its origins date to 1661, when it was known as "colegio grande de san carlos", when the colonial government entrusted the jesuit order with the education of the youth. after the papal suppression of the jesuits from spanish empire-controlled south america in 1767, the institution languished until 1772, when governor juan josé de vértiz y salcedo reopened the school as the "real colegio de san carlos". vértiz, already appointed viceroy of the río de la plata, renamed the school "real convictorio carolino" in 1783, a name that endured until 1806. thereafter, the school changed its name and program several times.