The Bourbon Era in Spain: Absolutism, Reform, and the Rise of the Enlightenment
1. Absolute Monarchy of the Bourbons
Absolutism is the final formula of the old regime political power. It appeared in France during the 17th century as a result of the evolution of the authoritarian monarchy.
1.1 The War of Succession
In 1700, Charles II died without a direct heir. The candidates for the throne were Philip of Anjou and the Archduke Charles of Habsburg.
The will appointed the Bourbon candidate, Philip of Anjou, as successor, who was proclaimed as Philip V in 1701. His accession to the Spanish throne strengthened the influence of the Bourbons in Europe, and quickly Britain, the Netherlands, and Portugal, opposed this situation, having supported the Austrian candidate. They went to war against France and Spain. The succession to the Spanish throne became an international conflict.
In Spain, the succession also divided the peninsular territories. Castile proved faithful to Philip V, while in the Crown of Aragon, the nobility, clergy, bourgeoisie, and popular classes endorsed the Austrian candidate.
The reasons for this support could be the fear of losing their power and institutions. The confrontation resulted in a civil war that lasted nearly a decade.
Internationally, the forces of each candidate were fairly balanced, and the Bourbons were unable to defeat the allied armies who supported Charles of Habsburg. But in 1711, a significant event changed the course of events: in April, the Emperor of Austria, Joseph I, died, and the Archduke Charles ascended the throne. Then, the danger to the European balance of power was that Habsburg held two important kingdoms. The English and the Dutch expressed their interest in ending the war and recognized Philip V as King of Spain.
The peace between the warring parties was signed in the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastadt, but in exchange for Milan, Flanders, Naples, and Sardinia, Austria received Gibraltar and Minorca, along with trade privileges with Spanish America.
In Spain, Philip V’s troops had an obvious superiority. The resistance of the kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon was suppressed between 1706 and 1713, when they signed the Treaty of Utrecht. Only Barcelona, some cities in Catalonia, and the Balearic Islands resisted. Catalan courts decided to fight against the Bourbon army. On September 11, 1714, the troops of Philip V took Barcelona, and between 1715 and 1716, they occupied Mallorca.
1.2 The Imposition of Bourbon Absolutism
The authoritarian monarchy of Austria had already begun a process of concentrating power in Castile.
By installing the Bourbons on the Spanish throne, the model of absolutism was imposed. The formula of politics in this absolute monarchy was the very embodiment of the state: the monarch belonged to the territory, and the institutions emanated from him. He was the source of law, the ultimate authority of government, and the head of justice.
1.3 Centralization and Uniformity
The first Spanish Bourbons, Philip V and Ferdinand VI, took over the task of consolidating and reorganizing the various peninsular kingdoms. Philip V, by the decrees of New Plant, imposed the politico-administrative organization of Castile on the territories of the Crown of Aragon, which lost their sovereignty and were integrated into a uniform and centralized state.
The New Plant abolished the courts of the different kingdoms, integrating them into the Castilian system, which in fact became the courts of Spain. It abolished the Council of Aragon, and the Council of Castile took office. While retaining its functions and exercising as the supreme court of justice, the Council of Castile, and the advisory bodies from the time of the Habsburgs, became mere advisory bodies.
More than any institution, the monarch’s power stood. His work was assisted by the secretariats. In 1714, the state secretariats of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and War and Navy were created, and in 1754, the Treasury. The secretaries were appointed and dismissed by the king and surrendered only to him.
They were aided by Bourbon officials who reorganized the territory: they removed the old viceroys and created provincial boundaries, ruled by captains general, with military, administrative, and judicial duties. These actual hearings were implanted in all territories.
The most relevant contribution was the introduction of the office of mayor. They reported directly to the king, enjoyed broad powers, and had the mission of collecting taxes and promoting the economic revitalization of the country.
The other novelty was in the attempts to reorganize finance. It was imperative that all residents paid in relation to their wealth, including the privileged. In the territories of the Crown of Aragon, the equivalent of the size was introduced, the unique contribution, and the land tax. It was the establishment of a fixed amount of money by the administration, poorly collected, and the system was more agile.
