Juan Fermin de Aycinena was the wealthiest, most prominent, and most powerful individual in late colonial Central America. Chronicling Aycinena's extraordinary rise to power, Richmond F. Brown also sheds new light on the development of politics, economy, and society in Central America. As Brown demonstrates, Aycinena played a role in practically all aspects of isthmian affairs, including commercial expansion, military activities, and the church establishment. He was both an aggressive entrepreneur and a defender of traditional colonial institutions. For his numerous services to the Spanish Crown, Aycinena received a Castilian title, the only title in late colonial Central America. Aycinena's success placed his family in a position to dominate Central American politics, commerce, and society for much of the nineteenth century. To this day his descendants are part of Guatemala's elite.