University
In 1218, Alfonso IX of León founded the University of Salamanca. Under the patronage of the learned Alfonso X, its wealth and reputation greatly increased (1252–1282), and its schools of canon law and civil law attracted students even from the Universities of Paris and Bologna. In the 16th century, the city's fortunes depended on those of the university. About the time Christopher Columbus was lecturing there on his discoveries, Hernán Cortés took classes at Salamanca, but returned home in 1501 at age 17, without completing his course of study. (About ten years later the conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado was born in Salamanca.)
It was scholars of the University such as Francisco de Vitoria who, heavily influenced by the Paris-based Scottish philosopher John Mair, helped design in 1512 the Laws of Burgos which established the right to life and liberty of the indigenous peoples of America.
Ignatius Loyola, while studying at Salamanca in 1527, was brought before an ecclesiastical commission on a charge of sympathy with the Illuminati, but escaped with a warning. In the next generation St. John of the Cross studied at Salamanca and so did the poet and writer Mateo Aleman. Miguel de Unamuno was a prominent figure of the university in more modern times.
Many people continue to come from all parts of Spain to study at the university, and the students represent a significant percentage of the city's population (the University has 36,000 students, approximately). The support of the student population is one of the most important economic activities in the city. These young people (including international students studying the Spanish language) provide Salamanca with a highly active night life, especially when school is in session on both weekdays and weekends. Among the American universities that sponsor significant summer semester programs are Wake Forest University, Lamar University of Beaumont,Texas, Lamar State College of Port Arthur,Texas and the University of Georgia. This has led Salamanca to be at the top of lists of cities with the highest bar per inhabitant ratios in Europe, second only to Bilbao.
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