18th Century: Enlightenment and Succession War

• The 18th century, “The Century of Lights" / "The Enlightenment," emphasizing reason and science for human happiness.
• Enlightenment thinkers championed change and advancement over static medieval thought.
• Absolute monarchs and the bourgeoisie drove these changes, with the monarchy initiating reforms from above, known as enlightened despotism.

The War of Succession and Dynastic Change

• Charles II, the last Habsburg monarch, died without an heir in 1700, bequeathing the throne to Felipe de Anjou (Philip of Anjou), grandson of France’s Louis XIV.
• A grand alliance formed in 1701, including England, Holland, Portugal, and Austria, opposing a Franco-Spanish union and backing Archduke Charles of Austria for the Spanish throne.
• The War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) started due to Charles’s succession, becoming an international political issue and a battle for European supremacy intertwined with a Spanish civil conflict.
• Initial battles occurred in Flanders, followed by Austrian assaults on Italian territories and English attacks on Spanish territories, taking Gibraltar.
• Archduke Charles gained support in Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands after landing in Barcelona.
• Felipe de Borbón secured victories at Almansa (1707) and Villaviciosa (1710).
• After the Austrian emperor Joseph I died in 1711, Archduke Charles became heir to the Austrian Empire, leading England and Holland to withdraw their support to prevent Habsburg control over Spain and Austria.
• The Treaties of Utrecht (1713) and Rastadt (1714) recognized Felipe V as King of Spain, requiring the Bourbon dynasty to renounce dynastic union with France.
• Territories were granted to European powers: Austria received Milan, Naples, and Sardinia; Great Britain gained Menorca and Gibraltar, and trading privileges in Spanish America.
• Catalan resistance prolonged the peninsular conflict until 1714, while Majorca held out until 1715.

The New Order

• Felipe V (1700-1746) launched administrative reforms inspired by France focused on centralizing the government.
• The Nueva Planta Decrees, beginning in 1707, were enforced in Valencia and Aragón, then in Mallorca (1715) and Catalonia (1716), eliminating regional fueros (charters) and institutions, and imposing Castilian administration.
• A captain general (Gobernadores Generales) was installed as the local ruler over the old viceroy, alongside an audiencia (high court).
• A new tax system with fixed quotas was implemented.
• The Universidad de Barcelona was moved to Cervera, and court proceedings were conducted in Castilian.
• The Basque and Navarre regions retained their fueros due to their loyalty to Felipe V during the war.
• The Treaty of Utrecht let Felipe V keep the Spanish throne but required surrendering European territories.
• Felipe V’s foreign policy, influenced by his marriage to Isabel de Farnesio in 1714, aimed to restore lost territories.
• Alberoni sought to reinstate Bourbon-Farnesio princes in Italian duchies and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
• The Pacts of Family (1733-1743) with France established collaboration throughout the 18th century.
• Fernando VI (1746-1759) succeeded Felipe V.

The Bourbon Reforms

• Fernando VI maintained a neutral foreign policy, guided by José de Carvajal and the Marqués de la Ensenada.
• Key focus was rebuilding the fleet to secure communications with American territories.
• Carlos III (1759-1788) succeeded Fernando VI, and political, economic, and social reforms were implemented.
• Enlightenment thinkers wanted to strengthen the State and monarchy, advocating for uniform laws and making Castilian the language of administration across the territory, under Carlos’ rule.

Centralization of the State

• Felipe V introduced French-style reforms towards centralization under absolute monarchic power.
• Cortes became ceremonial; Secretaries of State gained prominence over the councils.
• Under Felipe V and Fernando VI, State Secretariats included: State, Grace and Justice, Navy and Indies, Finance, and War.
• The Council of Castile remained significant as the supreme judicial body.
• Zenón de Somodevilla, Marqués de la Ensenada (1702-1781), was a key figure in these reforms.
• The Bourbon dynasty brought absolutism to Spain, modeling it after 17th-century France, centralizing power in the monarchy.
• The structure of the Spanish kingdom mirrored Castile and France under Louis XIV, including Captains General, royal audiencias, and intendentes.
• Intendentes, with French origins, reported directly to the monarch and focused on tax collection and economic development, urban planning etc.
• Local government was managed by royal appointees or corregidores.

