By the end of the Spanish War of Succession in 1714, publishing of all sort of works reactivated and many of the scientific polemics that had started during the 17th century emerged again. In particular, the publishing all sort of papers against traditionalists in science and arguing in favour of bringing Spanish science closer to European scientific novelties written by a group of Spanish thinkers labelled as the novator movement, mostly high-rank physicians. Although their ideas can not be identified with a coherent and unitary thinking, at the turn of the century they had created the Regia Sociedad de Medicina y otras Ciencias de Sevilla, the first scientific society in Spain. By 1724 these debates aimed at learnt audiences focused on the characterisation of modern medicine, being the most representative novator author the physician and professor of anatomy Martín Martínez, who was about to become the president of the Regia Sociedad. He defended a new medicine deeply rooted in scepticism and tried to define the education, duties and public image of an expert in medicine.
This paper will show how these efforts of constructing a new medical expertise through scientific publishing entered the popular domain and developed under such new circumstances. When in August, 1724, the young King of Spain Louis I died of smallpox, a strong controversy about the usefulness of medicine and physician's practices arose and extended to all possible audiences. In addition, many people believed that the King's death had been predicted in the best-seller almanac Piscator de Salamanca published earlier that year. His author was Diego de Torres, a popular science, poetry and satirical works writer, astrologer and professor of mathematics and astrology at the University of Salamanca. He started a vastly publicised polemic with Martín Martínez criticising his new ideal of medical expertise and forced the physician to address larger and popular audiences. Each one of them developed different programs of science popularisation, but their efforts were strongly reshaped by Juan de Goyeneche, one of the most important contractors in the Kingdom and owner of the publishing enterprises that backed Diego de Torres.