From the contributions of the cultural history of the book, especially in the lines of Roger Chartier and Robert Darnton, this article approaches Manuel Antonio Carreño's famous Manual de urbanidad in two aspects: first, in the context of its emergence in the mid-nineteenth century which includes the author's intention, and in its several appearances towards the end of the nineteenth century and over the course of the twentieth century, ending with the particular case of its circulation in Chile. This makes it possible to establish an editorial map of the text, its uses and how it unfolded. Moreover, it helps us understand Manuel Carreño himself as an agent of globalization as well as the actors in movement of the nineteenth century, who, in turn, fostered the circulation of lesser knowledge that had a marked significance in the conformation of individual, national and global subjectivities.