hostility in the cinchona tree region. Work as a lawyer His Defensa de los curas de Riobamba was written in response to a report from Ignacio Barreto that accused the clergy in Riobamba of various unethical practices. Among other things, the report said that the large number of religious celebrations in Riobamba (frequented by Indians) were prejudicial to Catholic faith, agriculture, industry and the interests of the Crown; also, that priests demanded money from the Indians for entrance into churches and for certain ceremonies, that priests in Riobamba were immoral and finally that most sermons were incomprehensible to the Indians. Espejo attacked Barreto's report in three ways. First, he claimed that Barreto, supposed author of the report, was not capable of writing it. Then he argued that the allegations were exaggerated semi-truths or outright lies. And finally he claimed that the economic problems of Quito could not be solved by exploiting its human resources (the Indians) but by planning and taking advantage of the natural resources of the region. Espejo realized that the charges against the clergy were so serious that he had to focus on destroying Barreto's credibility. Therefore, he implied that Barreto's own conduct was outrageous because of his excesses in collecting taxes and his habit of paying public funds to licentious women. Additionally, he stated that the real author of the report was José Miguel Vallejo, whom he called an immoral man who despised the clergy. Thus, Espejo claimed the report should not be believed. It appears that Espejo was motivated more by the opportunity to attack his personal enemies in this work than to analyze the case and defend the clergy of Riobamba. Still, his talent as a lawyer can be seen in his Representaciones (Representations), which caused him to be freed after his arrest in 1787 for his supposed authorship of El Retrato de Golilla. In these documents, he defended his loyalty to the Crown, commented on the unfairness of his captivity by mentioning the indignation that many distinguished men felt about his arrest, and clarified his writing goals. This served him as a prelude to his main subject: denying being the author of El Retrato de Golilla Scientific work The Spanish Crown was deeply concerned with public health. Diseases had always troubled the colonies, and town councils spent money to bring physicians or sanitary equipment from other parts of the Americas. Reports by doctors