Although the general and politician Vicente Riva Palacio wrote poetry throughout his life, the other genra he frequented can be seen as phases or steps in his literary career. When he was in love with his future wife he wrote poetry; later, as a congressman, he wrote  plays; after that came journalism and historical novels; later he worked on legends and proper history and finally short stories. This article attempts to show that he became a great historian because he had already written several historical novels, and this can be demonstrated by the analysis of two public speeches celebrating Independence Day. One was written in 1867 and the other in 1871, that is, before and after he wrote most of his historical novels. He had at his disposal at home the archives of the Inquisition, this direct contact with original sources also proved to be decisive.