Poder, saber e Ilustración

For much of the historiography, the figure of José Celestino Mutis immediately refers to the process of the Enlightenment and even to the independence of what is now Colombia. However, Mutis and his most representative achievement —the Botanical Expedition— were preceded and influenced by the naturalist, medical, and administrative work of Sebastián José López Ruiz, a not very visible character in the historical reconstructions of the period. This abandonment seems to be motivated by the power strategies mediating the dispute maintained for decades by the Spaniard Mutis and the Panamanian López Ruiz. This research aims to explore the intellectual trajectory of López Ruiz, his discovery of the cinchona trees of Santafé, the details of the dispute with the Cadiz native, and the historiographical view of the controversy between Mutis and López. Thus, studying the latter’s work allows us to continue deciphering the configuration of the enlightened scientific field in New Granada in the last third of the eighteenth century.