Book Launch/Lecture with Professor
Fidel Tavárez (History)
Assembling an Imperial Machine:
Spanish Commercial Reform in the Age of Enlightenment
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
12:15 – 1:30 pm (Free Hour)
Dining Hall 120
Join us for a lecture and conversation to celebrate Professor Tavárez’s new book, which explores Spain’s ambitious 18th century effort to reinvent its empire as an integrated free-trade system linking Spain and its American territories, and how this experiment helped shaped Latin America’s enduring approaches to globalization and economic integration.
Five copies will be raffled during the event!
Fidel J. Tavárez is an assistant professor of
history at Queens College. He holds a PhD in history from
Princeton University and a BA from the City College of New York.
Brought to you by the Department of History and
the Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) program.

