In 1791, the mayor of the city of Havana began criminal proceedings against a paint merchant, known as Pedro Dionisio Muñoz de Carballo, for having “indiscriminately” sold paints and other poisonous substances. Colonial officials suspected these substances had been used by enslaved individuals to poison their masters in a wave of recent deaths. In this seminar, Dr. Rodríguez will first explore the remarkable life of Muñoz himself – a free man of color from Extremadura, Spain – who established himself in colonial Havana and became a successful businessman. Secondly, she will...