05-01-202605-01-2026<p>By year 1736, doctor Manuel de Alday y Aspée ran for doctoral canonry of the Cathedral of Santiago de Chile. To qualify, he took public examinations in which he needed to demonstrate his merits to win over his contender, the lawyer Juan de Vargas. So he did, and to ensure his triumph he composed this text, which contains the list of his academic achievements and multiple scholarly and literary references, arranged in a rhetorical framework designed to impress and therefore persuade those who should vote. We present this unpublished document, which will contribute to the biographical study of this important historical figure and, incidentally, allow an approach to the history of literate culture of Colonial Chile.</p>info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessCathedral of Santiago de ChileColonial ChileDoctoral canonryManuel de AldayPleaPublic examinationRelation of meritsReview article