Hipólito Villarroel. Pensamiento ilustrado y autobiografía en las Enfermedades Políticas

Abstract

Although the well-known work of Hipólito Villarroel, Enfermedades políticas que padece la capital de esta Nueva España (written at the end of the
18th Century) has been often cited and quoted, it has not yet deserved a real case study. The purpose of this paper is to contribute in this direction and
examine some aspects of the Enfermedades from the perspective of the Enlightment, and the Bourbon Reforms, but above all, from that of the career
and personal political experiences of the author in New Spain. This approach attests to the fact that even the most fervent supporters of the administrative
modernization of Charles III were deeply influenced by the American realities which moderated or shifted their thought in a fashion not considered by
the original Spanish models.