20 Facts About Francisco Uville

Francisco Uville died before seeing the enterprise collapse in 1820 during the Peruvian War of Independence.

Francisco Uville was about 36 years old in 1817, so would have been born around 1781.

When Francisco Uville visited them, the silver mines had reached the socavon level and were now almost abandoned.

Francisco Uville visited England in 1811 and spent a few months in London.

Francisco Uville met the Boulton and Watt engineers, who told him it would not be possible to build low-pressure steam engines that would work efficiently in the thin air of the mountains round Cerro de Pasco, around 14,000 feet above sea level.

However, while in London Francisco Uville chanced on a working model of Richard Trevithick's high-pressure steam engine, which he saw in the window of the engine maker William Rowley.

Francisco Uville was struck by the simplicity of its design and how well it was built, and bought the model for 20 guineas.

Francisco Uville took it back to Peru and successfully tested it at Cerro de Pasco.

On 17 July 1812 Francisco Uville joined the leading Lima merchants Pedro Abadia and Jose Aresmendi to form a company to drain the mines around Cerro de Pasco.

Abadia received two shares for $20,000, while Arismindi and Francisco Uville received one share each for $10,000.

Francisco Uville would provide the capital to buy and transport the steam engines and to install them over a pit dug down to 111 feet below the Yanacancha socavon.

Francisco Uville travelled to Jamaica, then continued to Falmouth, Cornwall, which he reached in the summer of 1813.

Francisco Uville found that Trevithick's first cousin was a fellow passenger, and a meeting between Trevithick and Uville was arranged as soon as they reached England.

Francisco Uville spent several months at Trevithick's house in Camborne while he learned about the use of machinery in mining and visited most of the Cornish mines.

Trevithick, who had made improvements to his high-pressure engines, entered a contract with Francisco Uville to deliver nine steam engines.

On 8 January 1814 Francisco Uville made Trevithick a one-fifth partner in the company and guaranteed Trevithick a good percentage of the profits.

Francisco Uville was only authorised to buy two engines, plus a third on credit.

Francisco Uville sailed with the engines accompanied by the Cornish engineers Thomas Trevarthen of Crowan, Henry Vivian, of Camborne and William Bull of Chacewater.

Francisco Uville bought with him a furnace to be used in purifying the silver by sulphur.

Francisco Uville claimed that it was only through his efforts that steam engines had been brought to Peru, demanded complete control of the mining operation, and made every effort to undermine Trevithick's position.