Bourbon Reforms Reading Activity (2) PDF

Introduction ============ Between 1521 and 1700, the royal dynasty of the Habsburgs or Austrias ruled New Spain. When King Charles II of Habsburg was left without a direct descendant, the House of Bourbon took power in Spain. It was a royal family of French origin (Bourbon), a branch of the Capetia...

Introduction ============ Between 1521 and 1700, the royal dynasty of the Habsburgs or Austrias ruled New Spain. When King Charles II of Habsburg was left without a direct descendant, the House of Bourbon took power in Spain. It was a royal family of French origin (Bourbon), a branch of the Capetian Dynasty, the oldest in Europe. [During the Habsburg government in New Spain, a political system called patrimonialist](https://e1-portalacademico-cch-unam-mx.translate.goog/glosario/historiademexico?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=es&_x_tr_pto=nui#Patrimonialista) was created , where public offices were bought, officials imposed taxes, monopolies were developed and protected, and through corruption the control of the Crown was evaded. For this reason, King Charles III of Bourbon, influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, carried out a process of modernization through the so-called \"Bourbon Reforms\" that imposed a series of political-administrative, economic, military and cultural changes in the American colonies. These reforms sought to modernize Spain internally and its relationship with the colonies, responding to a new conception of the State, which proposed to resume all the rights that had been delegated to groups and corporations, in addition to assuming the political, administrative and economic direction of the kingdom. Latin America and the Bourbon Reforms ===================================== In the year 1700 the Spanish King Charles IV finally died of the illness that had crippled him his entire life. When he died, he had no heirs. As a result, he became the last Habsburg King of Spain, a line of monarchs going back to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The French king at the time, Louis XIV, moved to make his grandson Philip the Spanish king. This move started the Bourbon line of monarchs in Spain, a line of monarchs that still hold the throne in Spain. With the new dynasty in Spain, however, came new methods of rule in Europe and, especially, new methods of colonial management. The Empire and the Bourbon Reforms ================================== The Spanish Empire in the Americas had declined in profitability for many decades before the Bourbons took over in Spain. The new line of Kings were determined to change this and make the empire profitable again. The main goals of the Bourbon Reforms, as they are called by historians, were to put an end to smuggling, regain control over transatlantic trade, modernize the taxing system, and establish a more centralized control over the many regions of the empire. New Spain ========= In New Spain (Mexico), for example, the century from about 1640 until about 1750 was one of great economic decline. The Bourbons attempted to return New Spain to profitability by sending representatives of the crown to institute economic reforms directed mostly at mining and trade. The idea was that by liberalizing, or deregulating, these industries the colony would become more profitable. And, from 1750, the colony did make great strides in economic growth. The silver mining industry grew, resources in the colony were further directed toward this profitable industry, and those in the colony and in Spain profited from this increase in productivity and profitability. **New Granada** In other parts of the empire, the consequences of the reforms weren't so seemingly positive. For example, in New Granada (present-day Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador), the reforms were largely ineffective when they weren't outright counterproductive. As in New Spain, the Bourbons implemented reforms designed to bring the colony politically closer to Spain and make them economically more productive. One early way they attempted this was trying to regain control of trade away from smugglers and other colonial powers like Britain. This would allow Spain to tax trade more efficiently. The way they planned to do this was by reviving the imperial fleet system, a system whereby Spanish ships went between the colonies and Spain on a regular schedule to carry goods between these two locations. But, from the beginning, the fleet ships arrived to carry goods on a schedule that was irregular and unpredictable. This defeated the purpose of this particular reform. As a result, rather than making trade more profitable, it just made it more difficult and further increased contraband. Spain had one of the most important naval fleets during the sixteenth century, transporting products across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. e galleons, loaded with silver and goods, made oversea trips between Seville and Veracruz on the route to Europe, and between Acapulco and Manila on the route linking the East. Trade was also conducted with the Viceroyalty of Peru through the ports of Acapulco and Lima. However, trade with Peru was forbidden in 1631 due to smuggling caused by high taxes, which eventually decreased trade with the Philippines. By 1620, the naval power of Spain on the route Sevilla-Veracruz also began declining due to constant pirate attacks, the poor state of the ships and the economic crisis that was overriding Spain, as a result of the wars with England, among other things. In addition to the decline of its naval power, in 1700, Spain faced a serious problem with the death of Charles II since he didn't leave an heir to the throne. The search for a successor to the throne caused a war between the Habsburgs and the Bourbons, since both aspired to seize the Spanish Empire. Charles II had left the throne in inheritance to Philip, Duke of Anjou, since his grandmother, wife of Louis XIV, King of France, was Spanish. Austria, ruled by the Habsburg dynasty, claimed the throne of Spain, and when it was denied, Austria joined England, Holland, Portugal, Savoy and the Holy Roman Empire in an alliance known as the Grand Alliance; these countries joined Austria because it was not convenient for them that France and Spain were allies. This problem caused the War of the Spanish Succession from 1701 to 1714. Finally, the Empire was divided when Philip, Duke of Anjou, from the House of Bourbon, was proclaimed as King of Spain, known as Philip V, while Charles of Habsburg ascended to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. As soon as the Bourbons assumed the power of Spain, they initiated a series of reforms designed to centralize the power and finances through a territorial reorganization, a more efficient tax collection and a greater administrative and financial control on all of its territories in order to improve the political and economic situation. **The Reforms in New Spain** As of 1759, Charles III, son of Philip V, began ruling and applied a series of changes in the governing of the the Spanish colonies; these are known as the Bourbon Reforms. Jose de Galvez was sent to New Spain to put them into practice in 1765. The purpose of the Bourbon Reforms was to reorganize and modernize the Empire, to consolidate the absolute monarchy (centralizing power in the figure of the King), focus the Royal administration on all kingdoms, provinces and colonies, and to put the interests of the Crown above individuals or corporations. It was also to perform a more efficient tax collection and enforcement of justice,, and above all, control the economy for the benefit of the Spanish state. To achieve a better tax collection and political and economic control, the administration divided the territories in municipalities, governed by intendants. They replaced the major officers with sub delegates who depended upon the intendants with the intention of removing the viceroys and the audience. The reforms carried out in the political organization included a bureaucracy made up of Spanish University officials who replaced the criollos who had been in charge until then. During the stage prior to the Bourbon Reforms, New Spain did not have an army; after the reforms they needed to form one in order to protect the territory and to monitor the compliance of the new dispositions. Trade, which had been controlled by the monopoly of the unique ports, changed to increase commercial traffic. In other words, every port of the metropolis was allowed to trade with the colonies and inside them. The Bourbon Reforms achieved their aim: in the following forty years after their establishment, the Crown tripled the revenues from New Spain. However, the displacement of the criollos from their positions of power, generated a resentment that eventually would become part of the reasons for independence. Applying Knowledge ================== **DIRECTIONS:** Using what you have learned about the goals and effects of the Bourbon Reforms in two different parts of the Spanish Empire, complete the following chart. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | **Concepts' descriptions:** | | | | 1. 2. | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+