1.4 Foreign Policy
The reign of the Bourbons was marked by significant loss of power in the international arena, which allowed the monarchy to release itself from the military and financial burden it had assumed in maintaining numerous European possessions in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Bourbons concentrated their energies on improving the interior of the country.
The main conflicts took place because of the efforts of Elizabeth Farnese, the second wife of Philip V, in defending access to the throne of Naples for her eldest son, Charles, and the thrones of Parma and Modena for her other son, Philip.
The arrival of Ferdinand VI inaugurated a time of exterior neutrality in Spanish politics. His efforts were directed at rebuilding the army and navy.
In the second half of the century, during the reign of Charles III, Spain took part in the Seven Years’ War alongside France against England. The war ended with the Peace of Paris in which Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain and Louisiana passed from French to Spanish hands.
Later, Spain intervened with France in the American War of Independence by supporting the American colonies. With the British defeat, Florida was recovered, and territories in Mexico were gained.
2. Society and Economy of the Old Regime
The beginning of the 18th century in Spain was defined politically by monarchical absolutism, and economically and socially, by the survival of the rural economy and the manor and estates in the social hierarchy.
2.1 Perpetuation of a Stratified Society
Society continued to maintain the class system, and its defining characteristics were essential legal inequality and immobility. Privileged groups owned the majority of landed property, did not pay taxes, and held public office. The clergy were little more than 2% and controlled over 40% of the territory. The nobility did not exceed 5% and possessed and wielded extensive properties and many lordships.
The Third Estate consisted of the remaining inhabitants of the kingdom. They bore the greatest part of the economic burden of the state and were sidelined from political decisions. The peasants, still under feudal tenure, were forced to hand over most of their farm incomes.
The nobility and clergy had prevented the development of a commercial and industrial bourgeoisie, which would have allowed the economy to grow throughout the 18th century.
2.2 An Agrarian Economy
Agriculture employed more than 80% of the population. The land was entailed, could not be bought or sold, and had to be transmitted by inheritance.
The crown, the nobility, and the Church remained the owners of the lordships, extensive holdings on which they exercised jurisdiction and received substantial rents.
Although there were farmers who owned their land, much of the peasantry was leased or laborers. The types of leases and contracts varied according to region and type of contract: long lease (stable and in perpetuity), forum (fixed for three generations), and minifundismo (small farms).
Finally, there were vast areas (estates) in the hands of the nobility and clergy, worked by peasant or laborer who rented the land.
2.3 The Weakness of Industry and Internal Trade
Handicrafts and commerce were supportive economic sectors of the agrarian world. The traditional industry was so rigidly organized. The shortage of demand and the power of guild hierarchies remained intact, thus protecting production.
In trade, the market was underdeveloped and scarce, limited to local or district-type trade. There were serious problems of transport, and inland areas remained cut off from the mainland periphery.
Only colonial trade remained fairly important.
3. Bourbon Reformism: Carlos III
3.1 The Enlightenment Ideas
In the 18th century, the Enlightenment, through the writings and publication of the Encyclopedia, questioned many things, including the old regime, the economy, and criticized the clergy.
The basic characteristic of Enlightenment thinking is an unbounded confidence in reason, which cannot be replaced by authority, tradition, or revelation. Whatever reason cannot agree with should be rejected as deception or superstition.
Enlightened men believed that, led by their intelligence, they could achieve knowledge that formed the basis of happiness. They were strong supporters of education and progress, the gradual improvement of living conditions for humans.
With these ideas, the Enlightenment subjected the principles underlying the stratified society to criticism, denying the hereditary transmission of any virtue or privilege, and affirming the right to equality and freedom for all humans. It also criticized the rigid economic organization, the lack of freedom to buy, sell, settle, or make progress, and advocated a social system that would ensure ownership and freedom of commerce and industry.
It opposed the ideological dominance of the clergy, their privileges, and their conservative and still-transmitting division.
It faced monarchical absolutism, defending a contract between rulers and governed that guaranteed basic individual rights. Montesquieu argued for the separation of powers (legislative, executive, and judicial), and Rousseau defended the principle of popular sovereignty, where the people elect their rulers, through constitutions.
