This book describes and analyses economic and political developments in Colombia during the final century of Spanish rule. Its purpose is threefold: first, to provide a general portrait of Colombian society during the late colonial period, showing the character of economic, social, and political life in the territory's principal regions; second, to assess the impact on the region of European imperialist expansion during the eighteenth century; and third, to provide a context for understanding the causes of independence. The book offers the only available survey of Colombian history and historiography for this period.

"McFarlane's masterful synthesis is acheived by a thorough and careful reading of the available historiography and by extensive research in Spanish and Colombian archives." American Historical Review

"With data drawn from years of patient investigations in archives of Bogotá, Madrid, and Seville, [McFarlane] has synthesized and expanded upon the published and unpublished works of Colombian, North American and British scholars to provide a brilliant portrait of eighteenth-century New Grenada." Jane M. Rausch, Bulletin of the Society for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies