Public works began, at least in the Spanish Empire, after the failure of Christopher Columbus’s governance in the Antilles. The foundation of cities in the Americas was a colonization strategy. Urban republics formed a network to support the kingdoms of the Indies for more than three centuries. Far beyond traditional and nationalistic explanations, it was precisely the ability to establish bridges – social, as well as material – that explains the resilience and durability of this network until 1825.

中文翻译：

---

西班牙帝国的公共工程：一个过渡视角

在克里斯托弗·哥伦布在安的列斯群岛的治理失败之后，公共工程开始了，至少在西班牙帝国是这样。美洲城市的基础是殖民战略。三个多世纪以来，城市共和国形成了一个网络来支持印度群岛。远远超出传统和民族主义的解释，正是建立桥梁的能力——社会和物质——解释了这个网络在 1825 年之前的弹性和持久性。