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I N the late eighteenth century, public health formed an integral part of the Bourbon campaign to revitalize the Spanish colonial enterprise and reinstate Spain as one of Europe's premier imperial powers. As frequent outbreaks of epidemic disease threatened the social, economic, and military well-being of the realm, colonial officials, medical experts, and members of the commercial elite struggled to find ways to counter and, ideally, to prevent the devastating effects of widespread illness. In doing so, they looked to the public health innovations gathering momentum throughout Europe. Throughout the eighteenth century, intellectuals and policymakers across Europe paid increasing attention to the cameralist notion that a state's wealth stemmed ultimately from its ability to ensure the health and continued growth of its population. Over time, this concept meshed with Enlightenment beliefs that nature exhibited an order capable of being understood and, eventually, manipulated by humanity. Because epidemics and other widespread disease outbreaks formed a part of this order, scientific inquiry promised to reveal the underlying causes of illnesses that threatened the welfare of the state and point the way to preventing their occurrence.1 These trends sparked initiatives to improve public health in capitals and major cities throughout Europe. Attention focused on controlling the spread of epidemics by restricting the movement of people and goods suspected
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