general director of Schools in the La Plata province in 1894. Apart from a brief return to Montevideo, he would spend his remaining years in La Plata. Learn More...