3.2 The Spanish Enlightenment (Expansion Work)
The introduction of Enlightenment ideas in Spain was slow and difficult. The absence of large bourgeois groups, academic, and intellectual circles of the church hindered the diffusion of new thinking until the second half of the century.
From 1750 to 1760, a generation of thinkers emerged who reflected on their concerns and began to criticize the social model. They were not a homogeneous group, but they agreed on the interest in science, critical thinking, and the idea of progress.
Many of the learned were members of the gentry. All were convinced that only improving the cultural level of the population could get the country out of its backwardness.
Therefore, they made education a priority activity. The Enlightenment clashed with religious orders and the estates that favored them, and defended the need to impose a useful and practical education, compulsory for all in the first levels and common to both sexes. They promoted the founding of academies dedicated to literature and science. At that time, the School of Fine Arts was founded in Oviedo.
Enlightenment in Asturias
When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain in 1808 with the support of the Gallic War, the General Meeting of the Principality of Asturias declared itself sovereign and, in the Cathedral Chapter House, made the decision to declare war on the French, forming an army to fight them in the Peninsular War.
Asturias was the scene of several battles during the First (1833-1839) and Third Carlist Wars (1873-1876). In the latter, Oviedo was besieged by the Carlist troops but resisted, giving rise to the local gastronomic tradition of Disarmament Day.
In 1852, the first section of a railway line between Gijón and Langreo (Langreo Railway) was officially opened. This stretch linked Gijón and Carbayín and was the third line in Spain and the first in Asturias. It began the industrialization of mining areas in the 19th century, especially Mieres and La Felguera (Langreo). Furthermore, coal had been exploited in this area since the 18th century.
Mentality
The new concepts that came from French influence tried to change habits and customs in Spain and Asturias.
Until then, the backlog in mentality and general education, and scientific experimentation was outstanding. This had contributed to the powers that be (much of the nobility and the clergy refused to take the lead in reforms) and the endemic problems of the population (concern for survival among the peasants mired in poverty, superstition, ignorance, social immobility, etc.). In Asturias, centuries-old isolation and lack of public education, which rested on privileged classes, were also added to that. The creation of the University of Oviedo in 1608 did not solve the problem by being separated from the changes in higher education that had been produced elsewhere.
Even during the 18th century, although the church gave the traditional hegemony in cultural and educational initiatives, no changes were profound. Furthermore, the press (newspapers, journals, essays, etc.), so important elsewhere, was not a dynamic element in Asturias due to the absence of printing industries in the region. Thus, Enlightenment culture only reached very small groups.
The enlightened minority tried to introduce their ideas through power (despotism). In Asturias, small areas of the landed nobility and the clergy, i.e., small and elite circles of society, would gather in living rooms, salons, and conferences and maintain contact with the European intelligentsia.
Asturias brought significant names to the Spanish Enlightenment: Father Feijoo, precursor of the generation; military treatise writer Alvaro Navia Osorio, Marquis of Santa Cruz; the physician Gaspar Casal; economists and politicians José del Campillo y Cosio and Florez Estrada; attorney and writer Marina Martinez; academic historian Canga Arguelles, Count of Toreno; politicians and Count of Campomanes; and closing the century, politician, economist, writer, historian, philosopher, and essayist Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos.
Jovellanos Founded the Asturian Society of Friends of the Country
Jovellanos founded the Society of Friends of the Country in Asturias. He lamented that Asturias was full of iron ore, and yet, their forges were fed with the ore from Somorrostro in Biscay, so that there was nothing new under the sun. And yet, Jovellanos continued to prefer a future of agriculture, livestock, and crafts for Asturias, despite his faith in the future of coal in the region. Jovellanos was a man who had written many books and did not like torture or mistreat anyone, even those who were in jail.
Birth of a University in Oviedo
The University of Oviedo was just opened. The decision was made by Fernando Salas, an inhabitant of the municipality of Valdes. Before building the University, it could be said that the Community of Asturias was poorer in Spanish culture. But with the construction of this center, our culture has been enriched, as students can now go to the new university to study a lot.
3.3 Enlightened Despotism: Carlos III
Everything for the people, but without the people.
Carlos III ascended the Spanish throne when his brother Ferdinand VI died childless. He was in favor of following some of the ideas of enlightened progress and rationalization, without hindering the possession of absolute monarchy.