Agricultural Reform and Demographic Trends

• Spain experienced demographic recovery in the 18th century.
• Population increased from 7.5 million in 1700 to 11.5 million by the end of the century due to decreased mortality.
• Reduced mortality was due to improved agriculture and fewer disease outbreaks.
• Peripheral regions grew more than central areas.
• The first population censuses occurred with the Aranda Census (1769), Floridablanca Census (1787), and Godoy Census (1797).
• Enlightenment thinkers sought to modernize land ownership and increase agricultural production, but reforms faced resistance.
• Olavide, Floridablanca, and Jovellanos viewed noble and Church estates as obstacles to modernization.

Feudal Inheritance

• Feudal laws kept around 80% of land tied up or amortized, preventing its sale or privatization which hindered improvement and investment.
• The mayorazgo of 1505 secured noble assets to the title, allowing heirs to manage but not sell property.
• The contradiction between population growth, increased demand, and stagnant supply drove up agricultural prices during bad harvests and subsistence crises.
• Pedro Rodríguez de Campomanes aimed to give peasants land access and seize ecclesiastical assets.
• Carlos III implemented communal land distribution in Extremadura to create a stable rural class.
• Pablo de Olavide aimed to populate Sierra Morena with 6,000 German, Dutch, and Spanish colonists, but noble and clerical opposition halted the project in 1775.

Infrastructure Development

• Spain’s domestic trade was limited due to transportation issues and subsistence agriculture.
• The government attitude towards infrastructure changed radically in the 18th century.
• Ensenada improved communications to create a national market for agricultural goods, reducing reliance on foreign imports.
• Carlos III and his minister Esquilache began a highway plan to connect Madrid with other regions, but political instability and high costs hindered completion.

Naval Development

• Under Carlos III, naval expansion occurred through new shipyards in Spain and America.
• The American forest reserves provided materials for building a competitive fleet.
• Traditional industry was crafted by artisan workshops under guild control.
• Felipe V established Reales Fábricas to produce high-quality goods for the royalty and nobility, aiming to boost industry.
• The government broke the guilds' monopoly in 1772 to promote industrial growth.
• State industries were criticized for relying on state aid rather than competing in the market.

Development of Commerce

• Enlightenment ideas impacted trade, with Sociedades Económicas de Amigos del País advocating for reduced trade deficits and stimulated domestic demand.
• Protectionist policies, like tariffs, aimed to create a national market and would dominate Spanish history for two centuries.

Free Trade with America

• In 1765, the monopoly of Cádiz over American trade ended, authorizing eight Spanish ports to trade with American colonies.
• The Decree of Free Trade with America was enacted in 1778, boosting industries in peripheral regions to meet American demand.
• Trade changes benefited Catalonia, which dominated the Castilian market and exported textiles from Barcelona to America.
• Catalan merchants accrued capital, facilitating the Industrial Revolution in the next century.

Fiscal Reform

• Reforms improved revenue collection via direct management by public employees.
• The Bourbons sought universal taxation based on wealth, including the privileged classes.
• Ensenada planned to extend Catalonia's tax system across the country, using the Catastro de Ensenada (1749-1756) to gather data, but privileged groups resisted.

Limits of Reform

• Carlos III’s minister Esquilache’s progressive measures, and the high prices of bread, stoked fears among privileged groups who exploited public dissatisfaction.
• The 1766 decree aimed at improving Madrid’s image triggered riots due to the prohibition of long capes and wide-brimmed hats.
• The investigation into the riot blamed the Jesuits, leading to their expulsion by Carlos III in 1767.
• Carlos III upheld the Crown's commitment to managing religious power by supporting regalism.
• The nobility and Church opposed reforms and defended traditional ways, giving rise to reactionary thought.
• The reform efforts of Carlos III stagnated by 1788, as the gap widened between those seeking modernity and those holding onto their privileges.

Spanish Enlightenment Thinkers

• The Enlightenment influenced the bourgeoisie, nobles, and monarchs.
• Enlightened Despotism promoted reforms under absolute monarchs.
• Spanish Enlightenment thinkers stressed science and technology.
• Reformers were bolstered by trade advancements, international relations, and access to encyclopedic publications.
• Coastal towns became the main entry points.
• Benito Jerónimo Feijoo, Gregorio Mayans y Siscar and Enrique Flórez headed those with ties to European culture.
• Antoni de Capmany, Hervás y Panduro, Jerónimo de Ustáriz , José Celestino Mutis, José Cavanilles, and Jorge Juan contributed to historiography, philosophy, economics, botany, and mathematics, respectively.
• The Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País in 1765 studied and supported translations, promoted technical innovations, published periodicals and held debates.
• The Real Sociedad de Amigos del País de Madrid commissioned Jovellanos to write a report on agrarian law.