This is a study of Colombia during the final century of Spanish rule, spanning the years between the accession of the Bourbon dynasty to the Spanish throne in 1700 and the collapse of Spain's colonial authority in 1810.

Based on extensive research in Spanish and Colombian archives, it gives a full account of the region's economic and political development during a distinctive period in Spanish American history when the Bourbon monarchy strove to rebuild Spain'spower by rationalizing the institutions and expanding the economy of its empire.

Columbia (then known as New Granada) was one of the first of Spain's American dominions affected by Bourbon reformism, and the interactions of new policies with existing economic structures, established forms of government, and entrenched political practices are central themes in this book.

To gauge the impact of Bourbon imperialism, the study focuses first on the context within which colonial government functioned sketching the salient features of its development from the sixteenth century, charting the regional components of economy and society during the eighteenth century, and tracing the trajectory and economic influence of the gold mining industry that underpinned its commerce.

The book then analyzes the influence of Spanish imperialism on the region's economic and political development by examining the origins and effects of Bourbon policies designed to revitalize Spanish exploitation of the region's resources and to assert authority over its peoples. In so doing, it offers a general reassessment of the impact of Spanish imperialism on the region's economy. These findings are matched by a detailed depiction of political and ideological developments during the eighteenth century, showing the interplay of institutional reform and intellectual innovation with rebellion and sedition, mapping shifts in creole political thinking and assessing their implications for the stability of the colonial order.

Finally, the book turns from the functioning of the colonial order to a close examination of the context and causes of its collapse, showing, by way of conclusion, how external events interacted with internal pressures to bring about the fall of the colonial regime and the emergence of movement for politcal emancipation.