about the sanitary and hygienic conditions of various neighborhoods of the cities were frequent. As a man of science, Eugenio Espejo demonstrated his knowledge of the latest scientific advances in Europe and the Americas. Most of the arguments and recommendations he made in his medical works can be found in contemporary sources, such as the Mémoires of the French Academy of Sciences. The Presidency of Quito was especially concerned with prevention of smallpox. Villalengua, President of the Audiencia, gathered all of Quito's physicians to discuss the application of methods suggested by the Spanish scientist Francisco Gil, and Espejo was asked to write his Reflexiones acerca de un método para preservar a los pueblos de las viruelas." Reflexiones, completed on November 11, 1785, was divided in two parts: the first dealt with prevention of smallpox in Quito, while the second dealt with obstacles on the path to its eradication. Espejo's knowledge of inoculations and the quarantine of smallpox victims was remarkably advanced for his day. Reflexiones recommended using proven methods supported by Spanish and foreign doctors. It refuted the common belief that the separation and destruction of contaminated clothes was impractical, and it promoted personal hygiene among the people of Quito. Espejo tried to convince people of the dangers of smallpox. He understood the current European medical theories about contagious diseases and warned against the incorrect belief that smallpox was transmitted by polluted air. Citing the English doctor Thomas Sydenham, he suggested the construction of an isolated country house as a hospital. Dealing with sanitation, Espejo observed that the hospital (Hospital de la Misericordia) of the city, the monasteries and the places of worship were filthy and that this would certainly contribute to future epidemics. He disapproved of the custom of burying the dead inside churches; instead, he suggested burying the dead outside the city limits in a graveyard chosen by the Church and owned by the town council. Finally, he condemned the management of the hospital by the Bethlehemites. He said their methods were outdated and that they provided poor service. The staff of the hospital reacted badly to this, and Espejo lost the friendship of his mentor, José del Rosario. Legacy Espejo is considered the precursor of the independence movement in Quito. He died in 1795, but his ideas had a powerful influence on three of his close friends: Juan Pío Montúfar, Juan de Dios Morales and Juan de