Carlos III had to face strong opposition from privileged groups. Thus, there was the Riot of Squillace, a revolt of complex causes in which the malaise of the population due to scarcity and high food prices, the refusal of excessive power of senior foreigners, and discontent among privileged groups joined.
Everything would end in a popular uprising in Madrid against the sanitation and public policy measures adopted by Minister Esquilache: urban sanitation, street lighting, and the prohibition of gambling and the use of weapons, and the utilization of wide-brimmed hats.
Carlos III dismissed Esquilache, stalled reforms, and took popular measures such as lowering the price of some commodities. The riots ceased, and the king continued to reform.
He had a number of ministers and collaborators to help the Spanish monarch, including Campomanes, Count of Floridablanca, and the Count of Aranda. Along with Olavide, Cabarrus, and Jovellanos.
3.4 Reform Legislation
The ilustrados were royalists, i.e., defenders of the authority and prerogatives of the king, facing the church. Carlos III claimed the right to appoint church offices, control the Inquisition, and the founding of monasteries, and expelled the Jesuits, an order of enormous power.
Socially, the Enlightenment is reflected in the decree that declared all professions honest. In education, reform was initiated at the university and school level, schools were founded in arts and crafts, and compulsory primary education was imposed. It promoted the founding of academies dedicated to literature and science.
Economically, the following measures were established:
• Limitation of the privileges of the Mesta (sheepherders’ guild).
• Support for the colonization of new lands.
• Promotion of the free circulation of goods within Spain, and the gradual liberalization of colonial trade.
• Support for industrial activity, gradually abandoning the manufacture and direct management of royal factories.
• Moderation in taxation policy, with the objective of encouraging production and limiting public spending.
• Creation of the Economic Society of Friends of the Country. Many companies were created in order to promote agriculture, commerce, and industry, from drawing to translating and publishing books and promoting liberal ideas.
3.5 The Limits of Bourbon Reformism
The enlightened despotism of Charles III, as a whole, presents a positive balance. Economic reforms were promoted, proposals and projects for the advancement of public education were supported, cities were restructured, the road network was improved, etc. It also defended the prerogatives of the state against the clergy, and encouraged subjects to develop productive activities.
But attempts to disrupt land reform involving the power of privileged groups were met with resistance. To cope with the nobility was to destroy the basis of civil inequality. Reforms were limited to the monarch’s power and kept the skeleton of the order of the old regime.
When the French Revolution announced its end, Charles IV noted with great fear the impact of Enlightenment ideas.
Why Was Land Reform Law Necessary?
Enlightened government agreed to consider agriculture as the biggest problem of the Spanish economy. They considered that the prevalence in Spain of entailed property and manors was the obstacle to the development of agriculture.
The wisdom of the enlightened vision of the importance of the agrarian problem is confirmed by the fact that the need for land reform in Spain remained a recurring theme throughout the 19th century.
Thus, the poverty of the peasantry, the need for an equitable division of property, and the excessive weight of the landed gentry were the causes of agrarian conflict.
4. The Effects of Reformism: Survival and Changes
4.1 Population Growth
In Europe, population growth began following the end of major plagues.
Enlightened despots adopted policies that favored population growth because they thought that a large population was a precondition for further development.
Population growth was limited by food shortages.
4.2 Tensions in Agriculture
Reforms could not solve the problems of population and food.
There were several causes:
• Unfavorable climatic and agronomic conditions.
• Inability to produce more on the land.
Although this was compatible with some agricultural improvements.
4.3 The Impetus to Manufacturing
The Bourbons encouraged manufacturing momentum, thus royal factories were established to guide policy toward private workshops manufacturing. Campomanes was when beginning a policy of reducing guild privileges.
Manufacturing spread across the country.
4.4 The Liberalization of Colonial Trade
The colonies were still a source of revenue for the crown.
Likewise, the inability of Castilian industry and agriculture to supply American demand had led to some trade being in the hands of foreigners.
In the 18th century, the crown sponsored the foundation of commercial companies, granting them privileges.
During the reign of Charles III, the freedom of all ports to trade with America was decreed, thus ending the monopoly of American trade.nopoly of American trade.