New Granada

In The Spanish Monarchy and the Creation of the Viceroyalty of New Granada (1717-1739), Francisco A. Eissa-Barroso analyzes the politics behind the most salient Bourbon reform introduced in Spanish America during the early eighteenth century.

This book presents the process of circulation and adoption of Newtonianism in the Viceroyalty of New Granada (modern-day Colombia) in the eighteenth century by examining José Celestino Mutis’s lectures at the Colegio del Rosario between the 1760s and 1770s. Mostly famous for his botanical activities as director of the botanical expedition, Mutis lectured the first course of mathematics ever created in New Granada on his arrival in Bogota in 1762, in which he included several lectures on physics that encompassed multiple aspects of his interpretation of Newton’s experimental physics.

The wife of Danilo (the head of the Álvarez cartel) left him for a Brazilian lover. She also robbed half of the cartel's money before she vanished! Vincente, to both console his father-in-law and to bring closure for the family, searched for someone to replace Danilo's ex-wife. The cartel's financial woes caused the collapse of the economy. Civil unrest, riots and lootings followed within days. The viceroy of New Granada threatened to annex the colony if the (local) politicians failed to solve the crisis. At the yearly vice-regal beauty pageant, Vincente selected Giovana--who won the beauty contest of the Margarita province earlier that year. As the 'trophy wife' and new 'lady of the house' of society's ruling family, she enjoyed many privileges and a life of ease. At least, that is what it seemed unto outsiders...