18th Century Spain: Bourbon Reforms and Enlightenment

Posted on Oct 23, 2024 in History

Chronology

  • War of Succession: 1700-1714
  • Loss of Gibraltar: 1704
  • Peace of Utrecht: 1713
  • Death of Philip V: 1746
  • Start of Fernando VI’s Reign: 1746
  • Transfer of the Casa de Contratación to Cadiz: 1717
  • Esquilache Riots: 1766
  • Expulsion of the Jesuits: 1767
  • American Free Trade Act: 1778
  • French Revolution: 1789

Key Enlightenment Figures and Ideas

Thinkers

  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Popular sovereignty; the general will.
  • Baron de Montesquieu: Separation of powers (legislative, executive, judicial).
  • Voltaire: Limited monarchy; citizen freedoms.
  • Diderot and d’Alembert: Encyclopédie, compiling knowledge of the time.
  • François Quesnay: Physiocracy (land as the primary source of wealth).
  • Adam Smith: Economic liberalism (labor as the primary source of wealth).

Key Figures in Spain

  • Philip V: Sought to regain territories lost in the War of Succession.
  • Pablo de Olavide: Superintendent of the New Settlements of Andalusia.

Concepts

  • Old Regime: Political, economic, and social system in Europe from the 15th-18th centuries, characterized by absolute monarchy, stratified society, and an agrarian economy.
  • Esquilache Riots: Popular uprising in 1766 due to high grain prices and unpopular reforms.
  • Bourbon Reformism: Reforms aimed at boosting the Spanish economy, including promoting agriculture and settling Sierra Morena.
  • Decree of Nueva Planta (1707, 1715, 1716): Abolished traditional laws and institutions in Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia, and Mallorca, imposing Castilian law.
  • Stratified Society: Society divided into privileged and non-privileged classes.
  • Economic Societies of Friends of the Country: Promoted Enlightenment ideas and founded institutions like the College of Surgery of Cadiz.
  • Absolute Monarchy by Divine Right: King’s power derived from God, concentrating legislative, executive, and judicial authority.
  • War of Succession (1700-1714): Conflict over the Spanish throne after the death of Charles II.
  • Repopulation of Sierra Morena: Effort to settle and reforest Sierra Morena to combat banditry.
  • Royal Factories: State-owned factories focused on manufacturing weapons, ships, and luxury goods.