This is a topical treatment of viceregal affairs for the period. Although printed sources for the era are few, and no bibliography is included, there are 400 legajos of documents on the era in the Archivo General de la Nación in Buenos Aires. Other repositories such as the manuscript section of the Museo Mitre and private collections in Argentina, as well as foreign archives, were also used.
The topics treated include Spain, relations with Brazil, warships and corsairs, mining, commerce, missions, ideas, education, and life and customs. Five chapters were published earlier in various historical journals, and were therefore excluded from this work. These deal with military organization, work and communications, the expedition against the Charrúas in 1801, the founding of San Gabriel de Batovi, and the Marqués’ religious ideas.
