Ruud notes that 'The Spanish Cabinet of natural history was established in 1771, when Carlos III acquired the collections of the Ecuadorian Creole Pedro Franco Dávila, tradesman in cocoa and reputed private collector... The royal decision to establish a public cabinet in 1771 was one of a series of Bourbon reforms.

In 1774... the museum's collections were stored in the basement of the royal palace in the Retiro, waiting for the Goyeneche Palace tin calle Alcalá (purchased in 1773) to be reconstructed into a proper Enlightenment museum. Tha palace was remodelled in order to hourse and display the collections in nine halls, and the cabined opened its doors to the public in November 1776. The museum was open for everyone to visit, every Tuesday and Thursday from morning to afternoon - the only condition governing who could attend was that the visitor needed to be decently dressed. Outside of opening hours, however, the director would receive a more exclusive audience, such as members of the royal famly and court, high officials, aficionados, nobility, and foreign travellers - some of whom came with important contributions to the museum.' (18)